"Valentine" Carol Ann Duffy & "Our Love Now" Martyn Lowery

‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy and ‘Our Love Now’ by Martyn Lowery. These two poems were my first choice as they both link to the theme of love, yet they are significantly different as they show how their ideas of love differ. ‘Valentine’ has the idea that love is original and true rather than hiding behind false pretences i.e. ‘a red rose’ or ‘a satin heart’ (Duffy 1993). Whereas ‘Our Love Now’ has two different perspectives, the males idea is that although the relationship is broken it can be fixed because their love is strong enough yet the females view is that something drastic has happened and that whatever it was, was too severe to fix their relationship.

The structure of ‘Our Love Now’ is on the page the way it is because it is showing the reader how badly this woman’s been hurt and how they’re breaking-up, yet the man doesn’t want it. There is no clear rhythm or rhyme as it is designed to give the reader an idea of a strained and painful relationship. In ‘Our Love Now’ the form on the page is very neat as it is 6 lines per stanza until the final stanza on either side, which is 7 lines. This poem in itself however, is quite irregular as it can either be read across or downwards, this creates the impression of a discussion if read across. If the poem is read downwards then this reinforces the distance between them as it looks like two separate monologues. It is almost like the poet trying to get the point across that whichever way you read it the same thing has broken the relationship yet in no way, shape or form can it be mended. It shows the unplanned route in the relationship and the ups and the downs that the relationship may have had. In ‘Valentine’ however, although the poem is in a neat line down the middle of the page, there is no structure to each individual stanza. The way the poem is presented on the page leads me to believe that there is not an argument within this poem, just a series of observations about love, how simple it can be if honesty is key and how they have similar features of an onion i.e. can make you cry.

The imagery in ‘Our Love Now’ is quite vivid and painful. For example, ‘red burnt flesh’. This could suggest that the thing that has gone wrong in their relationship is ugly as well. It also mentions that ‘the skin remains bleached’ this could be telling us that their relationship has been stained and will never reversible, even over time. In ‘Valentine’ the imagery is a bit less vivid and more creative. I.e. a ‘fierce kiss’ that doesn’t sound repulsive or unhappy, it sounds exciting and like it’s giving the reader hope about love.

Although there doesn’t seem to be a rhyming structure in ‘Our Love Now’, each stanza starts with either ‘I said,’ or ‘She said,’. This draws attention to the lack of closeness between them and the bond that they would need to make the relationship successful once again. This poem shows the differences between men and women, whereas men can let things slide and just move on, women can’t. They get affected more emotionally than men (normally). The flow in ‘Our Love Now’ seems to be quite controlled, this suggests that although the couple have their differences, they are discussing it and trying not to lose their cool. The fact that the pace is kept so even is because of the lack of rhyme, also the fact that there is only 2 examples of alliteration help – “skin slowly” and “scab of the scald”. In ‘Valentine’ there is no rhyme structure again, however there is an ongoing metaphor. The onion. It is sharp and to the point, no hanging around it says what it is and gets on with it. My personal opinion is that the way the poem is written, non argumentative and simply making observations, is the way that Duffy feels all relationships should be, no secrets and therefore no arguments, just honest and to the point.

Several poetic terms are used throughout both of these poems, for example, alliteration is used in both. In ‘Our Love Now’ it is ‘skin slowly’ which makes the speed you’re saying the words slow down almost to emphasise the poets point. In ‘Valentine’ it is a ‘cute card’. This makes it sound innocent almost like their partner can do no wrong. However, the way that this sentence is placed on the page makes it sound like it could be sarcastic almost; it is just a singular line in the middle of the page. Another example of a poetic device would be metaphors. In ‘Our Love Now’ two of the main metaphors is ‘wound’ and ‘scab’. This is ongoing and suggests emotional damage with the two different perspectives mentioned in the first paragraph. Although ‘wound’ and ‘scab’ are the main two metaphors in this poem, all other metaphors relate to cuts and wounds. Personification is also used within ‘Valentine’. It is used on several occasions; an example of this would be “It will blind you with tears like a lover”. This is referring to the onion being Duffy’s symbol of love and that although love can be like ecstasy, it can also be heartbreaking. Another example would be “It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief”, this again is referring to how hard love can be.

In ‘Valentine’, Duffy compares an onion to the moon. This gives the reader a sense of hope and light. In spite of this, there is also certain negative connotations within the poem, the onion can ‘blind you with tears’, be ‘possessive’ and can be ‘lethal’. This poem is written in first person and it’s almost like the reader is listening in to a private conversation between the couple, as she is directly addressing her beloved. It is written very informally as it uses words and phrases such as ‘here’ and ‘take it’.

In ‘Our Love Now’ you can tell that the female in the relationship is very dismissive of the relationship and has given up on the chance of fixing it as in the final stanza, one line is “The tree is forever dead. Such is our love.” This suggests that no matter how much the male begs her and tries to win her back, that’s it, it’s over. In the male’s stanzas however, he only mentions the word ‘love’ twice, in the same sentence. Instead, he focus’ on the relationship and beauty and how the breach in their relationship can be mended. This suggest that if he was able to win back his female partner he would focus on making the relationship right and building up the trust again rather than focusing on the love still being there, that can always be reinstated later in the relationship.

At one point in ‘Valentine’ Duffy mentions “like the careful undressing of love”, immediately this gives you deliberate sexual associations but I personally think it mentions this because of the onion and how you peel the layers away. The poem also mentions “platinum loops that shrink to a wedding ring”, the platinum loops relate to the individual layers of an onion, therefore the loops link to a wedding ring, linking to the theme of the poem, love.