A Photograph
Questions and Answers
1. What has not changed over the years ? Does this suggest something do you ?
Ans:- The sea has not changed over the years. But a great change has come to those who once paddled on its beach. It suggest that while human life in terribly transient the sea has always remained the same.
2. What does "this circumstance " refer to ?
Ans:- "This circumstance" refers to the present mantal state of the poet. She feels terribly sad and lonely without her mother.
3. What is the meaning of the line "Both wry with the lobaured ease of loss".
Ans:- The poet here brings out a similarity between the face of her mother and her own face. Both the faces hand turned wry due to the intense felings of their great loss.The mother had lost the joys of her childhood. The poet had loss the laughter of her mother who was now dead.
4. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are they ?
Ans:- The first stanza refers to the time when the poet's mother was just a girl of twelve. The scored stanza refers to the time when the poet lived with her month. The mother was then in her thirties or forties. The third stanza shows how sad and lonely poet feels without her mother. The mother has been dead for many years.
5. Explain 'it’s silence silences'.
Ans:- The poet feels the loss of her mother very intensely. Life has no charm left for her. It’s like an empty space where there is nothing but silence.
6. Explain 'the sea holiday was her past, mine is her laughter.
Ans:- The mother aften remembered the joy of her sea holiday. But it was for her a thing of the past. And for the poet, the laughter of her mother was a thing of the past.
7. what picture do the words 'smile though there heir being to your mind ?
Ans:- It was perhaps a windy day, the mind made the girl's hair fly over their faces. And though their, the girls were smilling at the uncle who was taking their photograph.
8. What has the camera captured ?
Ans:- The camera has captured three little girl. One of them in the poet's mother. The other two are the mother's girls cousin Betty and Dolly. Each of them is holding one hand of the mother. The mother was then just a girl of twelve. All the three girls are smiling through there flying hair. They are standing in shallow water on the sea beach.
9. What does the word 'cardboard' denote in the poem ? Why has this word been used ?
Ans:- The world 'cardboard' refers to a very stiff hard paper that keeps the photograph intact.
This word has been used in an ironical scnce. It keeps the photograph of that twelve years old girl safe.
10. The poet's mother laughed at the snapshot. what did this laugh indicate ?
Ans:- The laught indicate's the mother remember ring her post. It shows that the mother had a happy childhood. She feels amused when she lookes at her childhood photograph.
11. What snapshot is the poet talking about ?
Ans:- She is the taking about the snapshot that has her mother's photo as a girl of twelve along with the Mother's two girls cousin.
12. What made her laugh ?
Ans:- She laughed to see how they were dressed at that time as young girls.
13. What does the poet remember of that girl ?
Ans:- The poetess mother has been dead for many years.
14. Who does 'she' in these life refer to ?
Ans:- The word 'she' refers to the poetess mother.
15. Name the poem and the poet "A Photograph" ?
Ans:- The name of the poem is 'A Photograph'. The name of the poetess is Shirley Toulson.
16. Who were the two girls ?
Ans:- The two girls were cousins of the poetess mother.
17. Why did the two girl cousins hold one of the poet's mother's hand ?
Ans:- The two girl cousins hold one of the poet's mother's hand because she was the oldest of the three girls.
18. Who clicked the three girl in the cardboard ?
Ans:- The uncle of the poet's mother didn't the three girl in the cardboard.
19. How did the girls go to the sea beach ?
Ans:- The girls went padding to the sea beach.
