Before you were Mine

Question 1

What type of poem is it?

Answer 1

Familial

Question 2

What are the key themes?

Answer 2

1. Guilt
2. Memories
3. Admiration
4. Growing up
5. Parent child relationship
6. Distance

Question 3

Key quotes for guilt?

Answer 3

“Before you were mine” - both the title and repeated in the poem, emphasis on the level of guilt speaker feels for ‘ruining’ mums life or changing her, before you belonged to me or before I controlled you, she feels like she’s controlling her mum and limiting her from living her life to its potential

“The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?” - as if speaker knows it’s true but just wants confirmation, “possessive” again suggesting mother is now being controlled or at least that’s how the speaker feels, she keeps repeating negative adjectives and verbs as if she’s a negative impact on the mum

Question 4

Key quotes for memories?

Answer 4

“My hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,” - relics suggest that the shoes hold great importance and are antique, have a memory and story behind them, fond memories, very detailed description, as if the speaker was there or feels like she was, has been a part of her mum for her whole life, trying to imitate mum, in awe of her, admiration

Question 5

Key quotes for admiration?

Answer 5

“Where you sparkle and laugh” - exciting and thrilling verbs, sparkles suggests she’s a light and a centre of attention, all the daughter can think of as it’s in the middle of all of her thoughts, contrasts with the “loud possessive yell” quote, shows the difference between mums life, in awe, wants to laugh like mum but instead feels guilty of stopping her mum from laughing or enjoying herself

Question 6

Key quotes for growing up?

Answer 6

“Marilyn.” & “Ghost clatters” - contrast, when you grow up you change, having children stops you from being lively and loved in the eyes of the speaker, full stop after “Marilyn” suggests that the speaker wants to take a moment and think of her mother in this way but the fact there isn’t one after “ghost clatters” suggests the speaker can’t bare to think about how her mum has changed

Question 7

Key quotes for parent child relationship?

Answer 7

“My loud, possessive yell” - children are demanding and take over the parents making them have the inability to be happy is how the speaker feels

Question 8

Key quotes for distance?

Answer 8

“Marilyn.” - full stop shows difference between mother in the past and her now, creates a physical pause and emphasises the gap and distance

“I knew you would dance / like that. Before you were mine,” - contrast with “dance” which suggests happiness joy and having fun and then “mine” which is very possessive and controlling, emphasising the gap between how the speaker sees that before her birth, her mother was free but now she’s almost trapped, the full stop and comma create an almost cage like structure - mother is trapped

Question 9

What can Before You Were Mine be compared to? Why?

Answer 9

Follower - both idolise parents but in follower, the speakers sees dad as a nuisance at the end but in before you were mine, the speaker feels bad for her mum