The title of the poem Valentine written by Carol Ann Duffy is very misleading. You would expect to read about romantic love, but instead he writes about cynical love. She has obviously been hurt in previous relationships. The poem begins with a positive statement: not a red rose or a satin heart. She states that she will not give her lover a conventional Valentine's Day gift. Hard consonants give a feeling of hardness. The poetess chose to give her lover an onion. Use onion to symbolize love. Like a person, we never really know what a person really means. Use a metaphor to convey this idea. I give you an onion, it's moon wrapped in brown paper, -With this create an air of mystery. It promises light, like the careful undressing of love. With the use of sound repetition a feeling of sensuality is created. The use of the word Here makes the reader feel that the poet is in control. Continue with the extended metaphor: it will blind you with tears. Not only will onion make your eyes water, but pain caused by a loved one has the same effect. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The use of a simile contributes to this point of view as a lover, love distorts one's vision. It will mislead the reader into believing something that is not true. Grief can make you feel bitter and disillusioned. The white space gives the reader time to reflect on the section of the poem they just read. Explain that you don't want to be rude. She is realistic. I try to be sincere.- alliteration, the repetition of sound gives the feeling of sincerity. Not a cute card or a kiss-o-gram: He doesn't approve of commercial love symbols. I'll give you an onion- Use a metaphor. His fierce kiss will remain on your lips, the bitter taste of an onion remains on a person's lips. The memory of a kiss can stay with someone forever. Possessive and faithful as we are, as long as we are. She suggests that love relationships only last as long as two people are interested in each other. She insists that he accept her gift. Take it. It denigrates marriage. He compares the rings of an onion to a wedding ring and implies that marriage can dampen love and passion. Marriage is lethal according to her. In the extended metaphor he expresses his feelings, sometimes people never recover from a broken romance. They will continue to feel anguish, pain, bitterness. Its scent will stick to your fingers, it will stick to your knife. The repetition of the word cling is effective. The word knife conveys the image of a wound. The poet has obviously been hurt in previous relationships. In contrast, another poem, Before You Were Mine, also written by Carol Ann Duffy, talks about the mutual love between mother and daughter. There are several love stories in this poem. The poet considers his mother at three different times. In the first verse he imagines his mother as a teenager, ten years before I was born. I'm 10 years away from the corner you laugh at with your friends. Imagine her mother's life, she is young, carefree and without responsibilities. She enjoys the company of her friends, they squeal with laughter. The three of you bend at the waist, hold onto your knees and shout at the sidewalk. She imagines her mother in a polka-dot dress from the era. An image of the late sex goddess Marilyn Munroe appears in her mind in a scene from the film Some Like It Hot. A polka dot dress flutters on your legs, Marilyn Once again Carol Ann Duffy uses enjambment to give an empress who is trying to recreate the past in her imagination. Caesar is used to introduce igirls names. The names Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff suggest that they are normal, fun-loving, working-class girls. The poet continues to think of her mother's carefree days. I'm not here yet. Her mother is unaware of the future that awaits her. The thought of you does not arise. The mother enjoys the dances in the hall of a thousand eyes, tomorrow's sparkling film. She still has dreams and hopes for the future, she dreams of the glamor seen on the big screen. Caesura is used to show his thought process. At the dances they hoped to meet their future partner. I knew you would dance like this. He thinks back to the days when his mother was free and uninhibited. He admires his mother. He then introduces the title of the poem Before You Were Mine. The reader is therefore able to perceive a strong bond between mother and son. The possessive pronoun Mine reinforces the idea of ​​a close mother-daughter relationship. She can imagine her mother waiting to scold her for being late. Knowing that his mother has spirit, he will think that the punishment was nothing compared to the fun he just had. You think it's worth it. Carol Ann Duffy realizes that her birth has radically changed her mother's life; he had to be responsible and take care of a child. In the third stanza it is said that the ten years before his birth were probably the best years of his mother's life. The decade before my loud possessive scream was the best, huh? Use a rhetorical question. He really doesn't want his mother to confirm this statement. In his imagination he sees his mother clattering in high-heeled shoes I remember my hand in those relics of red high-heeled shoes and now your ghost comes noisily towards me on George Square - the image is vivid he uses an effective metaphor to show it as/like a perfume. You point out once again that your mother was a free spirit and those little bites on her neck, darling?- Another rhetorical question. She remembers dancing the cha cha cha as a child on her way home from church. She wanted to express herself. His mother did not realize his full potential; she married young and has the responsibility of motherhood. The poet wishes to be the young girl of the past, even if Portobello's glam image will never fade. He uses alliteration to show that his mother's qualities are timeless. The charming one was mine. The two poems are very different from each other. As I said before, Before You Were Me was based on a mutual relationship between mother and son, while Valentine is about a love relationship that went terribly wrong and left one of the lovers stuck in an emotional state that can't be fixed . He will always have that close bond with his mother. No matter what happens, they will always be there for each other. However, when you date other people you never know what their true intentions are. You can never spend enough time with someone to know their true personality that they are holding back. She idolizes and adores her mother, she admires her and has done so since she was a child, that's why she loves her. On the contrary, she loves her lover because she wants to know that person. He finds them interesting and different. In "Before You Were Mine" there are several references to time and it is one of the main topics. It refers to the past and compares it with the present. This suggests that the bond with his mother will last for eternity. While in “Valentine” time is not a big deal and is barely mentioned throughout the poem. It's all written in the present tense. He doesn't think about past relationships. This may suggest that she has only had one relationship with one man and will not go back to him or another man. “Before You Were Mine” time levels can be disconcerting. Unlike "Valentino", "Before You Were Mine" explains how much the poet idolizes and adores his mother..