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.
1.1 Name the poet.
1.2 What does 'it' refer to in first line?
1.3 Why has ‘she' been called big?
1.4 What does the photograph show?
board show how
he cou wear
, which appears to have
wy--thirty years late
boliday
hat the snapshot. "See past, mine is belanghe
and look le Shoof
Answers
Answer:
A Photograph Class 11 English Poem Explanation, Summary
By Vaishnavi Tyagi
A Photograph CBSE Class 11 NCERT English Hornbill book Poem 1 Explanation, Summary, Difficult words
A Photograph CBSE Class 11 English (Hornbill book) Poem 1 - Detailed explanation of the Poem along with meanings of difficult words. Also, the explanation is followed by a Summary of the poem and literary devices used. All the exercises and Question and Answers given at the back of the lesson have been covered.
Class 11 English (Hornbill Book) Poem 1 – A Photograph
By Shirley Toulson
a photograph
A Photograph Introduction of the lesson
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 her mother was twelve years old or so. She has been deceased twelve years ago and she cannot explain her grief on her mother’s loss.
A Photograph 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 for 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 past 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.
A Photograph Lesson and Explanation
Line 1 – 4:
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
Paddling – walking
In these lines, the poet is looking at 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.
Line 5 – 9:
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
Transient – short-term; temporary
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 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.
Line 10 – 13:
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
Snapshot – 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.
Line 14 – 15:
Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.
Wry – ironic; mocking
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.
Line 16 – 19:
Now she’s been dead nearly as many years
As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all.
Its silence silences.
Silences – a complete absence of sound
In the above lines, the poet says that her mother died twelve years ago, the same age her mother was in the photograph. Whenever the poet thinks of her mother’s death, she cannot explain what effect she has of her mother’s death. Death has silenced her mother which has
We are given an extract of the poem and we have to answer the questions which are given below.
The first question asked is to name the poet and the name of the poet is 'Shirley Toulson. '
The second question asked is what does 'it ' refer to.
'It ' refers to the love which was between the poet and her mother. The cardboard in the one in which the picture of the mother was stuck reminded the poet of the wonderful times she and her mother had together.
The third question asked is why has she been called big.
She has been called big because at that time the twelve years of age was at that time sounded very big to her.
The next question asked is what the photo showed and the answer showed that it was a loving picture of the poet's mother.
PROJECT CODE: #SPJ3