Notebook Work – A Photograph
1. About the Poet
2. Summary – Frame or refer to Notes
3. Literary Devices
4. Question-Answers
A Photograph
About the Poet
Kathleen Shirley Toulson was an English writer, poet, journalist and local politician.
Born: 20 May 1924, Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom
Died: 23 September 2018
Toulson attended Prior's Field School and worked with the Auxiliary Territorial
Service during World War II. She married Norman Toulson, an army lieutenant, in
1944: they divorced in 1951.
Education: Birkbeck, University of London, Prior's Field School
BOOKS: Walking the Ley Lines and Ancient Tracks (1979), The Drovers (1980) and
Celtic Journeys (1985)
Summary
The poem is a tribute to the poet’s mother. She is looking at an
old photograph of her mother which has a frame of cardboard.
The picture has three girls in which the middle one is the oldest
and tallest.
It is her mother when she was twelve years old or so. Beside
her, on both sides are her two cousins, Betty and Dolly, who are
holding her hands and are younger than her. They went
paddling on a beach holiday. Her uncle took the photograph
then. The poet could not help but notice her mother’s sweet
face. The sea touched her terribly transient feet which
depicted that she changed over the years and the sea remained
the same.
After twenty-thirty years, her mother would laugh at the
photograph. She would make the poet look at the photograph
and tell her how their parents would dress them up for the
beach holiday. The beach holiday was her mother’s favourite
memories while her laugh was the poet's favourite memory.
Both of them lost something which they cherished a lot and yet
cannot live that moment again.
Those sweet moments were memories now.
Now, the poet’s mother had been dead for the past twelve
years, which is the same number as of her age when the
photograph was taken back then. She cannot express the grief
that she has from her mother’s absence.
Literary Devices
Alliteration - Repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two
or more consecutive words. The instances of alliteration in the poem
are as follows:
1. Stood still
2. Through their
3. My mother’s
4. Terribly transient
5. Silence silences
Oxymoron - a term which contradicts itself
An oxymoron is a figure of speech containing words that seem to
contradict each other.
SOME EXAMPLES OF OXYMORON
• Deafening silence
• Growing smaller
• Open Secret
• Original copy
• Small crowd
In the poem - Laboured ease is an Oxymoron as ease should not be a
thing to come with unease.
Personification: “Silence silences”
SILENCE OF DEATH OF THE MOTHER SILENCES THE POETESS.
sea, which appears to have changed less
TRANSFERRED Epithet - a phrase expressing a quality of a person or
something
WASHED THEIR Terribly transient FEET
IT WAS A BAD MOVIE
IT WAS A BAD DAY
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Recall this Question from the Test! Let’s understand it better!
An epithet is a word or phrase which describes the main quality of someone
or something.
For example: 'a happy person'.
Epithets are usually adjectives like 'happy' that describe a noun like 'person'.
Transferred epithet is when this adjective is transferred to a different noun
like 'Happy birthday'.
Examples
'The builders were working at a dizzy height.'
Heights can't literally be dizzy, they have no feelings. The transferred epithet
intensifies the height. How high up would you need to be to feel dizzy?
More examples
'sleepless nights'
'a wonderful day'
'wide-eyed amazement'
'He pointed an angry finger at me.'
'She looked at him through concerned eyes.'
Recapitulation Points
1. The poet looks at the cardboard on which there is a childhood
photograph of her mother.
2. She had gone for a sea holiday with two her cousins Betty and
Dolly
3. While they were paddling, their uncle took a photograph of
them.
4. Both the cousins were holding the hands of her mother who
was the eldest among the girls.
5. This was before the poet was born
6. Time fled past since and all those who are in the photograph
underwent changes while the sea remained the same.
7. Her mother would look at the photograph after about twenty to
thirty years and laugh nostalgically.
8. For the poet her mother’s laughter and her sea holiday is
outdated.
9. Her mother died about 12 years ago.
10. The silence of the photograph silences the poet.
11. She experiences great loss.
Reference Videos:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuGHpdQpdE0
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SDMqkC13Qc
A Photograph Question and Answers (RED ones for
Notebook)
Think it out
1. What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the poem? Why has
this word been used?
Ans: In the poem, the word ‘cardboard’ means a frame that
supports the photograph. The cardboard also denotes the
temporary status of life, as cardboard is itself a temporary thing
with a limited life for itself. This word had been used in the poem
because the picture is very old when the cardboard was used as
a photo frame.
2. What has the camera captured?
Ans: The camera has captured the poet’s mother and her two
cousins, Betty and Dolly, on the beach. They went for paddling
where her mother’s uncle captured the photo in between the
moment. Her mother was around twelve years old and was in the
middle. She was holding the hands of her cousins who were on
the side of her. It was her mother’s favourite memories.
3. What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest
something to you?
Ans: The lines ‘And the sea, which appears to have changed
less’ depicts that the sea which touched her mother’s feet is the
one that has not changed over the years. Whereas, her mother
and her cousins grew older. The sea symbolises eternity and
immortality. Human being has a life span and has to die one day.
Life is not permanent. The poet is sad about her mother’s demise
twelve years ago and her laugh is her favourite memory.
4. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh
indicate?
Ans: The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot recalling her
favourite memories. She looked back at the photograph and
remembered how their parents would dress them up for the beach
holiday. Her laugh indicated her remembering the innocent days
and the nostalgia feeling. Behind the laugh is also a feeling of
pain that those days won’t be back.
5. What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured
ease of loss.”
Ans: The above lines mean that the poet’s mother felt pain
whenever she saw the old photograph because the innocent
childhood days would never be back. Those are just the
memories. While the poet has lost his mother twelve years ago
and she misses her a lot and recalls her laughing and pointing out
the outfits they used to wear at the beach holidays. Both of them
lost something.
6. What does “this circumstance” refer to?
Ans: The words ‘this circumstance’ refers to the present situation
of the poet which is the painful memories of her mother who have
been deceased twelve years ago. While looking at the old
photograph of her mother’s childhood makes her miss her more.
She remembers her laughing and how the photograph was her
favourite past memory.
7. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are
they?
Ans: The first stanza depicts her mother’s childhood days when
she was twelve years old or so. It talks about a photograph of her
with her two cousins on a beach holiday. Her uncle took the
photograph. Her mother changed over the years as she grew
older. While the sea which touched their feet in that beach holiday
hadn’t changed over the years.
In the second stanza, the poet talks about her childhood days
when her mother used to look at the photograph and recalls
everything mentioned in the first stanza.
In the last stanza, the poet shares that her mother is dead as
many years ago as was her age in the photograph. She died
twelve years ago. The poet is recalling her mother’s old memories
while looking at the photograph. She is in pain and misses her
deceased mother. She has no words to describe her grief.
QUESTIONS IN SHORT FORM FOR 1 MARK ANSWERS
Question 1:
What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the poem? Why has
this word been used?
Answer:
The word cardboard denotes the photograph pasted on a hard
thick paper. This word has been used to refer to a practice in the
past when photographs were pasted on cardboard and framed
with a glass front to preserve them.
Question 2:
What has the camera captured?
Answer:
The camera has captured the three girls—the poet’s mother and
her two cousins, Betty and Dolly, in their swimming dresses with
the poet’s mother in the middle and the two cousins on either side
holding her hands and walking v feet in seawater.
Question 3:
What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest
something to you?
Answer:
The sea has not changed over the years. Its waves are as fresh,
shining and tireless
as they were years ago. The changelessness of the sea reminds
us of the changes in the human face with advancing age.
Question 4:
The poetess’s mother laughed at the snapshot? What did this
laugh indicate?
Answer:
This laugh’ indicated her joy at remembering an incident
connected with her past
life, when she was quite young and free from the tensions and
worries of life.
Question 5:
What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured ease
of loss”.
Answer:
The sea holiday and the laughter of the poet’s mother are
incidents of the past.
There is a sense of loss associated with them. Both are amusing
yet disappointing as the state of feeling comfortable or relaxed is
unnatural or forced one. This sense of loss is quite painful to bear.
Question 6:
What does ‘this circumstance’ refer to?
Answer:
This circumstance refers to the death of the poet’s mother.
Question 7:
The three stanzas depict three different phases. Name them.
Answer:
1. The girlhood of the poet’s mother—the period before the birth
of the poet.
2. Her middle-age—the period during the childhood of the poet
3. The period after the death of the poet’s mother.
Question 1:
Which incident has been captured in the snapshot?
Answer:
The incident depicts three girls who had gone for a swim in the
sea and were standing still for a short time smiling at the camera.
This group photo captures their joy, buoyant spirits and freedom
of girlhood.
Question 2:
What do you learn about the poetess’s mother from the
photograph?
Answer:
The poetess’s mother was a big girl even at the age of twelve.
She had a sweet face and enjoyed swimming as well as wading in
seawater with her cousins. Years later, she laughed at the clothes
they had put on for the sea holiday.
Question 3:
How did the three girls face the camera?
Answer:
They removed hair from their face and stood smiling in the
shallow water near the beach. Betty and Dolly stood on either
side of the poetess’s mother, holding one of her hands.
Question 4:
What do you think, made the poetess’s mother laugh?
Answer:
The dress and behaviour of her cousins Betty and Dolly made the
poetess’s mother laugh. They had put on some quaint dress,
which amused her.
Question 5:
The poetess’s mother laughs at her past. How does the poet react
to her past?
Answer:
The sea holiday was an experience for the poetess’s mother. A
glimpse of the photograph perhaps revived some feelings of
shared joy and she laughed. For the poet, her laughter is an
incident of the past. It is amusing in an ironic manner. The sense
of loss overcomes the pleasure.
Question 6:
Why, do you think, does the poetess say nothing about her
mother’s death?
Answer:
The poet has no words to express her reaction to this solemn and
painful incident. Death silences everyone. The extensive
quietness and prevailing gloom silences her.
Question :
What impression do you form of the poetess and the poetess’s
mother after reading the poem A Photograph’?
Answer:
The poem presents the poet as a sensitive person who is quite
affectionate towards her mother and is deeply attached to her.
She loves ‘her ‘sweet’ face and notes the changes in it as she
advances in age. She remembers all the incidents connected with
her life including her laughter on looking at the photograph. She
finds it hard to bear her death. The pangs of separation stun her
to speechlessness.
The poetess’s mother appears as a physically well-formed person
with a sweet face and a beautiful smile. She has a friendly
temperament and free mixing nature. She has great affection (for
her two girl cousins and goes with them for a sea holiday where
they put on quaint dresses. She poses with them smilingly for a
snap. Her laughter on seeing the dresses in the snap shows her
fine temperament and good humour.
