A Photograph Summary Class 11 English

About the Poet

A writer, journalist, and poet, Shirley Toulson also served in the Auxillary Territorial Service during World War II. She attempted to describe her grief through her poetry and recall her mother's cheerful and smiling face, which could be seen in the picture taped to the cardboard.

Main Theme

The poem was written as she gazed at a portrait of her mother that had been pasted on cardboard. The photo was taken on a seashore with her mother's female cousins, Betty and Dolly, when she was around 12 years old. It depicts three girls, each holding her mother's hands from the side.

The poet loved her mother's attractive qualities when her uncle took their photo. The crashing waves brushed her dreadfully fragile feet, explaining that nature always remains the same, but we might die and never return to Earth. She giggled as she glanced at her and saw how their beach vacation appeared to be her mother's fondest memory. While they regretted not being able to relive those experiences, they still treasured those memories.

Now that the poet's mother has been dead for 12 years, she finds it difficult to express her sadness over her lost mother.

Summary of the Poem

"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."

The poet's mother's childhood memories are brought back by an old photo of her mother that was pasted on cardboard. The picture shows her mother and two younger cousins having fun at the beach. They were near the beach and moving through shallow water barefoot.

The mother was holding the hands of her two cousins, standing on either side, while she stood in the centre of the group. Here, the poet's mother was twelve years old. The image was old, but the poet preserved it with great care since it brought back happy memories of her mother's early years. The image also conveys how delightful her mother's youth was.

"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."

The photograph captures the poet's mother and two cousins standing motionless and smiling at the camera while their uncle took their picture on the seashore. Their hair was flying over their happy faces because it was windy at that very moment. The poet's mother and her relatives had smiles and satisfaction written on their faces. The picture was shot many years ago, and the mother looked beautiful.

Since then, everything has changed; her mother grew up, she is no longer alive, and the poet is bringing back memories of her. The sea, which washed the feet of all three girls, is the one thing that hasn't changed. The word "transient" describes how human lives are always changing and how short their time on Earth is, as opposed to how nature is permanent. The girls' lives significantly changed, but the sea remained the same. The verse effectively conveys the ephemeral nature of people.

"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
Was her past; mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the difficult ease of loss."

Even 20-30 years later, the mother would see the picture and smile nostalgically as she recalled the good times she had experienced. When she saw the image, her mother would remark about the clothes that Dolly, Betty, and herself wore.

Her mother's beach vacation was in the past, and since her mother passed away, the poet no longer remembers her mother's laughing. The poet still recalls how her mother would laugh at the photo of the sea vacation, remembering it with affection and a sense of loss since that moment will never come again. Although "labored" and "ease" have opposite meanings, they both refer to loss.

"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."

It had been almost twelve years since the poet's mother passed away. The poet is overcome by sadness. However, she is at a loss for words to express her agony and loss. The poet is completely lost in the thoughts of her mother, who passed away. The poet is silent amidst the situation's agony and pain. Despite feeling sorrow, the poet is unable to express it. No one can speak a single word amid the miserable environment created by the silence carried on by death.