IndexIntroductionAnalysis of the poemsConclusionReferencesIntroductionBoth Carol Anne Duffy's 'Before you Were Mine' and Seamus Heaney's 'Follower' present the theme of admiration through their poems. While both capture the parent-child relationship through the child's perspective, showing how they each saw their parent as a role model while growing up. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Poetry Analysis Both poems express the admiration they have for their parents through the use of idolizing and complementing their appearance. In 'Before You Were Mine' Duffy describes her mother's clothing as wearing a “polka dot dress” that “wraps around your legs. Marilyn." Here Duffy admires her mother's youth through her glamorous way of dressing and calls her "Marilyn". Which is not her mother's name but the name of the famous Marilyn Monroe who was well known for her scandalous and eventful lifestyle, so Duffy purposely uses "Marilyn" as a metaphor for her mother's fun life. “Marilyn” was also used purposely due to the fact that she was admired by millions of people around the world, this is a representation of how much Duffy admires her mother, making it clear to the reader the excessive and unconditional love she has for her. Alternatively, some readers may argue that this was not Duffy's purpose as although Marilyn lived a fantastic life, the tragic figure also committed suicide, this devastating loss could be a representation of the devastation that will occur later in Duffy's life like his mother who he once admired greatly for her "bold" character is no longer the case. While in “follower” Heaney describes his father as having “glob-shaped shoulders like a taut sail,” this simile emphasizes the nautical imagery that refers to a “sail” steering a boat. Perhaps this could mean that his father is guiding him in the right direction in life and that is why Heaney has so much gratitude towards him. On the other hand, some may believe that since Heaney wrote this poem when he was older, he was not as close to his parents, so the "sail" may refer to the fact that his father pulled him back. Alternatively, the 'sail' takes advantage of the wind so it could be a representation of his father harnessing the horse he uses to plough, this could suggest that the speaker is complimenting his father's strengths by displaying the admiration he has for his physical attributes. Both poems are structured to show the progression of the admiration and love they have for their parents. In “Before You Were Mine” Duffy uses a controlled structure with 4 lines and 5 lines within each line, the controlling nature of the structure may resemble Duffy's controlling nature towards his mother. This is reiterated through the use of cyclical structure, as the poem is called "before you were mine" and the last line of the poem also repeats this, the repetitive use of this phrase makes its controlling behavior evident. This is also due to the use of the possessive pronoun “my” which implies the possession he feels he has over his mother. This may seem rather strange to the average reader as it is bizarre that a child has more power over the parent as he also uses words like "darling" when referring to his mother, which one parent would conventionally say to the child and not the other. way around., however in the context of the poem it is clear that Duffy feels overprotective of his mother. This may be why he constantly uses pronounspossessive throughout the poem as he admires his mother's lifestyle so much that he wants the best for her. In contrast, Heaney appears to have no control over his father, yet his admiration for him makes it clear that he wants to make him proud. In the "follower" Heaney constantly refers to his father as 'father', the fact that he addresses his father in such a formal way could show how much he admires his father and his work so feels the need to address him in a respectful manner. On the other hand, it could represent the distance Heaney feels from his father as when he was younger he admired his work on the farm but as the poem and his life progress, his change in career plan means he can no longer admire his work. father as he did before. The fact that the first 3 stanzas are only about his “father” could also imply that he puts his father before himself to represent the recognition he feels his father deserves. Also in 'follower' Heaney uses half rhymes such as “plough” and “follower” which may suggest that he has not fulfilled his desire to follow in his father's footsteps on the farm, which he once admired doing. It is also quite ironic that Heaney believed in preserving traditions, however the fact that he does not work on the farm is a major contradiction to this. Towards the end of both poems the admiration they have for their parents is quite ambiguous, as the exciting nature they felt looking up to their parents when they were younger becomes quite uncertain when they grow up. At the end of "Before You Were Mine" Duffy feels that all the admiring characteristics her mother once had are gone as they all happened "before [she] I was born." The use of caesura shows how Duffy had to stop and acknowledge the fact that it was her fault that her mother no longer lived an extraordinary lifestyle. In a way you could say that Duffy idolizes her mother so much that she thinks it's her fault that her mother's lifestyle isn't what it used to be, rather than realizing that this is normal in parenting and growing up. . Her childlike nature is reinforced in the last line where she lists that her charm endures as she "sparkles and waltzes and laughs." Duffy purposely uses the rule of three to emphasize all of her mother's positive attributes, this is also made evident due to the repetition of "and" as it conveys that Duffy has too many kind qualities to list exposing the length of admiration that Duffy has for his mother. However, in 'Follower' Heaney shifts the tense to the present in the last line where he says “but today” the unexpected turn of the tense might resemble the unexpected turn of their relationship. Heaney also identifies a role reversal as he repeats the word “stumble,” but this time it is about his father and not himself. The role reversal could imply that the son has reached maturity, so there has been a role change as Heaney does not admire his father as much as before. The last line of the poem states that "he won't go away", this could be interpreted both negatively and positively as the tone of the poem cannot be identified. This means that some readers might interpret that he feels frustrated and annoyed that his father continues to follow him, while others might think that he is happy that his father remained by his side and that all those years when Heaney admired his father's work father can now be reversed. as his father can now be proud of his work and admire it. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion Overall, both)