Good+poetry

For EACH of the texts, analyse how language techniques helped you understand ONE or MORE main character(s) or individual(s)

When introduced to Simon Armitage unusual sonnet ‘I Am Very Bothered’, the reader is presented with an intriguing persona. We are shocked by his actions, for on the surface his motives for the cruel and unnecessary violence appear somewhat ambiguous. Harper Lee once said, “You can never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”; a wise comment that holds much relevance when read in the light of Armitage’s poem and ‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy. Skilful intertwining of language techniques such as imperative commands and first person narration throughout both poems create profiles of the personas for us, and we are left with the uncomfortable realisation that their actions can be seen as justifiable when compared with our own understandings and experiences of the complex emotion that is love.

On the surface, ‘Valentine’ appears to be an atypical love poem, with an onion as an unusual Valentines gift its central subject. However, the onion is more than a gift; it is an extended metaphor for love, showing us the poem is an exploration of its complexities. Duffy uses first person narration in an attempt to convey the intense passion of the relationship to the reader. ‘Valentine’ appears to be the middle of an argument between the persona and their lover as it opens with “Not a red rose or a satin heart”. The persona then directly addresses us with “I give you an onion”. We soon come to realise that the inclusive pronoun of “you” is not in fact referring to the reader, but her lover; we are merely omnipresent spectators watching the drama unfold. This is an effective technique employed by Duffy as she positions us to connect with the persona, yet allows us to still be detached enough that we can form our own judgements on the nature of the relationship. Armitage also uses first person narration in a similar manner, allowing the persona to illustrate his feelings to us even though he is addressing the young girl that he “branded”. However, ‘Very Bothered’ differs from ‘Valentine’ in that there is not just the persona’s story being revealed, but his victim’s as well. In a few chilling words we see the impact the persona’s callous actions have had on her life, as she was “marked...for eternity”. These words create a very negative atmosphere; we see the damaging consequences of what the persona did that will remain with the girl for life. Therefore “marked…for eternity” can be seen as not just physical scarring but emotional as well; the burn will be a constant reminder of the persona for his victim, highlighting the very negative theme of possession that runs below the poem’s surface. After hearing the victim’s side of the story and combined with the personas’ glorified first person narration of the incident, the fact that he was “very bothered” about it gives the reader an understanding of his disturbed mind.

While the form of narration provides us with an understanding of the personas, it is the imperative commands used in both poems that are the clear turning points. They make the reader feel uneasy as we are introduced to the negative sides of the personas. Duffy uses short sharp commands like “Here” and “Take it”; words that can carry quite negative undertones. Duffy uses them so that the reader can formulate their own perspective on the poem depending on their own personal experiences with love. The commands can be read with a tone of desperation; seen as a plea from the persona to her lover for her to try to accept the token of love. When viewed in this light, the reader sympathises with the persona, for the gift is her way of clinging on to a relationship that obviously holds an immense amount of significance to her. However, the commands can also be interpreted as having very negative connotations, showing forceful, possessive and demanding side of the persona. These views are enhanced with minor sentences like “lethal” and “cling to your knife” – both very negatively connoted, suggesting violence will end this argument, so we fear for the persona’s lover. Through the imperative commands we can see the intense emotions running through the persona as they progressively build in intensiveness over the stanzas. The fact that Duffy changes the tone in the second half of ‘Valentine’ by using negatively connoted words like “lethal” and “knife” suggests that she wants the reader to see the negative persona rather than empathise with them, but still allows us to interpret the imperative commands in both ways based on our own experiences. Armitage’s use of imperative commands is crucial to our understanding of his poem, as the single sentence “Don’t believe me please” proves to be the turning point in the poem; allowing us to question the persona’s ulterior motives. The whole poem has been an apology to his victim up until this point, and the reader has been inclined to believe him. However, once seen in the light of the imperative command, the reader can see the dishonesty of the persona. He is insincere, for his actions were deliberate and pleasurable for him; he enjoyed leaving his “brand” upon his victim’s skin for it was his way of possessing her. It was not “his butterfingered way” of asking her to marry him like he states and this evil, premeditated act was undertaken to give him the sense of power over another human being that he obviously craved. Armitage’s skill at crafting his writing is shown to us through this imperative command, as this small literary technique proves to be the catalyst for our entire understanding of the poem and the persona’s actions.

The personas in ‘I am Very Bothered’ and ‘Valentine’ are both different, yet very much the same. It is through Armitage and Duffy’s clever crafting, weaving in first person narration and imperative commands, so that we are able to see how love can be possessive and all consuming. Both poets present us with two very different ways of interpreting their poems; leaving it up to us to use our personal life experiences to mould our understanding of them. However, whether we feel empathy for them or see them as disturbed will not change the fact that the poets have created two memorable personas whose “scent will cling to your fingers” “for eternity”.