Poem By Shirley Toulson
Notes and Questions and Answers
Poem: A Photograph by Shirley Toulson
Book: Hornbill | Class 11 | CBSE
I. Summary/Explanation
The poem “A Photograph” captures the essence of loss, nostalgia, and memory. It begins with a description of an old photograph of the poet’s mother taken when she was a young girl, possibly around twelve. She is seen standing on a beach with her two cousins, all smiling and innocent. The poet reflects on how time has changed everything – her mother grew up, and eventually passed away. The poem beautifully juxtaposes past and present and explores the emotional gap created by time and death.
III. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Q1. Who is in the photograph described by the poet?
a) The poet and her siblings
b) The poet’s mother and her cousins
c) The poet’s grandparents
d) The poet’s father and uncle
Ans: b) The poet’s mother and her cousins
Q2. What does the cardboard refer to in the poem?
a) A painting
b) A drawing
c) A photo frame
d) A photograph pasted on cardboard
Ans: d) A photograph pasted on cardboard
Q3. How old was the poet’s mother in the photograph?
a) Five years
b) Ten years
c) Twelve years
d) Twenty years
Ans: c) Twelve years
Q4. What has not changed over the years according to the poet?
a) People
b) Clothes
c) Sea
d) Emotions
Ans: c) Sea
Q5. What does “It’s silence silences me” mean?
a) The poet cannot hear anything
b) The poet has nothing to say
c) The photograph makes her speechless with grief
d) The photograph is torn
Ans: c) The photograph makes her speechless with grief
IV. Short Answer Questions (30–40 words)
Q1. What does the photograph depict?
Ans: The photograph shows the poet’s mother as a young girl of twelve, standing on a beach with her cousins. They are smiling, capturing a moment of joy from their childhood.
Q2. What does the poet mean by “terribly transient feet”?
Ans: The poet uses this phrase to emphasize how short-lived and fleeting human life is. Though the photograph has preserved the moment, the people in it have changed or passed on.
Q3. How does the poet contrast the sea and human life?
Ans: The sea remains the same even after years, while human life changes and ends. This contrast highlights the permanence of nature versus the transience of human existence.
Q4. Why is the loss described as a ‘laboured ease’?
Ans: The poet suggests that while she has tried to accept her mother’s death, the pain still lingers. The process of grieving is slow and emotionally taxing, hence ‘laboured ease’.
Q5. What feelings does the photograph evoke in the poet?
Ans: The photograph fills the poet with a deep sense of loss, nostalgia, and silence. It reminds her of her mother’s childhood and her mother’s eventual death, leaving her emotionally numb.
More Short Answer Questions
(30–40 words)
Q6. What does Shirley Toulson feel when she looks at her mother’s photograph?
Ans: The poet feels a deep sense of loss and nostalgia. The photograph reminds her of the happy times of her mother’s childhood and the pain of her death, leaving the poet emotionally overwhelmed and silent.
Q7. What does the phrase “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss” signify?
Ans: It reflects shared grief—just as the poet’s mother once mourned her lost childhood, the poet now mourns her mother’s death. The phrase expresses how people try to accept loss over time, though it remains painful.
Q8. How has the poet expressed the contrast between time and life in the poem?
Ans: The poet contrasts the unchanging sea with the changes in human life. While nature remains constant, humans grow, age, and die, reflecting the temporary nature of life and the permanence of time.
Q9. What role does the sea play in the poem?
Ans: The sea in the poem is symbolic of permanence and eternity. It remains unchanged despite the passage of time, unlike the poet’s mother, who has aged and passed away, highlighting the transient nature of human life.
Q10. Why is the title “A Photograph” appropriate for the poem?
Ans: The title is apt as the entire poem revolves around the memory captured in a photograph. It reflects the central theme of remembrance, loss, and the passage of time, evoked by a simple yet powerful image.
Long Answer Questions
(120–150 words)
Q1. Discuss the theme of loss and nostalgia in the poem “A Photograph”.
Ans:
The poem “A Photograph” by Shirley Toulson explores the themes of loss, nostalgia, and the transience of life. It begins with a visual memory of the poet’s mother as a young girl, captured in a photograph while enjoying a beach holiday with her cousins. The mother, now no more, had once reminisced about her own childhood—just as the poet now grieves her loss. This dual layering of memories shows how time creates distance between moments and people. The poet contrasts the permanence of nature, symbolized by the sea, with the fleeting nature of human life. Through simple language and profound emotions, the poem captures how photographs can preserve memories, but not the people in them. The silence of the photograph echoes the poet’s own silence and grief, making it a powerful reflection on the passage of time and irreparable loss.
Q2. How does Shirley Toulson use imagery and contrast to express grief in the poem?
Ans:
Shirley Toulson skillfully uses imagery and contrast to convey grief and the passage of time in the poem “A Photograph.” The vivid image of the mother’s childhood photograph on a beach with her cousins brings forth a moment of joy and innocence. This visual memory is sharply contrasted with the reality of death, as the poet mourns her mother’s absence. The poet contrasts the unchanging sea with the transient human life, subtly highlighting the inevitability of change and loss. Another powerful image is “the cardboard,” representing the photograph itself—fragile yet containing deep emotional weight. The line “It’s silence silences me” is a poignant depiction of grief that words cannot express. The juxtaposition of past happiness with present sorrow, along with quiet imagery, makes the poem a tender and emotional reflection on memory, time, and the pain of losing loved ones.
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