Gnaw" this provides a very strong response from the readers as they can feel the pain the narrator is going through as her mistakes are gradually eating away her heart. Another poem by Carol Ann Duffy is Valentine, this poem's main idea is exploring the more truthful view of love and showing that love is not always forever and perfect and it may be hurtful and difficult at times however. Her poem is very misleading as most would expect a romantic valentine poem, however Duffy avoids the stereotypical views of valentines and compares love to an onion and uses harsh words like lethal nd grief.
This would lead readers to believe that she has been hurt in previous relationships. The poem starts off with 'not a red rose, or a satin heart' by this she is stating that she will not give her lover a clich© valentine present but instead she will give an onion. This is trying to suggest that people nowadays are being commercially influenced by the media and surrounding which loses the original purpose of valentines.Duffy brings back a more down to earth and practical view of love which is ery important because it allows the reader to understand what love really is and not just the commercial and fairy tale like love that are shown in the media so it will not mislead young people who are inexperienced in love and relationships. Carol Ann Duffy used an extended metaphor to portray the idea of love by comparing it to an onion.
Duffy's use of metaphor creates a different approach to love which is not romantic or traditional but realistic and honest.She shows that something invaluable and normal may also mean something of huge value. l give you an onion. It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
" In her first stanza she paints a soft image of love comparing onions with the moon wrapped in normal brown paper which is the skin of the onion and acts like a brown bag concealing the present rather than using fancy wrapping paper to disguise the object. As you peel off each layer of the onion skin what lies underneath is true love which is the light symbolizing happiness. It will blind you with tears like a lover" This projects the fact that your lover may make ou cry like an onion when you cut it, it may also show that love has the ability to blind the lover from reality and lead them into a false sense of fantasy love raising high expectations from their relationship and they may be disappointed after they really experience love. The second stanza is Juxtaposed with the first stanza as Duffy uses strong words like knife, lethal and fierce to show the power of love and the dangers of it, which can cause you pain, and grief.
In conclusion the idea of time having power over people in 'Mean Time' is an mportant idea because it allows the readers to see the importance of appreciating the time you have and not waste it, this was shown by the use of first person narration which enables the reader to experience the narrator's feelings which helps them understand the narrator's personal thoughts and ideas. In Valentine' the idea of real love was conveyed through the use of an extended metaphor comparing love to an onion which was unexpected and seemed humorous however it is a rather serious and truthful analysis of love.
