Discussing Valentine and I Wouldnt Thank You for a Valentine Essay

Discussing Valentine and I Wouldn't Thank You for a Valentine For this poetry assignment I will be discussing the poems â€Å"Valentine† by Carol Ann Duffy and â€Å" I Wouldn’t Thank You for a Valentine† by Liz Lochhead. The poets have similar views about relationships but express these views in contrasting ways. In order to analyse their contrasting styles it would be beneficial to look at their backgrounds. Carol Ann Duffy was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1955 but was brought up in Stafford, England. She worked as a free-lance writer in East London, and then she moved to Manchester where she currently teaches creative writing at the Metropolitan University. Collections include â€Å"Standing Female Nude† and â€Å"Selling Manhattan†. Liz Lochhead was also born in Scotland in 1947. She is a well-known Scottish poet, dramatist and performance artist. She began as a lecturer in fine art, but became a full time writer in the 70’s. Collections include â€Å"Memo for spring† and â€Å"The Grimm Sisters†. Both these poets’ backgrounds and upbringings are represented as Liz Lochhead uses Scottish dialectal words and phrases while Carol Duffy does not. Lochhead uses words such as â€Å"auld† and â€Å"canny†. This is not reflected in Carol Ann Duffy’s poem. This is possibly because she was brought up in England so had forgotten the Scottish dialect. The structure of â€Å"Valentine† by Carol Ann Duffy is not that of a regular poem. It is written in free verse and there is no obvious rhyme scheme or rhythm. The lines and stanzas are all completely different and there seems to be no pattern. This gives the poem a more personal touch and possibly shows that the poem was heartfelt and these thoughts were written down as the poet thought them. The lines... ...ould possibly offend a female reader is she is disapproving these ideas- when another lady may love it. For example if a man bought his girlfriend a diamond ring and proposed , Liz Lochhead is rejecting this idea â€Å"If you sent me a solitaire and promises solemn†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦you’d entirely fail to charm me , in fact I’d detest it†. This may put some people off this poem if they find these things sentimental. I find that I relate with Carol Ann Duffy’s â€Å"Valentine† better than â€Å" I wouldn’t thank you for a Valentine† because it has deeper meaning and seems to be more serious and has really came from the heart. Liz Lochhead’s poem still shows true feeling but she doesn’t present it as well as Carol Ann Duffy. Some people may look at â€Å"Valentine† and laugh because the poet is comparing love to an onion but when you read the comparisons they are very true and meaningful.