Funny Valentine: A Lesson Plan

Days have come and gone, yet Valentine’s hangover remains. And though things seem to have changed (bettered, some would dare say), the essence of a festive and romantic celebration echoes customs and folkways from the past. 

Valentine Day, or February 14, not only serves the means of myriad blighted couples’ so-called eternal flames to revive, to reignite for at least a couple of hours (mostly minutes!); also, it proves substantially beneficial to promote big companies to spread the message and send their finances soaring. Chocolates, postcards, sparkling wine and love songs on radio stations are among the top picks of the day. However, there is an increasing number of dissenters (seen on FB, for example) who are at odds with V Day and feel an urgent need to stop the nonsense. 

I have stood on both sides ever since I started dating. Back in the days, Valentine Day used to be a perfect excuse to eat out at a fancy upmarket restaurant or just to grab some takeaway and put the pans and stove to rest. With the passage of time, I started to harbor feelings of uncertainty and contempt for a tradition that I had never quite seemed to fully understand. At first you feel odd. Like a weirdo. You think you’re alone till you realize you’re not. 

And you’re not the only one holding such ideas. You find others thinking exactly the same. Friends, relatives, shopkeepers, poets… hundreds of people claim to think and feel the same (or so they say). So, I decided to make a move and speak my mind (and heart) in a place I knew I could possibly make a difference. And this is how it goes…

         Valentine

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.

It promises light

like the careful undressing of love.

Here.

It will blind you with tears

like a lover.

It will make your reflection

a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.

Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,

possessive and faithful

as we are,

for as long as we are.

Take it.

Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,

if you like.

Lethal.

Its scent will cling to your fingers,

cling to your knife.                                             Carol Ann Duffy (1993)

I don’t remember the day I came across this poem, but I’m dead sure it moved me and stirred me and made my guts churn. All this in the good sense, that’s for sure. A few years ago, I turned to it to put it in the program I had to teach at a university course in contemporary English poetry. We discussed it, talking about the tradition it comes from and the others it harks back to. Now, I’m taking it out of the realms of poetry aficionados to bring it into a less common learning scenario, where poetry has never been truly consecrated as an essential part of the subject: the language school.

How do I present the poem and how is it approached?

An answer to the first question is simple: make it your lesson plan when V Day is near or (as in my case) has just gone by. You can start with the poem straightaway or warm your students up a little with some lighthearted chatter about what V Day is, what it means to them, etc.

I normally approach this poem in similar ways with my advanced groups. Students practice the four main skills as well as a good deal of critical thinking that is involved to successfully do all the activities in an engaging and effective way.

If you ask me which presentation strategy is best, this is what I do:

Activity/Task	Procedure	Timing
Warm-up Discussion	T asks Ss to draw (individually) a heart and stick it on the board/wall. Ss compare drawings and T shows a real human heart. Ss compare and discuss why hearts are normally drawn in a way that look quite different to what they really look like. Whole class discusses symbolism of: heart (shapes), colors…	10 – 15’
Speaking & Pre-reading Activity	T writes or screens the opening lines of the poem “Not a red rose or a satin heart. / I give you”. Ss work in pairs or small groups to discuss what things are normally given away on V Day (according to their culture ideals). Then, Ss are encouraged to write a few sentences explaining which things they (would) give* their lovers. T asks Ss to report their ideas. *This brainstorming is always great to brush up on conditional sentences.	10’
Reading Activity (I)	T divides class in two (A + B) and gives out photocopies. As will only have the first ten lines with some gaps in words like onion, moon, promises, careful, blind, reflection and grief. Bs will be given the rest of the poem from line 14 on with gaps in words like onion, fierce, possessive, wedding-ring, lethal, knife. Ss work in their groups (pairs or small groups) and think of words to fill out the gaps. T reminds them of the importance of context and of co-text.	10 – 15’
Reading Activity (II) & Speaking	Ss pair up (A+B) and read their texts. T reads out the poem of plays it online, focusing on new vocabulary. Ss compare their answers to the poem and discuss it. Whole class discusses word choice and striking features in the text. T encourage Ss to provide some criticism to the meaning of the poem and the poet’s attitude(s) and intention(s).	20’

This plan enables teachers to finish up their lesson with a task that is relatable to the topic (some collaborative writing that goes online using Padlet or Blogger, presentations, Love 365…) or with extra discussion bites about the concept of love, consumerism, love and beauty, and a long etcetera. Another example in poetry to discuss love and the literary tradition of love poems can also be considered (check this analysis).

I hope you find this plan inspiring and that it is helpful to take one step forward in an attempt to make a difference in your day-to-day classroom practice 😊