Before You Were Mine and Stealing Essay Example

the era with the reference to Marilyn Munroe, an iconic figure. It is noteworthy that Duffy's mother also shares the name Marilyn, possibly drawing a comparison between her mother and the famous actress.

The way this poem is structured resembles a loose poem form, with its narrative or direct speech-like appearance on the page. The lack of punctuation at line endings and absence of commas result in uninterrupted sentences. "I'm" is repeatedly used at the start of each stanza, which could indicate Duffy's emotional expression within the poem.

Also, learn more about Those Winter Sundays questions and answers. The speaker expresses how they feel presently and imagines how they would have felt if they were in their mother's position at that moment. The tone of the poem shifts drastically with the line "My loud possessive yell" which is aggressive and seems out of place, as there haven't been any other references to aggression or reality in the poem. This could suggest that the speaker is either dreaming or imagining the scenario to their liking. From this line onwards, the mood of the poem becomes more modern and unfeeling.

Despite being in the past, I was able to envision the images described by Duffy in the previous stanzas. However, in the last two stanzas, visualizing these images became difficult - potentially due to the vague or less detailed descriptions. The stanza containing Duffy's best memories stands out and hints that 'Before You Were Min' may be about her mother, possibly indicating that she passed away.

The predominant motif in 'Stealing' revolves around feelings of isolation and detachment. The narrative centres on an individual, most likely a male youngster,

who pilfers a snowman from a garden and fails to recreate an identical one. He resorts to kicking it, showcasing his penchant for aggression that is more commonly associated with boys. Additionally, he expresses his sense of discontentment with life. Given that the protagonist must have had the physical capacity to lift a snowman and the emotional disposition to vent his frustration through violence, it is plausible to assume that he belongs to the teenage male demographic.

Like "Before You Were Mine," "Stealing" combines a narrative and autobiographical theme, often switching between the two. The line "The most unusual thing I ever stole?" indicates that the speaker is talking about themselves, but it is at the beginning of a narrative story. This admission suggests that the speaker has stolen many things. The initial stanzas of the poem justify or rationalize why the persona stole the Snowman.

The poem repeatedly touches upon the notion that if the speaker desires something, he simply takes it. The phrase "I wanted him" is accompanied by a subtext that implies he may not realize any alternative ways of obtaining his desires. This can be seen when he mentions wanting the Snowman as a companion out of loneliness.

Throughout the poem 'Stealing', there are references to boredom and loneliness in each stanza. The speaker's mention of boredom is particularly notable because it typically implies being alone. The line "life's tough" at the end of the second stanza carries a sense of callousness, and the poem as a whole seems to convey a theme of coldness. In contrast, 'Before you were mine' shifts in tone halfway through, setting it apart from 'Stealing'.

"As cold as a

slice of ice" exemplifies the theme of coldness conveyed through the malevolent persona's words. Ice feels sharp because of its extreme coldness, and a slice of ice can actually be sharp, emphasizing the cruelty of the persona. The statement "part of the thrill was knowing that children would cry in the morning" further illustrates the persona's wicked nature. This suggests the possibility that the persona is inherently evil or mean, and possibly unaware of it. It's also possible that he desires the children to lead lives similar to his own, reinforcing my earlier point.

The poem doesn't have a significant emphasis on the past or time, unlike 'Before You Were Mine'. The final lines hint that the speaker has taken a snowman or another object as a potential companion, such as a dog or a cat. This is indicated by the line "you don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"