Before You Were Mine Flashcards
Where is it set and why?
Glasgow - the poet was born there in 1955 and it shows her mother living in the city
It is written in present tense, even though it is set in the past
D - The speaker wishes she was there with her mother
“Marilyn”
I - The poet uses this to compare the speaker’s mother to Marilyn Monroe and her skirt is blowing like the picture of her
“thousand eyes”
D - there could be 500 people in the dance hall and everyone is looking at her because she is beautiful. The speaker could be imagining that everyone is looking at her mother because she idolises her
“bold”, “winking”
L - adjective, verb - speaker’s mother is presented as outgoing, extroverted and confident
“sparkle and waltz and laugh”
L - verbs - the mother is fun and happy
“stamping stars from the wrong pavement”
L - “stamping stars” - alliteration - the mother would teach the speaker how to dance on the pavement.
D - “wrong” pavement - the speaker thinks her mother should be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with stars in the pavement, she thinks her mother should’ve been a movie star
“I see you, clear as scent”
L - sensory imagery - the scene is more vivid and the speaker immerses herself in the imagination
“high-heeled red shoes, relics”
C - mother was a Catholic and they often worshipped Christian relics. The speaker worshipped her mother and the shoes are a relic of her
