Before you were mine-- Carol Ann Duffy

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  • Before you were mine
    • Stanza 1
      • "from the corner you laugh on"
        • auditory imagery prosodies highlights fun of mothers youth and previous self.
      • "Marilyn"
        • Exciting language. Compares her mother with Marilyn Monroe. However it could foreshadow unhappiness as Marilyn commited suicide.
      • "polka-dot dress"
        • Indicates a bold fashion style. Theme of vintage.
    • Stanza 2
      • "you reckon it's worth it"
        • Consequences for her behaviour- could indicate that the night of fun was worth having a child.
      • "I knew you would dance"
        • Shows relationship between mother and child
      • "the thought of me doesn't occur"
        • possesive language- hints at jealousy
    • Stanza 3
      • "high-heeled red shoe, relics"
        • Alliteration of "h" word indicates treasured possession. A symbol of the mothers past and freedom.
      • "till I see you,clear as scent"
        • Synathesia
      • "ghost clatters toward me"
        • Highlights how different her previous life was and how she won't return to it.
    • Stanza 4
      • "Cha cha cha" "sparkle" "waltz" "laugh"
        • semantic field of dancing showiing freedom and carefree live before children
      • "before I was born"
        • Repeating the difference between now and then. Caesura shows childs birth was a turning point (volta)
      • "stamping stars from the wrong pavement"
        • Alliteration- sense of her mothers defiance and energy. Pavements show a link to the past. "Wrong pavement" could indicate the wrong decisions she has made
    • Themes: Time/Childhood memories/family relationships

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