A Comparison of Homecoming and Before You Were Mine

A Comparison of Homecoming and Before You Were Mine

The poem ‘Homecoming’ is about the poet (Simon Armitage’s) wife’s

childhood and about their relationship at present. The poem begins

with the poet talking about his wife at nursery. The poet shows us

that it is about a child by describing a character wearing ‘one canary

– yellow cotton jacket’ as it signifies childhood. The child gets her

jacket ‘scuffed’ and ‘blackened’ in the cloakroom and her mother makes

‘proper fist of it’. In the next paragraph the character ‘sneaks’ out

of the house and plans to run away but end up retracing her ‘walk

towards the garden gate’ and goes home. In the last paragraph it talks

about the poet’s relationship with his wife. Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Before

You Were Mine’ is about her feeling guilty that she was born as she

believes that she ruined her mother’s life. The poet describes her

mother as being a ‘high – heeled red shoes relics’.

Both poems ‘Homecoming’ and ‘Before You Were Mine’ themes explore

relationships. In ‘Homecoming’ Simon Armitage concentrates on

relationships by describing the events of his wife’s childhood showing

her conflict with her parents at different ages and stages of her

life. When Armitage’s wife was at nursery she conflicts with her

parents after scuffing and blackening her coat and her mother reacts

to this by making ‘proper fist of it and points the finger. Temper,

temper’. In ‘Before You Were Mine’ Carol Ann Duffy’s relationship with

her mother is off guilt. In the poem Carol Ann Duffy feels guilty that

she has destroyed her mother’s life by being born. The poet feels like

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Duffy starts the second paragraph grammatically incorrect saying ‘I’m

not here yet’. Duffy says this purposely so the reader can picture it

in his head. Duffy says ‘ballroom with the thousand eyes, the fizzy

movie’. Duffy uses this as it alludes to someone famous. Duffy again

thinks highly of her mother saying ‘I knew you would dance like that’.

Duffy says this to imply that her dance was perfect as if she were a

princess. Duffy also becomes rather possessive in poem saying ‘Before

you were mine’ as if her mother was an item. Duff also uses

alliteration ‘hands in those high heeled’. Duffy uses alliteration as

it is easy to remember. Duffy also uses ‘high heeled red shoes,

relics’ to symbolises passion and youth. Duffy also employs

onomatopoeia to. Duff also makes use of similes for instance ‘clear as

a scent’.