Before You Where Mine

Question 1

BYWM summary

Answer 1

Her mothers past before she was born

Question 2

The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one,

Answer 2

The ‘loud, possessive yell’ suggests the new baby made demands that ended the ‘decade’ that was the ‘best one’. New babies take over the lives of their mothers. The brief ‘eh?’ is an affectionate linguistic tag, an implied rhetorical question, as if Duffy is reaching out to her mother.

Question 3

Those high-heeled red shoes, relics

Answer 3

The shoes would, of course, be impractical and attractive; red with high heels. But they are ‘relics’; no longer of use. There may even be religious connotations, like a religious relic, in that Carol Ann may have a special spiritual reverence for these shoes.

Question 4

Your ghost clatters toward me over George Square
till I see you, clear as scent, under the tree,
with its lights

Answer 4

Clear as scent’ is an example of synaesthesia where one sense triggers memories and blends with another. The senses of smell and taste are both said to evoke strong memories and associations.

The ‘ghost’ indicates that her mother has died, though ghosts usually glide rather than ‘clatter’. Duffy is suggesting that her mother wants to be remembered as young, noisy and vibrant. Even after death her mother is unusual.

Question 5

wrong pavement

Answer 5

Metaphor
Chose the wrong path.