Before you were mine

• Poet


  Carol Ann Duffy
• Poem dedication?


  Eulogy. It was a tribute to her mother written after her death. The poem is entirelyautobiographical
• Context


  Duffy was looking at old photos from her mother's glamorous youth. Her mother was a teenager in the 1950's post WW2 generation
• 1950's


  Peoplerejected the rigid restrictionsof parents and began an era of rock and roll with more relaxed sexual attitudes. This poem shows the spirited mother subtly exploring therelationships and conflictsof the time

  
• Marilyn Monroe


  Iconic, glamorous and tragic figure of the day

  
• Tone


  Told from the viewpoint of the poet who isomniscient and directly addressingher mother, creating apoignanttone. The tone is direct (I, me, my) and conversational and is full ofdramatic irony.
• Form


  The fourequalstanzas written inquintainshows therestraintof post war life and also represents theregularity of passing time--> mothers tendency to "break freefrom the shackles"
• Structure (3 main points)

  -Structured inblank verseswhich creates an underlying sense ofdisharmony.Fragments of memories are pieced together likevignettes/tableaus

  -Cyclical structureshown from the first pavement they're standing on and then the poem ending on the "wrong" pavement

  -Narrative structure. It is roughly inchronological order
• What does each stanza focus on

  Stanza 1 - her mother's teenage yearsStanza 2 - her carefree life on nights outStanza 3 - after the birth of the speakerStanza 4 - the speaker's childhoodTherigid,unfaltering structure of the poem could symbolise theorganisation of photosin an album
• "I" and "me"


  Intense
• "laughs" "sparkles"


  Are a moving concept which generates sympathy andpityfor the narrator

  
• "Marliyln" "cha cha cha" "ballroom" "movie"

  Poet uses asemanticfield of glamorous icons.Evocative sensory images idealise her mother
• "loud possesive yell" and "with a hiding for the late one"

  Poem juxtaposes the experiences of youth with growing old and having responsibilities
• Time frames


  The poem moves time frames shows how her life merges from one part to another

  
• "Stamping/winking/sparkle/waltz"


  Oral and Visual imageryto give specific details and allows the reader to picture thefiner detailsand the mother'smannerisms
• "eh?"


  Rhetorical question is informal and addsauthenticity. Shows motherly-daughter bond. The rhetorical questions seem to hep jog the mother's memory

  
• "you" "your"


  Personal pronouns. Duffy addresses her mother in the second person showing the dedication and understanding of the sacrifices made
• "thousand eyes"


  Figurative languageand thehyperboleshows mother's beauty. Reflects judgemental nature of the time perhaps referencing theprevailing attitudesof the time

  
• "Stamping stars from the wrong pavement"


  Sibilance is used to create a harsh image of anti-Hollywood by alluding to the lack of stars on her pavement. Itcontrasts the purpose and gift of her mother's lifein the opening stanza where she seems to be a hollywood icon

  
• Motherhood


  Poem explores motherhood and focuses on the sacrifices made.Synesthesiais used to show how motherhood has forced her to change
• "cha cha cha"


  Juxtaposesserious nature of mass.Dancing motifshows still elements of a carefree attitude.

  
• "small bites on your neck sweetheart?"

  Colloquiallanguage andRQcreate anoralandinformaltone

  
• "I'm ten years away"


  Asserts time and setting, almost foreboding in a way.