Before you were mine

Question 1

What are the themes?

Answer 1

Parental bonds, Admiration, Nostalgia, Guilt

Question 2

what are the tone?

Answer 2

Personal, Possessive, Reflective

Question 3

content, meaning and purpose

Answer 3

-The speaker describes the formative (young) years of
her mother, before she gave birth to the speaker.
-This ten-year period is described with the nostalgia of
a vibrant youth.
-The speaker has a deep admiration, with perhaps
hints of jealousy, for her glamorous and fun-loving
mother.
-There are then hints of guilt as the speaker describes
how her mother’s life was never the same after she
was born.

Question 4

Coxtext

Answer 4

-Carol Anne Duffy was born in 1955 in Glasgow. The
poem was published in 1993. I
-It is an autobiographical poem and makes reference
to the streets of Glasgow (George Square), conveying
her nostalgia for her home city.
-Duffy was made Poet Laureate in 2009.

Question 5

Language

Answer 5

-“the fizzy, movie tomorrow the right walk home
could bring”: ‘fizzy’ conveys the excitement of the
mother’s youth, and the prospect of a date at the
movies if she bumped into the right person.
-“those high-heeled red shoes, relics”: imagery of
shoes symbolise vibrancy of youth; they are now relics
– a piece of history, perhaps with spiritual significance.
-Possessive language: “mine”; “whose small bites on
your neck, sweetheart” inverts the maternal
relationship; “my loud possessive yell”. Conveys how
she owned, and perhaps hindered, her mother

Question 6

Form and Structure

Answer 6

-The first three stanzas refer to the ten years prior to
the speaker’s birth. Each stanza opens with a reference
to time.
-Imagery of streets and pavements is repeated
throughout the poem. This creates a personal and
nostalgic effect, and conveys the mother as a
streetwise and savvy young girl.
-Enjambment, caesura and free verse create a
conversational and anecdotal effect.