"Before You Were Mine" was written by the contemporary British poet Carol Ann Duffy, published in her 1993 collection Mean Time. The poem's speaker imagines her mother's glamorous, vivacious, fun-loving youth—all before her life was taken over by parenthood. The poem becomes a powerful tribute to the speaker's mother, and to mothers generally, highlighting the sacrifices they make for their children and arguing that there is more to them than motherhood.
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The Full Text of “Before You Were Mine”
The Full Text of “Before You Were Mine”
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“Before You Were Mine” Summary
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“Before You Were Mine” Themes
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Motherhood and Selfhood
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-20
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Before You Were Mine”
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Lines 1-2
I’m ten years ...
... and Jean Duff. -
Lines 3-5
The three of ...
... your legs. Marilyn. -
Lines 6-10
I’m not here ...
... it’s worth it. -
Line 11
The decade ahead ... best one, eh?
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Lines 12-15
I remember my ...
... your neck, sweetheart? -
Lines 16-20
Cha cha cha! ...
... you were mine.
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“Before You Were Mine” Symbols
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The Red Shoes
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 12: “I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,”
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“Before You Were Mine” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Maggie McGeeney”
- Line 6: “The thought”
- Line 7: “the thousand”
- Line 9: “mine,” “Ma”
- Line 12: “hands,” “high-heeled,” “red,” “relics”
- Line 14: “see,” “scent”
- Lines 17-17: “stamping star / s”
- Line 18: “somewhere”
- Line 19: “Scotland,” “before,” “born,” “love lasts”
- Line 20: “laugh”
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Line 5: “Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn.”
- Line 16: “Cha cha cha!”
- Line 17: “stamping stars from the wrong pavement.”
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Apostrophe
Where apostrophe appears in the poem:- Lines 1-5
- Lines 8-10
- Lines 13-15
- Lines 16-17
- Lines 19-20
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “ Maggie McGeeney,” “Jean”
- Line 4: “each,” “knees,” “shriek”
- Line 7: “the fizzy,” “movie”
- Line 8: “knew you”
- Line 11: “decade ahead,” “possessive yell,” “best”
- Line 12: “red,” “relics”
- Line 15: “lights,” “bites”
- Line 19: “lasts”
- Line 20: “laugh”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 2: “pals, Maggie”
- Line 3: “waist, holding”
- Line 4: “other, or,” “knees, and”
- Line 5: “legs. Marilyn.”
- Line 6: “yet. The”
- Line 7: “eyes, the fizzy, movie”
- Line 8: “bring. I”
- Line 9: “that. Before,” “mine, your”
- Line 10: “one. You”
- Line 11: “loud, possessive,” “one, eh?”
- Line 12: “shoes, relics,”
- Line 14: “you, clear,” “scent, under”
- Line 15: “lights, and,” “neck, sweetheart”
- Line 16: “cha! You’d”
- Line 17: “Mass, stamping,” “pavement. Even”
- Line 18: “Portobello, somewhere”
- Line 19: “Scotland, before,” “born. That”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Maggie McGeeney”
- Line 5: “dot dress blows,” “legs,” “Marilyn”
- Line 6: “not,” “yet,” “The ,” “thought,” “doesn’t”
- Line 7: “thousand eyes,” “fizzy,” “movie tomorrows”
- Line 9: “mine,” “Ma”
- Line 10: “one,” “reckon”
- Line 11: “decade ahead,” “loud,” “possessive yell,” “ was,” “ best”
- Line 12: “hands,” “high-heeled,” “red,” “ shoes,” “relics”
- Line 13: “ghost clatters toward”
- Line 14: “see,” “as scent,” “ tree”
- Line 15: “its lights,” “whose small bites,” “sweetheart”
- Line 16: “Cha cha cha”
- Line 17: “Mass, stamping stars”
- Line 18: “bold girl,” “winking in,” “Portobello,” “somewhere”
- Line 19: “Scotland,” “before,” “born,” “That glamorous love lasts”
- Line 20: “sparkle and waltz and laugh”
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Onomatopoeia
Where onomatopoeia appears in the poem:- Line 16: “Cha cha cha”
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Lines 11-15: “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?”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Line 14: “clear as scent”
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Synecdoche
Where synecdoche appears in the poem:- Line 7: “the thousand eyes”
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“Before You Were Mine” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Shriek
- Polka-dot
- Marilyn
- Close
- Hiding
- Clatters
- George Square
- Cha cha cha!
- Mass
- Portobello
- Waltz
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(Location in poem: Line 4: “shriek at the pavement”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Before You Were Mine”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Before You Were Mine” Speaker
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“Before You Were Mine” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Before You Were Mine”
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More “Before You Were Mine” Resources
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External Resources
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Motherhood in Poetry — Read a range of poems about mothers and motherhood. How do these compare with Duffy's version?
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The Poem Out Loud — Hear "Before You Were Mine" read aloud by the poet herself—accompanied by photos of her real-life family.
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A Short Biography of Duffy — Read some background on Duffy's life and work from the Scottish Poetry Library, and find links to more of her poems.
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Marilyn Monroe in The Seven-Year Itch — Watch the iconic Marilyn Monroe scene the poem alludes to in line 5—the very picture of 1950s glamor!
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Carol Ann Duffy in Conversation — Watch an interview with the poet from the Lincoln Review.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
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