The British poet Carol Ann Duffy published "In Your Mind" in her 1990 collection The Other Country. Like many of the poems of this collection, "In Your Mind" explores the startling journeys people can undertake within their own imaginations. The poem's speaker describes mentally leaving behind a drab, rainy day at work in England in order to venture to some "other country," implied to be the place they grew up (or at least spent a chunk of their younger years). The poem suggests the powerful way that memory and imagination can transport people to bygone times and places, resulting in a poignant mix of emotions when the daydreamer must return to real life.
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The Full Text of “In Your Mind”
The Full Text of “In Your Mind”
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“In Your Mind” Summary
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“In Your Mind” Themes
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The Power of Memory and Imagination
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-24
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “In Your Mind”
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Lines 1-3
The other country, ...
... autumn in England, -
Lines 3-6
and in your ...
... in the sun. -
Lines 7-12
You know people ...
... into the sea. -
Lines 13-14
Sleep. The rasp ...
... the room yours. -
Lines 15-18
Of course. You ...
... the way home. -
Lines 19-22
Then suddenly you ...
... For a moment -
Lines 23-24
you are there, ...
... window. English rain.
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“In Your Mind” Symbols
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Rain
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “Its language is muffled by the rain which falls all afternoon / one autumn in England”
- Line 24: “And then a desk. A newspaper. A window. English rain.”
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“In Your Mind” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 5: “credit,” “card,” “coat”
- Line 6: “plane,” “past”
- Line 7: “people,” “faces,” “photographs”
- Line 8: “beautiful,” “boy”
- Line 9: “bar”
- Line 11: “No”
- Line 12: “Never,” “itself,” “sea”
- Line 13: “Sleep,” “rasp,” “wakes,” “wall”
- Line 14: “renders,” “room”
- Line 17: “Seagulls”
- Line 18: “scales,” “swap”
- Line 20: “blue,” “bridge,” “six,” “swans”
- Line 22: “town,” “turns”
- Line 23: “knowing,” “name”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Line 6: “The past fades like newsprint in the sun.”
- Lines 11-12: “A moon like an orange drawn by a child. No. / Never. You watch it peel itself into the sea.”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 10: “moon”
- Line 11: “moon”
- Line 15: “You,” “your job,” “left”
- Line 16: “left,” “You,” “your job”
- Line 19: “lost,” “lost”
- Line 21: “turns”
- Line 22: “turns”
- Line 24: “A,” “A”
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Parataxis
Where parataxis appears in the poem:- Lines 7-12: “You know people there. Their faces are photographs / on the wrong side of your eyes. A beautiful boy / in the bar on the harbour serves you a drink—what?— / asks you if men could possibly land on the moon. / A moon like an orange drawn by a child. No. / Never. You watch it peel itself into the sea.”
- Line 13: “Sleep. The rasp of carpentry wakes you.”
- Lines 15-18: “Of course. You go to your job, right at the old hotel, left, / then left again. You love your job. Apt sounds / mark the passing of the hours. Seagulls. Bells. A flute / practicing scales. You swap a coin for a fish on the way home.”
- Line 24: “And then a desk. A newspaper. A window. English rain.”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 7-8: “Their faces are photographs / on the wrong side of your eyes.”
- Line 12: “You watch it peel itself into the sea.”
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“In Your Mind” 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.
- Carpentry
- Rasp
- Renders
- Apt sounds
- Dawdling
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(Location in poem: Line 13: “The rasp of carpentry wakes you.”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “In Your Mind”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“In Your Mind” Speaker
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“In Your Mind” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “In Your Mind”
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More “In Your Mind” Resources
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External Resources
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A Synopsis of The Other Country — Check out the publisher's synopsis of Duffy's third collection of poetry, in which "In Your Mind" first appeared.
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The Poet's Life and Legacy — A biography of Duffy from the Poetry Foundation.
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A Look at the Poet's Career — A Guardian article discussing Duffy's poetic projects, influences, and the central themes that run through her work.
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Duffy's Poet Laureate Acceptance Speech — An interview with Carol Ann Duffy where she talks about her role and responsibility as the UK's first female/LGBTQ poet laureate.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
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