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Reading quiz

Before You Were Mine

Carol Ann Duffy

Type

Short story

Published

1993

Questions

2 with answers

Access

Free

AP LiteratureAQAEdexcelGCSE English LitOCR

Curated set · answers marked

In "Before You Were Mine," who is the speaker addressing in the poem?

AA lost lover
BThe speaker's mother
CA childhood friend
DThe speaker themselves

Rationale

The speaker talks to their mother, picturing her life as a carefree young woman before the speaker came along. The poem explores the mother's past identity and how the speaker's arrival transformed her life.

"Before You Were Mine" — Quiz Question Who is the speaker addressing in Carol Ann Duffy's poem "Before You Were Mine"?

AA childhood friend she has lost touch with
BHer future daughter
CHer mother, imagining her mother's life before the speaker was born
DA former romantic partner

Rationale

In the poem, the speaker addresses her mother, reflecting on her mother's youthful, carefree life before the speaker ("mine") came along. It delves into themes of nostalgia, identity, and how a child's arrival reshapes a parent's sense of self and freedom.

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