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In this Class 11 English Hornbill poem, A Photograph by Shirley Toulson, the poet reflects on love, loss, and memories. This NCERT poem captures a beach holiday photograph of the poet’s mother as a child and explores the passage of time, grief, and silence.
This poem is about the connection between the past and present, between a daughter and her mother, and how time changes everything. It makes us think about how people may leave us, but their memories stay with us forever.
So, let’s dive into this beautiful poem and understand every part of it, from what the poet is trying to say to the emotions hidden between the lines!
The poem “A Photograph” reflects on the poet’s memories of her late mother through an old photograph. The photo shows her mother as a young girl, enjoying a day at the beach with her cousins. Years later, the mother would fondly laugh at that memory.
Now, after her mother's death, the poet feels a deep sense of loss and silence. The poem highlights the passage of time, the shortness of life, and the lasting pain of losing a loved one. It beautifully captures how memories live on, even when the people in them are no longer with us.
The photograph shows three young girls at a beach holiday, including the poet’s mother as a 12-year-old, smiling with her cousins.
The poem begins with a vivid description of an old photograph. It shows three young girls, including the poet’s mother, standing on a beach. The mother is around twelve years old, and they are enjoying a holiday. The picture was taken by the uncle, and it captured the girls smiling and playing by the sea, with their feet buried in the wet sand and the waves gently crashing in the background.
Many years later, the poet remembers how her mother used to look at the same photograph and laugh at how young and innocent they all looked back then. Her mother often reminisced about that beach holiday and fondly remembered those carefree days from her childhood.
As time passed, the mother grew up and eventually passed away. The poet draws a parallel between the loss of her mother and the loss of childhood in the photo. She reflects on how both have now become memories that can never return. Just like her mother once looked back on her childhood, the poet is now looking back on her mother’s life.
In the final part, the poet quietly expresses her grief and deep sense of loss. Her mother’s death has left her in a state of speechless mourning. The poet ends the poem by saying, “It’s silence silences,” indicating that her pain is so profound that it cannot be expressed in words. The photograph becomes a symbol of memory, loss, and the passage of time.
Let us understand the poem line by line.
The speaker is looking at an old photograph, which is mounted on cardboard. It shows a moment from the past.
The photo shows three girls at the beach: the speaker’s mother and her two younger cousins. The mother is about 12 years old and is holding the cousins' hands.
The girls posed for the picture, smiling even though their hair was blown across their faces by the wind. Their uncle took the photo.
The speaker describes her mother's young and sweet face. This was long before the speaker was born. The sea in the background still looks the same, but the girls’ feet were only briefly there showing how short and temporary human life is.
About 20-30 years after the photo was taken, the speaker’s mother would look at it and laugh, pointing out her cousins Betty and Dolly and commenting on the funny or old-fashioned clothes they wore at the beach.
For the mother, the beach trip was a memory from her childhood. For the speaker, the memory is of her mother’s laughter while looking at the photo. Both feel slightly sad because they are memories of things lost with time.
The speaker tells us that her mother has been dead for almost as many years as she had lived when the photo was taken. That shows how much time has passed.
The speaker feels that there are no words to describe the pain of losing her mother. The silence of death is so powerful that it makes even the speaker silent. She cannot express her grief—it’s too deep for words.
Let us look at the themes of the poem
The central theme of the poem is the deep sense of loss and grief the poet feels after her mother's death. The poem begins with a photograph that triggers memories of her mother's childhood, and as the poet recalls those moments, she also reflects on how her mother is no longer alive.
The sadness in the poem grows gradually, ending with a powerful silence that reflects the poet’s inability to fully express her sorrow. It shows how death leaves behind an emptiness that words cannot fill.
The poem beautifully captures the passage of time, how moments once full of joy become distant memories. The photograph is a frozen moment from the past, showing the poet’s mother as a carefree young girl.
Years later, the mother laughs at that memory, and after more time passes, she is gone. The sea in the photograph stays the same, but human life changes. This theme reminds us how time moves forward, taking people and memories with it.
Another important theme is the power of photographs and memory. The photograph in the poem becomes a symbol of the past, holding within it a joyful day at the beach, the innocence of childhood, and the bond between the mother and her cousins.
Even though the people in the photo have aged or passed away, the photograph keeps those memories alive. It shows how simple images can become emotional reminders of people we have loved and lost.
The poem reflects on the transience (short-lived nature) of life. The line “terribly transient feet” suggests how quickly childhood, life, and people pass away. The sea is eternal, but the girls’ presence was brief.
The poet makes us think about how everything changes over time, people grow up, moments slip away, and eventually, even lives end. This theme gives the poem a quiet, thoughtful tone as it talks about life’s temporary nature.
The poem “A Photograph” leaves us with a deep sense of emotion and reflection. It beautifully shows how memories are captured in a moment, how time keeps moving, and how grief is sometimes too deep for words. Through a simple photo, the poet reminds us of the love between a mother and daughter and how painful it is to lose someone we love.
If you understand the meaning behind each line and the feelings expressed in the poem, you’ll be able to answer every question with ease. Whether it's a summary, theme, or “A Photograph Class 11 extract questions and answers,” these notes will help you feel fully prepared for your English exam.
Keep revising, stay confident, and you’ll do great!
Q1. How does the poet contrast her mother’s life in the poem?
Ans. She contrasts her mother’s childhood joy in the photo with her later life as a mother and her death, showing the passage of time.
Q2. What is the central theme of the poem?
Ans. The theme is loss, memory and the passage of time, showing how moments of happiness are captured but life changes.
Q3. What emotions does the poet express?
Ans. The poet expresses nostalgia, sadness and silence while remembering her mother.
Q4. Why does the poet say ‘Both wry with the laboured ease of loss’?
Ans. She means that both she and her mother felt a sense of loss, the mother for her childhood, and the poet for her mother.
Q5. What does the ending line “silence silences” suggest?
Ans. It suggests the deep grief and speechlessness the poet feels after her mother’s death.
Q6. What does the word “cardboard” denote in the poem?
Ans. It denotes the stiff mount of the photograph, symbolising memories preserved over time.
Q7. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are they?
Ans. Childhood of the mother, adulthood when she recalls her childhood, and the poet’s present grief after her mother’s death.
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