1. Before
You
Were
Mine
Carol Ann Duffy

2. Before You Were Mine
I'm ten years away from the corner you laugh on
with your pals, Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff.
The three of you bend from the waist, holding
each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement.
Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.
I'm not here yet. The thought of me doesn't occur
in the ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows
the right walk home could bring. I knew you would dance
like that. Before you were mine, your Ma stands at the close
with a hiding for the late one. You reckon it's worth it.
The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,
and now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square
till I see you, clear as scent, under the tree,
with its lights, and whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?
Cha cha cha! You'd teach me the steps on the way home from Mass,
stamping stars from the wrong pavement. Even then
I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello, somewhere in
Scotland, before I was born. That glamorous love lasts
where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine.

3. Title, Context & Tone Before You Were Mine
possessive
Writing about mother before Carol Ann Duffy was born.
Perhaps there is a certain guilt in taking some of the glamour away from her mom’s life.
Describing past events
Before You Were Mine
I'm ten years away from the corner you laugh on
with your pals, Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff.
The three of you bend from the waist, holding
each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement.
Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.
I'm not here yet. The thought of me doesn't occur
in the ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows
the right walk home could bring. I knew you would dance
like that. Before you were mine, your Ma stands at the close
with a hiding for the late one. You reckon it's worth it.
The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,
and now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square
till I see you, clear as scent, under the tree,
with its lights, and whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?
Cha cha cha! You'd teach me the steps on the way home from Mass,
stamping stars from the wrong pavement. Even then
I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello, somewhere in
Scotland, before I was born. That glamorous love lasts
where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine.
The speaker juxtaposes the excitement of her mother’s previous life with the life she has now.
She seems to feel that her mother’s life was better than it is now.

4. Form Before You Were Mine
I'm ten years away from the corner you laugh on
with your pals, Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff.
The three of you bend from the waist, holding
each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement.
Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.
I'm not here yet. The thought of me doesn't occur
in the ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows
the right walk home could bring. I knew you would dance
like that. Before you were mine, your Ma stands at the close
with a hiding for the late one. You reckon it's worth it.
The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,
and now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square
till I see you, clear as scent, under the tree,
with its lights, and whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?
Cha cha cha! You'd teach me the steps on the way home from Mass,
stamping stars from the wrong pavement. Even then
I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello, somewhere in
Scotland, before I was born. That glamorous love lasts
where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine.
Monologue-addresses mother
4 stanzas each of 5 lines
Frequent use of enjambment (one line run son to the next one); could represent stream of consciousness/thoughts about her mother.

5. Language Before You Were Mine
The time when she was younger, before she became a mother is shown as exciting and glamorous.
Before You Were Mine
I'm ten years away from the corner you laugh on
with your pals, Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff.
The three of you bend from the waist, holding
each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement.
Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.
I'm not here yet. The thought of me doesn't occur
in the ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows
the right walk home could bring. I knew you would dance
like that. Before you were mine, your Ma stands at the close
with a hiding for the late one. You reckon it's worth it.
The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,
and now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square
till I see you, clear as scent, under the tree,
with its lights, and whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?
Cha cha cha! You'd teach me the steps on the way home from Mass,
stamping stars from the wrong pavement. Even then
I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello, somewhere in
Scotland, before I was born. That glamorous love lasts
where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine.
These events take place in the past.
Reference to Marilyn Monroe indicates how glamorous she considers her mom
That part of her mom’s life is mostly in the past, though traces still remain.
She isn’t considering too far ahead in to the future; thinking only of near future.
Young, carefree attitude
‘possessive’ links in with title
Desire to be like mom
‘relics’ implies historical importance & value
love bite
Short sharp sounds have connotations of excitement.
Links to Hollywood Boulevard and Monroe; perceives mom as admired and iconic
Wants to know her mother before she was a mother
Zest for life remains
Her mom is seen as flirtatious

6. Imagery Before You Were Mine
I'm ten years away from the corner you laugh on
with your pals, Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff.
The three of you bend from the waist, holding
each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement.
Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.
I'm not here yet. The thought of me doesn't occur
in the ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows
the right walk home could bring. I knew you would dance
like that. Before you were mine, your Ma stands at the close
with a hiding for the late one. You reckon it's worth it.
The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,
and now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square
till I see you, clear as scent, under the tree,
with its lights, and whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?
Cha cha cha! You'd teach me the steps on the way home from Mass,
stamping stars from the wrong pavement. Even then
I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello, somewhere in
Scotland, before I was born. That glamorous love lasts
where you sparkle and waltz and laugh before you were mine.
Positive images show their carefree attitudes.
All eyes on her mom
All details of her past life and loves have been reduced to scents and marks; the few details and memories which remain.
Memory is hazy; perhaps she recognises her scent.
Links to diamonds and thus connotations of glamour & value.

7. Compare Poem Compare Contrast Homecoming, Simon Armitage
Both deal with relationships between children and parents.
Both use a shift in time; looking back on an event in the past.
‘Homecoming‘ has some negative views of the parents, whereas ‘Before You Were Mine’ remains positive throughout.
Mother Any Distance…, Simon Armitage
Deal with mother/child
relationships.
‘Mother Any Distance’ concerns breaking away from one’s parents. ‘Before You Were Mine’ seems more possessive
On my First Sonne, Ben Johnson
Both odes to relative they love.
Both suggests the speaker feels guilty for the fate/life of the person they are talking about.
‘On My First Sonne’ sees a man speaking about his son; in ‘Before You Were Mine’ the speaker is talking about a parent.
Song of the Old Mother, William Butler Yates
Both concern the contrasts between the lives of the young and the old; perhaps also suggesting the negative aspects of the latter.
‘Song of the Old Mother’ is from the mother’s perspective about her current life. The previous life of the mother in ‘Before You Were Mine’ is described by the child.