16 pages • 32 minutes read
Naomi Shihab NyeValentine for Ernest Mann
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1994A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Valentine
In “Valentine for Ernest Mann,” the notion of a valentine, or a mailed letter or card expressing romantic affection becomes something deeper and more intimate, without the typical romantic associations. Nye rejects the superficial commercial affiliations her readership might have with the notion of sending a valentine and instead, through her use of the surprising first line “You can’t order a poem like you order a taco” (Line 1), establishes that the tone and purpose of this valentine will be unexpected and different and will explore new themes. This valentine symbolizes human connection, communication, and empathy. In the poem, Nye asks the recipient to reconsider the kinds of things he thinks of as beautiful or ugly, all the way from the sock drawer to the “person you almost like, but not quite” (Line 28). The valentine opens outward, encouraging a larger sense of community and solidarity. Similarly, when Nye describes the story in the third stanza of the man who gave two skunks as a valentine, she emphasizes the need to reconsider the valentine as something more profound. For the man in the poem, the valentine was a way of sharing beauty with his wife, even if she did not see it that way. The valentine represents a way of reconfiguring one’s view of the world, looking for beauty, intimacy, and community in unexpected places.
The Skunk
Nye uses the image of the skunk to symbolize unexpected beauty. In the story she tells of the man who gifted two skunks to his wife as a valentine because he “thought they had such beautiful eyes” (Line 17). While a skunk is at best an unconventional valentine, the speaker muses on this man’s gift, noting that he is a serious person for whom “nothing was ugly / just because the world said so” (Lines 19-20). The speaker values the man’s way of looking at the world and his ability to bypass cultural expectations and see something independently of how the rest of the world views it. She sees this ability as “reinvention” (Line 21), and as a creative way to access poetry. The speaker says that poems had been “hiding / in the eyes of the skunks for centuries” (Lines 23-24), noting that the man’s ability to see beauty in the skunks allowed the poetry within them to emerge.
Ernest Mann
The boy to whom Nye addresses the poem, Ernest Mann, symbolizes community and the good intentions of humanity. In discussing the poem, Nye acknowledges that Ernest Mann was indeed the boy’s real name. Playing on the homophone of “earnest man,” Nye chose to use it in the title of the poem. In doing so, she immediately establishes a cheeky tone which plays well with the humor of the first stanza while also preparing the reader for the third stanza, and the “serious man” (Line 18) who is able to see beauty in an unencumbered, unfettered way. By noting Ernest’s good “spirit” (Line 5) in the second stanza, Nye establishes the good intentions of his request and notes that he is deserving of something in response; anyone who seeks out poetry is curious, and the act of seeking it out suggests a desire to be in relationship with other humans.
Related Titles
By Naomi Shihab Nye
