Admiration in Carol Anne Duffy's ' Before you were mine' and Seamus Heaney's 'Follower' Anonymous 11th Grade

Both ‘Before you were mine’ by Carol Anne Duffy and ‘Follower’ by Seamus Heaney present the theme of admiration through their poems. As they both capture the parent-child relationship through the child’s perspective showcasing how they each viewed their parent as a role model whilst growing up.

Both poems express the admiration they have for their parent through the use of idolizing and complementing their appearance. In ‘Before you were mine’ Duffy describe her mother’s clothing as she wore a “polka dot dress” which “blows round your legs. Marilyn.” Here Duffy is admiring her mother’s youth through her glamorous way of dressing and calls her “Marilyn.” Which is not her mother’s name yet the name of the famous Marilyn Monroe who was well known for her scandalous and eventful lifestyle, therefore Duffy purposely uses “Marilyn” as a metaphor for her own mother’s amusing life. “Marilyn” was also purposely used due to the fact that she was admired by millions of people globally this is a representation of to what extent Duffy admires her mother, making it clear to the reader the exceeding and unconditional love she has for her. Alternatively, some readers may argue that this wasn’t Duffy’s purpose as even though Marilyn did live a...