Before you were mine Carol Ann Duffy Objectives

Before you were mine Carol Ann Duffy

Objectives To explore what the speaker thinks of herself and her mother To be able to comment on the use of language and structure within the poem.

Starter What did you parents do before you were born? Have you learned anything interesting about their pasts?

Context The poem was written when Duffy found an old photograph of her mother with her friends before she was born.

Before You Were Mine Read through the poem twice. As you read it through, think about the difference between the mother’s life before and after the poet was born. What changed? The poem

Before we begin… What does the title of the poem tell us about the poet’s relationship with her mother? What is the overall mood of the poem?

Stanza 1 What did the poet used to do in her younger days? What is the significance of the last line? How does the poet see her younger mother?

Stanza 2 What does the line ‘in the ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy, movie tomorrows the right walk could bring home’ mean? What would her mother do if she was late home? Did she care?

Stanza 3 What does the first line of this stanza tell us about how the speaker saw herself as a young child? Why are the red shoes ‘relics’? What does the metaphor ‘your ghost clatters towards me…’ mean?

Stanza 4 What s the significance of ‘cha cha!’? What does ‘stamping steps from the wrong pavement’ refer to? What is it telling us abut the poet’s mother’s life? Does the poet blame herself for how her mother ended up? What do the last three lines mean?

Pronouns The poet uses ‘I’ and ‘You’ throughout the poem. First person makes the reader feel more involved. But who is the poet speaking to?

Structure The poem is written in present tense as if many of the events are happening now. Why did Duffy choose this method?

Assessment Answer the following question: Explore the ways that Carol Ann Duffy reflects on her mother's past and shows her affection for her in Before You Were Mine.