Both Duffy and Causley’s poems are autobiographical and speak about the memories with their
parents and how their past relationship before each parent parted for death was very loving and
endearing. In Duffy's ‘Before You Were Mine’, she glamorises her mother specifically emphasising her
mother's heyday as a way of paying homage, so she commemorates the honour of the bubbly
animated yet caring mother of hers. Like Duffy, Causley also praises his parents through a memory
recollection of his youth that creates a more serene soundscape whereas Duffy creates a more
celebratory atmosphere. But Causley’s remembrance of his parents forms a sense of nostalgia that
comforts him at the idea of death- almost like a reunion with his parents. Both poems highly regard
their parents which emphasises the close bond.
Duffy uses the language of glamour to present the uplifting celebratory atmosphere in remembering
her mother's heyday. This is evident in the snapshot imagery (stanza 1), ‘your polka dot dress blows
around your legs. Marilyn’. The direct address ‘’ shows the personal conversation which implies that
although her mother is dead, by using direct address it is as if she is trying to awaken her mother’s
spirit and bring her back to life. The ‘polka dot dress’ implies that her mother enjoyed fashion
therefore she dressed up on nights out. The epithet ‘Marilyn’ is an allusion to the Hollywood famous
film star,’ Marilyn Monroe’ who was seen as the most glamorous woman of the 1960s. The fact that
she compliments her mother by comparing her to Monroe’s iconic picture with her dress blown
around her legs shows the comforting free-flowing relationship- she can complement her mother as
if they were best friends. The ‘ballroom with a thousand eyes’ is a metaphor for the disco ball which
reflects her mother’s allure because she is like a disco ball that is shiny and sparkly and attracts many
eyes to her. But it perhaps presents her like a disco ball that radiates a sense of joy and uplifting
nature through her beauty which emits happiness. The bright imagery of the ‘disco ball’ symbolises
her mother’s radiance and beauty that it lights up a room. Even Duffy’s mother’s movement is shown
through the dynamic verb ‘waltz’ highlighting how she is graceful. Overall, the language of glamour
captured through snapshot memories pours life back into them which celebrates the upbeat
contagious spirit her mother's beauty radiated.
Like Duffy, Causley also uses the language of glamour to describe his mother but instead, it is to
consult him about his nearing death. This is seen in her ‘hair colour of wheat that took on light’. The
‘colour of wheat’ is natural imagery that presents his mother's hair as blonde but by comparing it to
wheat it has connotations of yellow and gold. Just as farmers cherish their wheat before harvest
season, it is as if the blonde is being compared to gold which symbolises the value and preciousness.
This indicates that Causley’s mother was a figure he kept close to him and whom he immensely
loved. Also, ‘gold’ has connotations of love which shows how his mother’s beauty was unique and
nothing compared to her. The fact that his mother’s hair ‘took on light’, the light imagery creates a
moment whereas if that light formed a halo atop her hair. The light symbolises her purity and
innocence in that she is radiating positivity and is always surrounded by an illuminating positive
nature. Causley captures how the language of glamour brings a nostalgic feeling that urges him to
reconnect with them.
Duffy uses the language of idolization to present how she recognises and appreciates the sacrifices
her mother made for her. This is seen through the profound contrast ‘shriek at the pavement’ to ‘my
loud possessive yell’. This shows the mother's introduction to motherhood and having to abandon
the once lit-up exciting youth as she has the responsibility of looking after her child. The soundscape
‘shriek’ implies how her mother’s youth was surrounded by comedy and laughter that made a raw
laugh come from the pits of her stomach. This portrays how the mother’s party youth brought her
happiness as she was with her friends. However, the sound imagery ‘loud possessive yell’ shifts the
mood to a sense of dread and pressure because the role of becoming a mother is new and foreign
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