before you were mine

Question 1

decription of the poem

Answer 1

the narrator imagines her mother when she was younger having fun with friends.
the speaker says that her mother was happiest during ten years before she was born. she remembers glimpses from her childhood of her mum’s fun-loving past.
she remembers her mum teacher her dance
she realises that her mum was only really fun-loving and glamorous before she was born

Question 2

structure

Answer 2

the poem begins and ends with the mother on pavement– there’s a clear division between before and after the writter was born

Question 3

exciting language

Answer 3

“the fizzy, movie tomorrows”
a lot of the words and phrases used to describe how exciting, fun and glamorous the narrators mum life was before the narrator was born

Question 4

colloquial language

Answer 4

“whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?”
this is used to create an imaginary conversation with her mother– this shows that they have a close, familiar realtionship.

Question 5

admiration

Answer 5

admires her mums rebellious approach in life

Question 6

nostalgia

Answer 6

she wishes her mum was still fun-loving and carefree.
this is ironic- the child wants the version of her mother before the child was born, but this is impossible because the child wouldn’t exist

Question 7

self-critism

Answer 7

the narrator seems to criticise herself for taking away her mum’s freedom.