12.1.2
Themes
Possession
Possession
Duffy suggests throughout Before You Were Mine that there is something possessive about a child's love for their mother.
Possessive language
Possessive language
- The poet uses possessive language to describe her mother, imaging that she belonged to her even before she was born – ‘Even then I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello.’
- Even the line used as the title, 'before you were mine' suggests irritation at a life before she existed.
- It shows the narrator's desire to possess her mother entirely.
Burden of motherhood
Burden of motherhood
- The poet presents motherhood as a burden. She describes her cries as ‘possessive’ because they take her mother's attention away from her past life.
The Past
The Past
Duffy uses several techniques to create a vivid memory of her mother's past, as imagined by her, in Before You Were Mine.
Excitement
Excitement
- The narrator describes her mother with exciting and glamorous language. For example:
- ‘sparkle and waltz’.
- ‘stamping stars’.
- ‘high-heeled red shoes’.
- ‘Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn’.
- There is also a lot of vivid, sensory imagery – which helps to bring these memories to life. For example:
- ‘clear as scent’.
- ‘shriek’ and ‘clatters’.
Narrator's creation
Narrator's creation
- There is a sense of artifice (deception) in the poem - Duffy is imagining her mother’s life before she was born as if she had seen it.
- ‘I knew you would dance like that’ – implies that Duffy is somehow transported in time to see her mother as she was.
- This is Duffy's vision of her mother's glamorous past as she hopes it might have been.
1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered