Name a couple of literary techniques that are used in the poem 'Valentine,' by Carol Ann Duffy?

In Carol Ann Duffy's poem 'Valentine,' she regularly uses metaphor to demonstrate the ways in which an onion can represent the romance of a relationship. In the second line of the first stanza, she describes an onion as a ''moon wrapped in brown paper.'' By saying that the onion IS this rather than IS LIKE this, she has figuratively turned the onion into the moon. On the fourth line however, she uses simile to suggest that the light it promises is 'like' the ''careful undressing of love.''
She also uses personification in fourteenth line, describing the ''fierce kiss.'' This personification gives the onion the actions of a person. This shocks the reader due to the nature of an onion and what an onion would normally represent (bad smell, painful watering eyes, etc.)

Answered by Willow O. English tutor

10676 Views

See similar English GCSE tutors

Related English GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How can I tell the difference between a Petrarchan sonnet and an English/Shakespearean sonnet?


"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . " How true is this statement with regards to the relationships presented in Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'


Discuss the theme of love in Romeo and Juliet


How do I write a news report?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences