CAROL ANN DUFFY

Before You Were Mine

Starter

What do you think your parents were like before you were around?

How would you find out?

Read the poem.

First Impressions

How does Duffy know so many specific details about her mother?

Could some of the poem be imagined?

What kind of person do you think Duffy’s mother was? In pairs, arrange the adjectives in a diamond shape (1-2-3-2-1) with the most appropriate at the top.

Group Work

Try rewriting the first verse of the poem without the line endings so that it reads as a prose description.. Insert your own words as necessary.

It may help you to know that the poet’s mother is called Marilyn but the end of the first verse is also a reference to a famous picture of Marilyn Monroe.

Independent Learning

How would you describe the overall feel or tone of the poem? Where can you detect quieter notes?

How does the writer feel about her mother?

Use your details sheets to help you.