Poetry
Critical Essay Questions
2001-2006
‘Valentine’
by
Carol Ann Duffy
Pupil Unit
Includes Formative Assessment
Strategies
Poetry
Critical Essay Plan
 2001 Q13
‘Valentine’
by
Carol Ann Duffy
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
2
Higher English 2001 Question 13.
Choose a poem on the subject of love.
Show how the poet treats the subject, and explain to what extent you find
the treatment convincing.
In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of:
theme, imagery, form, tone, or any other appropriate feature.
*****
There are 2 parts to the question above:
1. Show how the poet treats the subject (of love)
2. explain to what extent you find the treatment convincing.
You must ensure that you address both parts in your answer.
*****
Your plan should be very detailed and should indicate…



what you will write about in the Introduction
Topic Sentences for each paragraph
What you will deal with in each paragraph (There is no need to
copy out all the information from the Tables and mini-essays as
long as you have indicated that this is where you will find the
information).
what you will write about in the Conclusion

Remember you must…



show Understanding of the central concerns/themes of the
poem
Analyse and Evaluate the techniques used by the poet
make your Personal Response to the ideas and/or techniques
very obvious in each paragraph
Plan
Title of text and poet
The subject – love - the central idea is that the speaker is
trying to be honest about their feelings – persona mainly
uses positive aspects of love symbolized by the onion at start
of poem – as poem progresses imagery/word choice/SS/ tone
become much more brutal, even threatening because the
persona’s gift has been rejected.
Introduction How …? - uses techniques of imagery/word
choice/symbolism/structure/ tone
Convincing = believable – is the situation described in the
poem realistic/believable?
…explain to what extent you find the treatment
convincing. How far do you agree with the ideas expressed?
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
3
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4
Conclusion
Topic Sentence – must have idea that there should be
honesty/truth and that structure is important in showing
that the speaker’s attitude changes as the poem progresses.
(Look back at Focus of Close Analysis ‘How Duffy has
conveyed, through structure, that her speaker/persona who
offers the gift of an onion as a representation of their love for
their partner, becomes increasingly frustrated by their lover’s
rejection of the gift and eventually adopts a threatening
attitude.’)
Deal with aspects of structure eg Central line of poem/First
line of poem/last two lines
(Look back at your table and mini-essay.)
Remember to include your view on the degree to which you
find the ‘treatment of love is convincing’.
Topic Sentence – must have idea that there should be
honesty/truth and that imagery/word choice/tone/
symbolism before central idea is unfolded is fairly
‘positive’.
(Look back at Focus of Close Analysis ‘the positive aspects of
love conveyed in the poem and how Duffy has conveyed her
speaker’s positive attitude through imagery, word choice and
symbolism.’)
Deal with 3/4 examples of ‘positive’ imagery and word choice.
(Look back at your table and mini-essay.)
Remember to include your view on the degree to which you
find the ‘treatment of love is convincing’.
Topic Sentence – must have idea that there should be
honesty/truth (treatment of love is convincing)/that the
attitude of the persona has changed and that
imagery/word choice/tone after central idea is unfolded
is brutal/violent/suggests aggression.
(Look back at Focus of Close Analysis ‘the negative aspects of
love conveyed in the poem and how Duffy has conveyed,
through imagery, word choice and tone, that her
speaker/persona becomes increasingly frustrated by their
lover’s rejection of the gift of the onion and eventually adopts
a threatening attitude.’)
Deal with 3/4 examples of ‘aggressive’ word
choice/imagery/tone.
(Look back at table and your mini-essay.)
Remember to include your view on the degree to which you
find the ‘treatment of love is convincing’.
 Sum up what you have written in your essay. (Use
words of task and Topic Sentences from the body of
your essay.)
 Personal Response should be restated
 There should be no ‘new’ ideas in the conclusion.
 Quotes should not be used in the conclusion.
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
4
Critical Essay
 2001 Q13
Model paragraphs
 Introduction
 Paragraph 2
‘Valentine’
by
Carol Ann Duffy
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
5
Critical Essay - 2001 Q13
Model paragraph – Introduction
Your introduction should state what you are going to write about in the
Critical Essay – basically, it should shape the structure of your essay
indicating the subject of the paragraphs you intend you include and reveal
your opinion on whether or not you find the poet’s treatment of the subject
(love) is realistic/believable.
Get straight to the point!
Indicate the ideas you will write about (U).
Identify the techniques you will write about (A) & (E).
Make clear your point of view. (PR)
In ‘Valentine’, Carol Ann Duffy deals with the subject of
love in a rather unconventional way which I thought was
very realistic. The central idea of the poem is that
people should be honest and truthful about their
feelings for each other. Duffy uses a persona who has
offered an onion to their lover instead of a conventional
Valentine gift. The lover, however, despite the speaker’s
attempts to justify this unusual symbol of their
feelings, rejects the gift. As the poem progresses, we
see the speaker becoming more irritated and frustrated
by their lover’s refusal to accept the onion. Duffy has
used the structure of the poem to indicate the
speaker’s changing attitude to love; to reflect this
change, the imagery, word choice, sentence structure
and tone become much more brutal until, in the final
lines of the poem, the persona resorts to the language
of threat.
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
6
Model paragraph – Structure
Get straight to the point in your Topic Sentence!
Show your knowledge of the text (U).
Identify the techniques you will write about (A) & (E).
Make clear your point of view. (PR)
Keep the question in mind – refer back to the task.
(Relevance)
Duffy has conveyed through the structure of her poem and
effective sentence structure that her speaker’s attitude towards
love changes as the poem progresses. The persona becomes
increasingly frustrated by their lover’s rejection of the gift of the
onion (which represents their relationship) and eventually adopts a
threatening attitude. Duffy has chosen to place the central idea
right in the middle of of the poem. The speaker has dismissed
conventional symbols of love in an effort to show their partner
just how much love they feel for them. The speaker is very
open and frank – they simply want to show their partner that
there is no dishonesty in their feelings:
‘I am trying to be truthful.’
This line is a very direct statement – a simple sentence.
Before this line the persona has spoken of their love in mainly
gentle terms which shows the sincerity of their feelings. Yet,
after this line, despite the sincerity of the sentiments
previously expressed, the language of the speaker becomes
more brutal, more threatening thus reinforcing the speaker’s
truthfulness. By the use of the first person, Duffy conveys
that the speaker feels very strongly that they want honesty in
their relationship. In the first line of the poem the speaker
immediately dismisses conventional symbols of love:
‘Not a red rose or a satin heart.’
This verbless sentence is a clear indication that the treatment
of the subject of love is not going to be what we expect. The
fact that the word ‘not’ starts the sentence makes it obvious
that there is no doubt that the persona does not wish to show
their feelings through overly sentimental, conventional
symbols. This idea is repeated in a similarly structured line:
‘Not a cute card or a kissogram.’
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
7
Repetition reinforces the speaker’s sincerity and desire to be
truthful. I thought this was entirely convincing as I feel that
Valentine cards and gifts are insincere expressions of our
emotions; many people look for different ways to demonstrate
their devotion and the persona has done exactly that. Yet, as
the lover rejects the gift, the speaker insists on trying to
make them accept it:
‘Here.’
‘Take it.’
The speaker is challenging the person they are talking to.
The tone of these commands is forceful almost aggressive –
there is no room for compromise. The speaker is irritated and
angered by their partner’s rejection of the gift; each command
is a short, direct statement on a line on its own which
reinforces the speaker’s insistence, indicating that they are
desperate for the lover to accept the gift and understand
their feelings. Duffy’s use of the first person helps to
communicate strong feelings to me, as I can imagine a real
person speaking and offering the gift of love – of an onion – to
a lover. The speaker, overwhelmed by the rejection of the gift,
resorts to threatening, almost violent language:
‘Lethal.’
This verbless sentence, a one-word line, uttered, I am sure, in
an aggressive tone, suggests that the speaker may, if
necessary, resort to violence to keep their lover. The final
lines of the poem state quite clearly that powerful love is very
difficult to forget and may lead you into dangerous situations
where the final outcome may be brutal or violent:
‘Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.’
Here there is a very strong sense of menace and this is a very
effective concluding statement. The smell of the onion is
strong and difficult to erase, just like the memory of a deep
relationship may last after the relationship itself has ended;
Duffy’s word choice - ‘knife’ - indicates that the speaker
threatens violence in the final line. This is very believable –
realistically, this situation could occur when one partner feels
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
8
that the other has rejected or slighted them. The speaker’s
mood, in a few short lines, has changed quite dramatically from
tenderness, through irritation, to threat thus showing that
love can take many forms. Duffy has effectively structured
this poem and used sentence structure to show the persona’s
changing mood and attitude to love.
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
9
Poetry
Peer and Self-Assessment
Formative
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
10
Peer and Self-Assessment - Formative
How did you get on? Working with a partner, use the checklist below to
assess whether or not you have included all necessary information in your
Critical Essay. (Look back at your Plan, tables and mini-essays.)
There are 2 ways to use the checklist. Either (1) write down the evidence
from your Critical Essay and what you need to improve in the boxes below or
(2) use the key provided to highlight where the evidence can be found on
your Critical Essay. The second method allows you to see at a glance where
there are weaknesses to be addressed.
If you have followed the advice given in this booklet, you should have very
little to improve in your Critical Essay.
Evidence from
your essay…
Is it answering the
question asked? – The
question will ask for 2/3
main areas. Have you
structured the response
round these demands?
Relevance is the key
word!
Are there topic sentences
which relate to the task
and to the main areas
covered in the paragraph?
Have you shown
knowledge of the central
concerns (U) of the text?
Have you used relevant
quotes?
Is there evidence of
analysis (A)? Have you
used critical terminology?
Is there evidence of
evaluation (E)?
Is there evidence of
personal response (PR) to
the techniques and/or
ideas?
Have you referred back to
the task – followed a ‘line
of thought’ in every
paragraph?
What I need to
improve…
Grey
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Brown
Grey
Selected Poems for Higher English – Pupil Unit
Critical Essay Questions 2001-2006
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
11