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Discuss how Carol Ann Duffy uses contrast in this poem and at least one other to
highlight the poems’ main concerns.
Partial answer:
• The poems ‘Valentine’ and ‘Havisham’ both make use of contrast to defy the reader’s
expectations. They both initially seem to be about traditional love suggested by the title of
‘Valentine’ and the opening two words of ‘Havisham’ which are ‘beloved and ‘sweetheart’
but instead they go on to deal with the theme of love in a non-traditional way – Valentine;
bittersweet realistic love and Havisham; love has turned to hatred.
• The title ‘Valentine’ suggests a romantic poem because it has connotations of love and
soppy gifts but then the first line ‘Not a red rose or a satin heart’ – the word choice of ‘not’
creates a negative tone which contrasts with the title as it indicates that this is not a
traditional/romantic love poem.
• “I stabbed at a wedding cake” is contrast to what we expect to traditionally happen to a
wedding cake, the word ‘I’ we associate with singularity and traditionally both the bride and
groom would cut the cake, also there is contrast in the word ‘stabbed’ as traditionally it
would be gently sliced but instead here it is a violent attack. – Two more examples like this
should gain you the full ten marks.
Another example:
• Both the characters in ‘Havisham’ and ‘War Photographer’ have been disturbed due to past
experiences, and Duffy uses contrast to make this clear. In ‘Havisham’ it is contrast between
the feelings of past love and her hate now and in ‘War Photographer’ it is the contrast
between his peaceful home in ‘Rural England’ and the various places of conflict he visits.
• “Beloved sweetheart bastard” makes clear in the opening line of ‘Havisham’ that the
persona has mixed feelings – ‘Sweetheart’ a word traditionally associated with love and
affection is in strong contrast to ‘bastard’ an insult used and usually associated with those that
behave in a disrespectful way.
• The contrast in the photographer’s mood is made clear in the example “which did not
tremble then / though seem to now” – this contrast makes clear the difference in attitude that
the photographer has when in conflict zones where his hands don’t shake as he has to get the
photo taken accurately but now that he has the time to reflect on the photos he has taken – he
is affected emotionally, the placement of ‘now’ at the end of the sentence underlines this
point. – Two more examples like this should gain you the full ten marks.