85. A Photograph(15)(HS1st yr)
1. Who wrote "A Photograph?"
A:- Shirley Toulson wrote "A Photograph".
2. Why is the cardboard special to the poet?
A:- The cardboard is special to the poet because her mother's photograph is pasted there along with the latter's two nieces.
3. What did the photograph tell about the poet's mother?
A:- The photograph tells that the poet's mother has been to the sea beach along with her two nieces before her marriage. And later she narrated that day's event to Shirley Toulson. By the time the poet wrote the poem, the mother was already dead.
4. How could have been the life of the poet's mother before marriage?
A:- The poet's mother's life and youth before marriage should have been a very happy with her brother and the nieces.
5. Which moment does the photograph depict?
A:- The photograph depicts a sea holiday being enjoyed by the poet's mother along with the latter's two nieces.
6. Who took that photograph?
A:- The poet's maternal uncle took that photograph which was framed in the poet's house.
7. Name the two nieces of the poet's mother.
A:- Betty and Dolly were names of the two nieces of the poet's mother.
8. What does it mean by "silence silences?"
A:- By the phrase "silence silences" it means that loss is universal. It is the law of nature that every moment gets lost and hidden forever. Only the memories of sounds and pictures remain with us in fragments.
9. "Both wry with the laboured ease of loss." Explain.
A:- The poet remembers her mother when she wrote the poem. Her mother was dead when Toulson wrote the poem. The sea holiday in the photograph and the laughter of the poet's mother while relating that sea holiday are both incidents of the past. There is a sense of loss associated with both those events and moments which were filled with difficult sense of loss.
10. What is the meaning of 'paddling' and 'transient'?
A:- 'Paddling' means rowing the boat with oars. 'Transient' means which was short-lived.
11. What has the photo captured?
A:- The photo has captured some happy moments of the poet's mother's life spent with her brother and nieces before her marriage.
12. Where was the photograph taken?
A:- The photograph was taken on a sea beach.
13. Is alliteration used in the poem? Give examples.
A:- Yes, alliteration is used in the poem 'A photograph'. 'Terribly transient' and 'silence silences' are examples of alliteration in the poem.
14. Who is Shirley Toulson?
A:- Shirley Toulson was an English poet and politician. She lived from 1924 to 2018.
15. What is the theme of the poem?
A:- The theme of the poem 'A Photograph' is sense of loss. It is a memory poem. The speaker recollects her memory spent with her mother and her mother's memory with her brother and nieces.