Source: https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/12-1-1-summary-structure-and-form [Revision notes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes.md) › [GCSE](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse.md) › [English Lit](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature.md) › [AQA](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa.md) › [English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Love & Relationships](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships.md) › Summary, Structure & Form # Summary, Structure & Form English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Love & Relationships, topic 12.1.1 ## Summary of _Before You Were Mine_ Carol Ann Duffy's poem _Before You Were Mine_ tracks the relationship of the poet's mother with her own mother. ### Background ![Background](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-03/3065b745-7985-4424-9ed1-6315cc2cc6e7/shutterstock_104905478.jpg) - Duffy was born in Glasgow in 1955. - Duffy was formerly the Poet Laureate. - This poem shifts between the past and the present in a fluid manner, encompassing both the life of Duffy’s mother in the past and their relationship in the present. ### Summary ![Summary](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-03/c6f733ce-4c92-4f05-80c9-c1016c04ef02/shutterstock_184667594.jpg) - The poem begins in an uncertain time frame – Duffy is in the present but she is looking at a photograph from the past of her mother with her friends. - The narrator goes on to imagine her mother’s life before she was born, informed by photographs and stories her mother has told her. - The narrator considers how her mother’s happiest years were in the 10 years before she was born. - The poem ends with the narrator’s own childhood, in which she fondly remembers her mother teaching her how to dance. ### Parental relationships ![Parental relationships](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-03/9120dcc9-55d4-4718-a023-57a6d6e5c862/shutterstock_520159816.jpg) - Duffy explores parental relationships in an innovative way in this poem – imagining her mother’s life before she had her and exploring what she gave up to be a mother. - Through this layered interpretation of her life, Duffy tries to imagine her mother as a whole person – beyond her role as a parent and care giver. - Duffy also recognises her mother's deep love for her – as she has given up these pursuits of her youth to care for her. ## Structure and Form in _Before You Were Mine_ Here are some key features of the structure and form in _Before You Were Mine_: ### Circular structure ![Circular structure](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-03/d20e1d40-f741-47dd-8e3b-6802a1478fa7/shutterstock_538824937.jpg) - The poem has a circular structure. - The narrator describes her mother on the pavement in both the first and last stanza. The difference is that, in the first stanza, the narrator was 'not here yet'. - A contrast is also drawn between the narrator's mother having fun and laughing with her friends, and then teaching her daughter how to dance. ### Playing with time ![Playing with time](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-03/3f6517cb-77b3-44c3-8fdc-0e2b49dd3425/shutterstock_156012833.jpg) - The poem is set out in four equal stanzas, showing the steady passage of time. - But within these stanzas, Duffy shifts from her present to her mother’s past – ‘I’m ten years away from the corner you laugh on’ and ’now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square’. - Past and present merge to create a portrait of her mother. ## Test yourself on Summary, Structure & Form - Summary of Before you Were Mine - Has Carol Ann Duffy ever been Poet Laureate? - What time frames does the poem _Before You Were Mine_ focus on? - How does Carol Ann Duffy create the circular structure in _Before You Were Mine_? [Practise this topic for free](https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/562992d0-2b85-11e8-949b-0fcba71f2ced/section/e29716c0-30d5-11e8-a183-dddca45157c0/session) - Previous topic: [11.1.4 End of Topic Test - Follower& Mother, Any Distance](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/11-1-4-end-of-topic-test-followerand-mother-any-distance.md) - Next topic: [12.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/12-1-2-themes.md) ## English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Love & Relationships contents ### 1 When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824) - 1.1 When We Two Parted Analysis - [1.1.1 Summary & Structure](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/1-1-1-summary-and-structure.md) - [1.1.2 Themes: Death & Loss](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/1-1-2-themes-death-and-loss.md) - [1.1.3 Themes: Time & Anger](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/1-1-3-themes-time-and-anger.md) - [1.1.4 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/1-1-4-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [1.1.5 End of Topic Test - When We Two Parted](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/1-1-5-end-of-topic-test-when-we-two-parted.md) ### 2 Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley - 2.1 Love's Philosophy Analysis - [2.1.1 Summary & Structure](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/2-1-1-summary-and-structure.md) - [2.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/2-1-2-themes.md) - [2.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/2-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [2.1.4 End of Topic Test - Love's Philosophy](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/2-1-4-end-of-topic-test-loves-philosophy.md) - [2.1.5 Exam-Style Questions - Love's Philosophy](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/2-1-5-exam-style-questions-loves-philosophy.md) ### 3 Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889) - 3.1 Porphyria’s Lover Analysis - [3.1.1 Summary & Structure](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/3-1-1-summary-and-structure.md) - [3.1.2 Themes: Porphyria & Violence](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/3-1-2-themes-porphyria-and-violence.md) - [3.1.3 Themes: Sin & Pathetic Fallacy](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/3-1-3-themes-sin-and-pathetic-fallacy.md) - [3.1.4 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/3-1-4-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [3.1.5 End of Topic Test - Porphyria's Lover](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/3-1-5-end-of-topic-test-porphyrias-lover.md) ### 4 Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) - 4.1 Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis - [4.1.1 Summary & Structure](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/4-1-1-summary-and-structure.md) - [4.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/4-1-2-themes.md) - [4.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/4-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) ### 5 Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) - 5.1 Neutral Tones Analysis - [5.1.1 Summary & Structure](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/5-1-1-summary-and-structure.md) - [5.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/5-1-2-themes.md) - [5.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/5-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [5.1.4 End of Topic Test - Sonnet 29 & Neutral Tones](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/5-1-4-end-of-topic-test-sonnet-29-and-neutral-tones.md) ### 6 Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957) - 6.1 Letters from Yorkshire Analysis - [6.1.1 Summary & Structure](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/6-1-1-summary-and-structure.md) - [6.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/6-1-2-themes.md) - [6.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/6-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) ### 7 The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928) - 7.1 The Farmer's Bride Analaysis - [7.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/7-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [7.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/7-1-2-themes.md) - [7.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/7-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [7.1.4 End of Topic Test - Dooley & Mew](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/7-1-4-end-of-topic-test-dooley-and-mew.md) - [7.1.5 Exam-Style Questions - The Farmer's Bride](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/7-1-5-exam-style-questions-the-farmers-bride.md) ### 8 Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972) - 8.1 Walking Away Analysis - [8.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/8-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [8.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/8-1-2-themes.md) - [8.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/8-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) ### 9 Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003) - 9.1 Eden Rock Analysis - [9.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/9-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [9.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/9-1-2-themes.md) - [9.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/9-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [9.1.4 End of Topic Test - Walking Away & Eden Rock](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/9-1-4-end-of-topic-test-walking-away-and-eden-rock.md) ### 10 Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013) - 10.1 Follower Analysis - [10.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/10-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [10.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/10-1-2-themes.md) - [10.1.3 Quotes and Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/10-1-3-quotes-and-comparisons.md) ### 11 ‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born 1963 - 11.1 'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis - [11.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/11-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [11.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/11-1-2-themes.md) - [11.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/11-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [11.1.4 End of Topic Test - Follower& Mother, Any Distance](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/11-1-4-end-of-topic-test-followerand-mother-any-distance.md) ### 12 Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955) - 12.1 Before You Were Mine Analysis - [12.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/12-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [12.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/12-1-2-themes.md) - [12.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/12-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) ### 13 Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974) - 13.1 Winter Swans Analysis - [13.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/13-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [13.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/13-1-2-themes.md) - [13.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/13-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [13.1.4 End of Topic Test - Duffy & Sheers](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/13-1-4-end-of-topic-test-duffy-and-sheers.md) ### 14 Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966) - 14.1 Singh Song! Analysis - [14.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/14-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [14.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/14-1-2-themes.md) - [14.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/14-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) ### 15 Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse - 15.1 Climbing My Grandfather Analysis - [15.1.1 Summary, Structure & Form](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/15-1-1-summary-structure-and-form.md) - [15.1.2 Themes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/15-1-2-themes.md) - [15.1.3 Key Quotes & Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/15-1-3-key-quotes-and-comparisons.md) - [15.1.4 End of Topic Test - Nagra & Waterhouse](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/15-1-4-end-of-topic-test-nagra-and-waterhouse.md) ### 16 Grade 9 - Comparisons - 16.1 Grade 9 - Comparisons - [16.1.1 Grade 9 - Comparisons](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/16-1-1-grade-9-comparisons.md) ### 17 Recap: Main Quotes - 17.1 Recap: Main Quotes - [17.1.1 When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-1-when-we-two-parted-lord-byron-1788-1824.md) - [17.1.2 Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-2-loves-philosophy-percy-bysshe-shelley.md) - [17.1.3 Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-3-porphyrias-lover-robert-browning-1812-1889.md) - [17.1.4 Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-4-sonnet-29-elizabeth-barrett-browning.md) - [17.1.5 Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-5-neutral-tones-thomas-hardy-1840-1928.md) - [17.1.6 Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-6-letters-from-yorkshire-maura-dooley-born-1957.md) - [17.1.7 The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-7-the-farmers-bride-charlotte-mew-1869-1928.md) - [17.1.8 Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-8-walking-away-cecil-day-lewis-1904-1972.md) - [17.1.9 Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-9-eden-rock-charles-causley-1917-2003.md) - [17.1.10 Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-10-follower-seamus-heaney-1939-2013.md) - [17.1.11 ‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-11-mother-any-distance-simon-armitage-born1963.md) - [17.1.12 Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-12-before-you-were-mine-carol-ann-duffy-born-1955.md) - [17.1.13 Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-13-winter-swans-owen-sheers-born-1974.md) - [17.1.14 Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-14-singh-song-daljit-nagra-born-1966.md) - [17.1.15 Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/poetry-love-and-relationships/17-1-15-climbing-my-grandfather-andrew-waterhouse.md)