Romantic Relationships

“Valentine” by Carol Ann Duffy vs. “Onions” by William Matthews

Titles are everything. The first thing that comes to mind as you see "Valentine" is love, romanticism, or a loving relationship. On the other hand when you hear "Onions" the thoughts won’t be as charming, but rather smelly and eye watering. These two poems have very powerful names but if the poem names were swapped they would fit the content of each poem better. The interesting title starts the imagination going but as you start to read the content the tables turn.

In the beginning of “Valentine,” the poet explains how they give their loved one an onion instead of “a red rose or a satin heart.” The poet then identifies all the qualities an onion has. When comparing a relationship to an onion it could go two ways; one way the relationship gets better as time goes on and the layers come back, or the relationship could start exposing more truths as the layers peal back. After reading this poem, I would guess the poet’s relationship has seen years of hard times and sadness and in the end it doesn’t have enough positives to save the relationship. The hints of destruction are most in the last stanza when the poet states, “Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.” If the poet would have mentioned just the scent of the onion without using the word Lethal before, the meaning wouldn’t have been as strong. But the poet’s word choice by involving a one-word sentence, Lethal, proved the destruction, pain, or exposure of an unhealthy relationship.

The poem “Onions” is quite different. It starts with the poet explaining how onions bring happiness to their relationship. They begin by cooking a wonderful dinner. Preparing everything and including diced onions. This poem as well identifies the characteristics of an onion, how it can bring tears but such happiness to someone who loves to cook with them. This relationship is much different from the previous poem. This relationship has grown as the layers pull back, the core of the relationship is exposed and as reading this poem you can feel the poet's love being expressed. The poet expands on the thought of the lingering smell of onions everywhere you touch. Instead of the smell of the lingering  onions being a disgrace, this smell lingers but brings happiness. Somewhat like smelling your spouse’s perfume or cologne and it bringing you happiness to smell that familiar scent. The poet identifies this smell but appreciates it and views it pleasantly. Lastly, the poem ends in a better note then the last. The couple eats dinner, washes the dishes, and then they go together to bed.

When comparing these two poems there are many similarities but differences that make them stand out from each other. Without a doubt the couple in “Valentine” had a destructive relationship but that the relationship was much older than the one in “Onions.” Maybe the couple had went through many years of rough patches and it was getting too tiring to keep trying at something they had both given up on. And the fresh relationship hasn’t experienced as much so they didn’t have as many battle scares to make them rethink their relationship. The reason I picked these two poems to compare is how two relationships can have one item bring such happiness and one bring such sadness. As well, both poems use the onion as an analogy toward their relationship. Yet, one relationship grew as the layers were pulled apart, and the other relationship tarnished with each peal.