Poem 12 - Carol Ann Duffy - Before You Were Mine

Question 1

When was the poet born?

Answer 1

1955

Question 2

When was the poem published?

Answer 2

1993

Question 3

When did the poet become poet laureate?

Answer 3

2009

Question 4

What is the poem about?

Answer 4

The poem begins with the narrator looking at a photo of her mother having fun with friends. She then imagines her mother when she was younger, how she used to stay out late dancing and wasn’t put off by being told off by her mother. The narrator then says her mother was happiest during the ten years before her birth, and she remembers glimpses from her childhood of her mum’s fun-loving past. She remembers her mum teaching her to dance, and how she wanted her to be like this more often but realises that her mum was only truly fun-loving and glamorous before she was born.

Question 5

Describe the form of the poem.

Answer 5

The poem is made of four equal stanzas, each five lines long. The consistency reflects the constant passage of time and the inevitable changes it brings with it.

Question 6

Describe the structure of the poem.

Answer 6

The poem begins and ends with the mother on the pavement, in the beginning, the mother is laughing with her friends but at the end she is walking with her daughter. This emphasises the changes that time has brought, there is a clear division between the mother before the narrators birth and the mother afterwards.

Question 7

How has exciting language used in the poem?

Answer 7

A lot of words and phrases used describe how fun the mother’s life was before the narrator was born.

Question 8

How is possessive language used in the poem?

Answer 8

The speaker believes that, following her birth, she took control of her mum’s life and took away her freedom. This reverses the typical idea of children wanting to break free from their parents, since, in this poem, its the child stopping the parent having fun.

Question 9

How is colloquial language used in the poem?

Answer 9

The speaker uses colloquialisms to create an imaginary conversation with her mother, which suggests the two have a close relationship.

Question 10

What is the effect of “I’m ten years away” (Line 1), “I’m not here yet.” (Line 6) and “The decade ahead” (Line 11)?

Answer 10

Starting the first three stanzas in this way acts a reminder to the reader of the distance in time between the narrator’s birth and the mother’s youth.

Question 11

What is the significance of “you laugh on” (Line 1)?

Answer 11

The present tense is used to talk about a past event, which creates a vivid image, it is possibly an imagined scene or one from a photograph.

Question 12

What impact does “Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.” (Line 5) have?

Answer 12

The narrator compares her mother with the movie star Marilyn Monroe, she was a glamorous and desirable actress but also a tragic figure who committed suicide at 36, which may reflect unhappiness in the mother’s future.

Question 13

What is the significance of “The thought of me doesn’t occur” (Line 6)?

Answer 13

The speaker seems to possibly be jealous of the people who got to experience her mother’s fun nature before her birth.

Question 14

What is the effect of “the fizzy, movie tomorrows” (Line 7)?

Answer 14

The figurative language reflects the energy and exciting possibilities of the mother’s partying youth, its possible she hoped to be a movie star.

Question 15

What is the significance of “Before you were mine, your Ma stands at the close” (Line 9)?

Answer 15

The narrator sees her mother as being free before she was born, but she was also restrained by her mother.

Question 16

What impact does “You reckon it’s worth it.” (Line 10) have?

Answer 16

It shows that, before the speaker’s birth, the mother wasn’t afraid of the consequences of enjoying herself.

Question 17

What is the effect of “my loud, possessive yell” (Line 11)?

Answer 17

The narrator was a demanding baby, which shows that, from the moment of her birth, the mother lost her freedom.

Question 18

What is the significance of “relics,” (Line 12) and “ghost” (Line 13)?

Answer 18

Relics are sacred objects of the past, it shows how the mother’s glamour is precious to the speaker, but “ghost” shows that it has gone now and won’t return.

Question 19

What is the impact of “clear as scent,” (Line 14)?

Answer 19

The simile appeals to the senses, it shows how her imagination is so vivid that she can smell her mother.

Question 20

What is the effect of “whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?” (Line 15)?

Answer 20

It sounds like a parent chastising their child, but here the roles are reversed.

Question 21

What is the significance of “stamping stars” (Line 17)?

Answer 21

The alliteration stresses the mother’s defiance and energy.

Question 22

What is the significance of “wrong pavement.” (Line 17)?

Answer 22

It contrasts with “the right walk home” (Line 8), it’s possible that she feels she made the wrong decision in life.

Question 23

What is the effect of “I wanted the bold girl” (Line 18)?

Answer 23

As a child, the speaker wanted what she couldn’t have, her birth meant her mum couldn’t be “the bold girl” anymore.

Question 24

What is the effect of “before I was born.” (Line 19)?

Answer 24

The caesura emphasises how the speaker’s birth was a turning point in the mother’s life.

Question 25

What is the impact of “sparkle and waltz and laugh” (Line 20)?

Answer 25

The repetition of “and” emphasises the sheer number of energetic qualities the narrator thinks her mother had.

Question 26

What is the effect of “before you were mine.” (Line 20)?

Answer 26

Repeating this to finish the poem reemphasises the difference between then and now. It also develops the possessive tone by repeating the word “mine”.