i hate carol anne duffy’s work but this is what i remember about the poem

it is a poem about carol anne duffy and her relationship with her mother and how she will only ever know her mother from when she was born

the imagery in the poem is most likely based on photographs but she writes about them as if they are her memories

she glorifies her mum in the way she refers to maralyn monroe she uses this to show how young and full of life her mum used to be

“The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one eh?”

this line signifies how she feels that when she came he mum changed and she became a “mum” and not herself as if she is owned by her child

it also signifies that the time before she was there was the best in her life and how she will never know her mum as she used to be

the red shoes as relics are her own memories and are juxtaposed to the memories of her mother as a young women wearing the shoes

she ends the poem by stating how she always wanted to know the girl her mum once was, the beautiful young girl who she could have known as a friend

i hope this is ok i did it a long time ago and this is from memory as i don’t have my notes anymore

my opinion will be different to yours but it made me think about how much i rely on my mum and how much my mum must have relied on her mum when she was my age and how if i have children that they will rely on me and the responsibility that will bring