A Photograph by Shirley Toulson
✍ Summary / Explanation:
The poem A Photograph captures the deep emotions of the poet as she reflects on a
photograph of her late mother. The picture shows her mother as a young girl,
standing with her cousins during a sea holiday. The poet contrasts the innocence
and joy of the moment captured in the photo with the pain of her mother’s death.
In the second stanza, the poet recalls how her mother used to laugh while looking at
the same photograph, remembering the beach day with fondness. This shift shows
how time has passed—what was once her mother’s memory is now the poet’s
memory of her mother.
In the final stanza, the tone becomes more serious. The poet expresses her deep
grief and silence after her mother’s death. The poem ends in a moment of stillness,
showing how some emotions are beyond words.
🎯 Central Idea:
The poem reflects on the passage of time and the pain of loss. It shows how
memories—captured in something as simple as a photograph—can hold powerful
emotions and remind us of loved ones who are no longer with us.
📚 Themes:
• Transience of life and time
• Memory and nostalgia
• Grief and silence after loss
• Nature’s permanence vs. human mortality
🧭 Purpose of the Poem:
The poet wants to show how time changes everything. While photographs capture a
moment forever, the people in them change, grow old, and even pass away. The
poem emphasizes how grief can leave us speechless, and how memories live on
even after the person is gone.
🎭 Tone:
• Begins with nostalgia and warmth
• Turns into affectionate reflection
• Ends with grief and solemn silence
🧱 Structure & Form:
• The poem has three stanzas of unequal length.
• It is written in free verse (no rhyme or regular meter).
• The flow mirrors the thought process of someone remembering a loved one
and moving from memory to emotion.
Important Questions – A Photograph by Shirley Toulson
Short Answer Questions (2–3 marks each): 40-50 words
1. What does the photograph show?
2. Why does the poet describe the feet in the photograph as "terribly transient"?
3. What is the significance of the sea in the poem?
4. How did the poet's mother react to the photograph?
5. What does the line “Its silence silences” mean in the context of the poem?
6. How has the relationship between the poet and her mother changed over
time?
7. What is the poet trying to convey through the contrast between the sea and
the people?
Long Answer Questions (6 marks each): 120-150 words
1. Describe the emotions expressed by the poet in A Photograph. How do
they change throughout the poem?
(Hint: Begin with nostalgia, move to affection, and then describe the shift to
grief.)
2. Discuss how the poem A Photograph highlights the theme of the
passage of time.
(Use references to the mother’s childhood, her later years, and her death.)
3. How does the poet use the photograph as a symbol of memory and
loss? Explain with reference to the poem.
(Consider how a simple image carries layers of emotion and time.)
4. Compare the tone in the first stanza and the final stanza. What do these
changes tell us about the speaker's feelings?
(Contrast joy and stillness with grief and silence.)
