Informal term – shows she was a relaxed person The first three stanzas each start with a reminder of the distance in time between the narrator’s birth and her mum’s youth and fun Sensory description (sound) – verb – the present tense is used to talk about an event in the past. This creates a vivid image – the speaker could be imagining it or looking at a photo Verb – childhood delight Suggests energy and exciting possibilities – she may have hoped for a life like an actress. It also suggests she had attention This could a hint of possible jealousy The speaker compares her to Marilyn Monroe – she was a glamorous and desirable film star, but also a tragic figure who died at
- Foreshadows unhappiness to come
Conversational tone – attempt to reconnect with her mother Sensory description (sound) – speaker was a demanding baby The speaker’s mum had freedom before she was born, but she was also restrained by her own mother. She wasn’t scared of the consequences of enjoying herself Metaphor/noun – sacred religious objects from the past – the mother’s glamour is precious, but ‘ghost’ highlights that it is in the past and won’t return Relics are associated with Saints. Saints are associated with sacrifice – she admires her mother as she sacrificed her freedom for her The mother is teaching her daughter – the one who was taught is teaching The speaker might have regretted her mother’s maturity and possibly wanted her mother as the ‘bold girl’ Suggests that the mother might have made the wrong choice in life.Alliteration – stresses her mother defiance and energy Positive Verbs/Repetition of ‘and’ – emphasises how many energetic qualities the speaker has to describe her mother Emphasises that the speaker’s birth was a turning point in her mother’s life Pronoun – suggest the speaker did not discuss the mother’s past The speaker is combining imaginations and memories of her mother to remember her Possessive tone – repetition – emphasises the difference between then and now 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.Carol Ann Duffy The mother loved her freedomSimile – the speaker’s imagination is so vivid, she can smell her mother
Comapre With:
Eden Rock Follower Mother, Any Distance Walking Away
Themes:
Past Memory Regret Mother/Family
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