Before you were mine by Carol Ann Duffy
Before you were mine
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'Before you were mine' is a poem written by Carol Ann Duffy. It’s a
retrospective poignant dramatic monologue, which tells us about her
mother's life ten years before Duffy was born. The title suggests that
it's a love poem which shows the strong mother and daughter
relationship that they had. The poem starts off with a positive image.
"…laugh on with your pals Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff…". This shows
us that before her mother had children, she was living a very
interesting and cheerful life. Duffy moves on by describing her
mother's romantic character. "…the fizzy, movie tomorrows…". The fact
that her mother used to go to the movies late at night suggests that
she used to go with a lover, which is a very passionate image.
However, she also had a disobedient side to her "…your Ma stands at
the close with a hiding for the late one…". This shows that Duffy's
mother used to come home late at night and used to get beaten by her
mother, which portrays her rebellious nature. Duffy says...
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