Before You Were Mine Flashcards
1
Q
Who wrote Before You Were Mine?
A
Carol Ann Duffy
2
Q
What can you say about the title, Before You Were Mine?
A
- possessive pronoun claims the subject with a guilt in taking her
- misleading as it presents itself as a romantic poem
- role reversal in daughter taking ownership of mother?
3
Q
‘Your polka-dot…
A
… dress blows around your legs. Marilyn.’
- allusion that connotes glamour and Hollywood through Monroe’s fame and iconic nature
- tragic loss of the star, hinting at tragic story of the subject?
4
Q
‘In the ballroom with…
A
… the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows’
- positive nostalgic imagery emphasises the youthful care-free promise that she had
- compounds glitz and glamour suggested in ‘Marilyn’
5
Q
‘I remember my hands in…
A
… those high heeled red shoes, relics’ and ‘on the way home from Mass’
- artefacts from the past and religious tradition, devotion, saints and remembrance?
6
Q
‘That glamorous love…
A
… lasts where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine’
- ends with the title creating complete and full atmosphere, as though the reader has come around full circle
- does Duffy memorialise her mother in the feeling of beauty and glamour?
- is ironic/sarcastic tone used to comment on the inevitable fate of women with dreams that are unfound and un-acted upon?
7
Q
Describe the structure in Before You Were Mine
A
- enjambement represents the freedom and liberty in the subject throughout
- caesura is used as a pause for reflection, but also as a separation of the before and after
e.g. ‘you would dance like that. Before you were mine’
8
Q
What are the themes in Before You Were Mine?
A
- changing relationships
- parent-child relationships (perspective of child)
- memory
- respect and admiration
9
Q
Which poems can you compare with Before You Were Mine?
A
- Follower
- Mother, any distance
- Eden Rock
- Walking Away
