A PHOTOGRAPH

–Shirley Toulson
Class 11
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 The poem ‘A Photograph’ is written by
Shirley Toulson. In this poem, she recalls
her mother and her memories while
looking at a childhood photograph when
A Photograph her mother was twelve years old or so.
She has been deceased twelve years ago
and she cannot explain her grief on her 2

mother’s loss.
 The cardboard shows me how it was
When the two girl cousins went paddling,
A Photograph Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,
And she the big girl — some twelve years or so.

To walk in
Paddling shallow
water

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A • In these lines, the poet is looking at
Photograph an old photo album which is made up
of cardboard. In the picture, there are
three girls who are walking on the
beach holding each other’s hands. The
girl in the middle is the tallest and
oldest, the other two girls on each side
are younger than her. The girl in the
middle is the poet’s mother. She is
around twelve years old when the
picture was taken.

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All three stood still to smile through their
hair
At the uncle with the camera. A sweet face,
My mother’s, that was before was born.
And the sea, which appears to have
changed less,
Washed their terribly transient feet.
Still Not moving, Motionless
Used when hair falls on a
Smile through hair
smiling face
A sweet face A beautiful face, A lovely face
Terribly To a great extent
Transient Changing
 • In the above lines, the poet describes how the
photograph was taken. Her mother’s uncle took the
photograph and told them to stop and pose. All three of
them left their wet hair open and smiled at the camera.
The poet’s attention is drawn towards his mother’s face
A Photograph which is described as a ‘sweet face’. The photograph was
taken long before the poet was born. The poet calls their
feet ‘terrible transient’ as they were so young by then and
now they had grown older. On the other hand, the sea
which touched their feet has changed less.

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Some twenty — thirty — years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot. “See Betty
And Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they
Dressed us for the beach.” The sea holiday
Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.

expressing both
Wry disappointment and
amusement

Laboured With lot of effort

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A Photograph

• After twenty-thirty years later, she would laugh at the photograph. She
would tell me to look at her cousins, Betty and Dolly and how their parents
would dress all three of them up for the beach. They would have planned to
take a photograph beforehand. The poet recalls the sea holiday was her
mother’s favourite moment from the past. While the poet’s
favouritemoment from the past was her mother’s laughter. Both the women
would think about those past memories which they cannot live again. They
tried their best to adjust to what they lost.

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Now she’s been dead nearly as many years
As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
(परिस्थिति)
There is nothing to say at all.
Its silence silences.
silences :a complete absence of sound

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 • In the above lines, the poet says that her
mother died twelve years ago, the same age her

A mother was in the photograph. Whenever the

poet thinks of her mother’s death, she cannot
Photograph explain what effect she has of her mother’s
death. Death has silenced her mother which has
also left her speechless.

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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 which supports the
photograph. This word had been used in the poem because the picture is
very old when the cardboard was used as a photo frame.
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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 past memories.
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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 which 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 past memory.
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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 past 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.
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5. What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss.”
Ans: the above lines means 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Comprehension Questions

1.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow.
“The cardboard shows me how it was When the two girl
cousins went paddling, Each one
holding one of my mother’s hands,
And she the big girl – some twelve years or so.”
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Comprehension Questions

1.What does the cardboard here refer to?

2. What does the cardboard depict?
3. Who is the ‘big girl’ mentioned here?
Answer
1. A thick paper on which the poet’s mother’s photograph was pasted.
2. It depicts the picture of three girls.
3. The big girl is the poet’s mother.
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Comprehension Questions

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions

that follow.
“All three stood still to smile through their hair At the uncle
with the camera. A sweet face,
My mother’s, that was before I was born.
And the sea, which appears to have changed less,
Washed their terribly transient feet.”
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Comprehension Questions

1.What does the poet mean by ‘smile through their hair’?

2.What has not changed over some time?
3.Find a word from the extract which means “lasting only for
a short time”?
Answer
1.It means that the hair of the photographed girls was covering their face
when they were smiling
2.The sea
3.Transient
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Comprehension Questions

3.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow.
“Some twenty-thirty – years later She’d laugh at the
snapshot. “See Betty And Dolly,” she’d
say, “and look how they Dressed us for the beach.” The sea
holiday Was her past, mine is her
laughter. Both wry With the laboured ease of loss.”
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Comprehension Questions

1.Why did ‘she’ laugh?

2.Who are Betty and Dolly?
3.…………. in the extract is the synonym of ‘photograph’.
Answer
1.She laughed because of the funny dresses that they were
wearing at the sea holiday.
2.They are the poet’s mother’s cousins
3.Snapshot
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Previous Year Question Answer

Question 1.
What moment does the photograph depict?
Answer:

The photograph clicked by the uncle of the poet’s mother depicts

a sea holiday being enjoyed (मज़ा) by the poet’s mother and her
two cousins Dolly and Betty. They are full of smiles in their beach
dresses, not worrying about their flying hair (उनके उड़िे ब़ाल ों
की त ोंि़ा नही ों).
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Previous Year Question Answer

Question 2.
How does the poet react to her past? Why has she not
mentioned anything about her mother’s death?
Answer:
The poet remembers with sadness her mother’s laughter which she cannot
hear any more. The poet is full of a sense of loss and does not mention about
her mother’s death, as it may bring more gloom to her (उसे उद़ास) and make
her speechless (ब ली बोंद ह ऩा).
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Previous Year Question Answer

Question 3.
What does the poet say about her mother’s face?
Answer:

The poet remarks that her mother had a sweet face (प्य़ाि़ा ेहि़ा), smiling and caring
(मुस्कुि़ािे हुए औि दे खभ़ाल कििे हुए) for her cousins who were younger to her. The
poet also says that her mother used to enjoy these sea holidays, and would laugh
heartily (तदल से), later on when she saw the photograph.
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Previous Year Question Answer

Question 4.
How did the poet’s mother look then? How did the sea look?
Answer:

The poet’s mother looked like a big girl then. She looked beautiful with a
sweet face. It was before the poetess was born. The sea seemed (लग िह़ा थ़ा)
to be washing their feet which are subject to death. However (ह़ाल़ााँतक), the
sea appears (प्रकट ह ि़ा है ) not to have changed.