Before You Were Mine

Question 1

“holding

each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement”

Answer 1

Technique: enjambment
-Shows how continuous her laughter and happiness was.
-“shriek” which shows her excitement.
-Image of group having fun.
Reader sees that speaker’s mother was happy as a teen.

Question 2

“Marilyn”

Answer 2

Technique: metaphor
-Compares her mother to Marilyn Monroe who loved fun and was an icon for women around the world.
Duffy imagines her mother was also iconic.

Question 3

“I’m not here yet. The thought of me doesn’t occur”

Answer 3

Technique: pronouns
Uses pronouns I and me to substantiate her presence. Jealous tone.
Reader - speaker is jealous of her mother.

Question 4

“with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows”

Answer 4

Technique: hyperbole
-uses to show how busy it is; makes mum seem popular.
-“fizzy” suggests excitement and a buzz in the air.
Reader feels the mum had a busy, fun life.

Question 5

“I knew you would dance like that”
“in the ballroom”
“sparkle and waltz”

Answer 5

Technique: semantic field of dance
Dancing can signify joy and celebrations. This mirrors the mother’s lifestyle which is implied by the speaker.
Shows the energy and life the mother had.

Question 6

“The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?”

Answer 6

Technique: rhetoric question
-Questions whether her birth spoiled her mum’s fun.
-“possessive” shows the beginning of responsibilities being handed to her mother.
Reader sees a change in the priorities of the mother.

Question 7

“my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics”

Answer 7

Technique: colour symbolism

• “red” is symbolic of passion, love and energy.
• “relic” suggests it is historical and priceless.
• Related herself to the mother’s past again.

Question 8

“Cha cha cha! You’d teach the steps on the way home from Mass.”

Answer 8

Technique: onomatopoeia
-Makes the memory more realistic.
-Daughter is now also part of memories.
Reader feels like they are part of the poem/story.

Question 9

“Even then
I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello, somewhere
in Scotland, before I was born.

Answer 9

Technique: repetition
“before I was born” repeated a lot of times.
-Speaker wants her mum the way she was before her.
-Specific words show the closeness she feels to the memory.

Question 10

Rhyme scheme, form

Answer 10

• Free verse: carefree structure mirrors mother’s life before speaker was born. Allows to romanticise mother’s past.
• Lyric form - consistent stanza lengths reflect the consistency of time passing and the inevitable changes in relationships and responsibilities.