before you were mine

“Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.”

• caesura comparing her mum to marilyn monroe, emphasise a separation between her mother in the past and then during Duffy’s childhood

• monroe committed suicide → reflect the unhappiness which was associated with Duffy’s birth 10 years later.

• Monroe was iconic and a symbol of glamour → female sexuality is intrinsically linked to a woman’s individual freedom

• theme of admiration

“in the ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows”

• “movies” → fiction and stories which contrast with the harsh realities of life she was subjected to when Duffy was born, and responsibilities of being a mother

• “fizzy movie” - figurative language reflects the energy and exciting possibilities of the mother’s partying youth, its possible she hoped to be a movie star.

• theme of admiration

“The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?”

• tone of regret that Duffy may have caused her mother to lose the carefree nature of her earlier life before her daughter was born

• “Eh” creates a rather conversational tone

• ‘loud possessive yell’ - narrator was a demanding baby, which shows that, from the moment of her birth, the mother lost her freedom.

form- intimate family relationships

• direct address - ‘im ten years away from the corner you laugh on’ - different perspective

• conversational tone- ‘ the thought of me doesn’t occur’ imagery, enjambment creates a sentimental mood → creates a tone of nostalgia

structure - acceptance and distance

• 4 regular stanzas, no rhyme scheme → presents composure to show her balanced emotions

• present tense verbs ‘ten years away from that corner you laugh on’ → suggests the mother’s vibrant nature suggesting a sympathetic acceptance