A Photograph by Shirley Toulson [AHSEC Class 11 English Notes for 2025 Exam]

A PHOTOGRAPH

[AHSEC Class 11 English Notes for 2025 Exam]

About the Poem

Shirley Toulson’s poem ‘A Photograph’ is a tribute to her mother. The poem describes three stages in the passage of time. In the first stage, the photograph shows the poet’s mother standing at the beach enjoying her holiday with her two girl cousins. She was around 12 years old at that time. The second stage takes us twenty or thirty years later. The mother would laugh at the way she and her cousins were dressed up for the beach holiday. In the third stage, the poet remembers the dead mother with a heavy heart. The photograph revives a nostalgic feeling in the poet.

STANZA WISE EXPLANATION OF THE POEM

STANZA 1

“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.”

WORD MEANINGS

Cardboard = Very stiff paperboard on which the photograph was pasted.

Paddling = Walking through shallow water in bare feet.

Big girl = Mother is referred to as the big girl as she was the eldest among the three girls.

Explanation

An old photograph of the poet’s mother which was pasted on cardboard makes the poet recall the old memories of her mother’s childhood. The photograph is a depiction of her mother’s enjoyable moments at a sea-beach with her two cousins who were younger to her. They were walking in shallow water with bare feet near the beach. The mother was standing in the middle and holding hands of her two cousins, who were standing on each side. The poet’s mother was twelve years old then. It shows that the photograph was very old but the poet has kept it very carefully as it reminded her of sweet memories of her mother’s childhood. The photograph also indicates how enjoyable her mother’s childhood was.

STANDA 2

“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.”

WORD MEANINGS

Still = Without moving or shaking.

Smile through = Smiling face could be seen through their hair which were flying over their faces.

Terribly = Extremely.

Transient = Temporary, lasting only for a short time.

Explanation

The photograph shows that all three girls – the poet’s mother and her two cousins – stood still and smiled at the camera when their uncle clicked their photograph at the sea beach. As the weather was windy at that time, their hair was flying over their smiling faces. The expression on the faces of the poet’s mother and her cousins was that of happiness and enjoyment. The mother was looking very pretty at that time and the photograph was taken a long time ago.

Everything has changed since then, her mother grew up; now she was dead and the poet was reviving her memories. The only thing that has remained unchanged is the sea which was washing the feet of all three girls. The mention of the word ‘transient’ indicates the ever changing lives of human beings as well as the shortness of their say on this World, in contrast to the eternality of nature. The girl’s life changed drastically during this period but the sea has not changed. The stanza beautifully explains the transient nature of human beings.

STANZA 3

“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 laugher. Both wry

With the laboured erase of loss.

WORD MEANINGS

Snapshot = Photograph.

Dressed us = Put on clothes.

Wry = disgusted.

Laboured = Achieved after a lot of hard work, done with great effort.

Ease = Comfort.

Also Read: AHSEC Class 11 Chapter wise notes  (Prose & Poetry 30 Marks)

i) Prose Section





ii) Poetry Section





iii) Supplementary Reader: 10 Marks



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Explanation

Even 20 – 30 years later the mother would look at the photograph and laugh nostalgically remembering the happy memories of her past. Mother would look at the photograph and comment on the dresses worn by the cousins Dolly, Betty and herself.

Sea holiday was her mother’s past and her mother’s laughter has become a thing of the past for the poet as her mother was now dead. The poet still remembers how her mother would laugh at the photograph remembering the sea-holiday with a fondness as well as a sense of loss because that time would never come back. In the same way poet feels nostalgic thinking about her mother and her laugher which has become a thing of the past.

The word ‘laboured’ and ‘ease’ are opposite to each other, but describe the same entity, loss.

STANZA 4

“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.”

WORD MEANINGS

Circumstance = Situation.

Silences = Make someone unable to speak

Explanation

The poet recalls that it is nearly twelve years since her mother died. The poet is consumed with grief but is left with no words to express her loss pain. The poet is totally absorbed in memories of her dead mother. The painful silence of this situation leaves the poet speechless. The poet can fell the grief but it unable to express it through words. The silence caused by death makes the atmosphere gloomy, where no one is able to utter words.

Question- Answers

1. What does the cardboard show?

Ans. The cardboard shows an old photograph of the poet’s mother, standing on the beach with her two girl cousins. They were smiling at the uncle who was standing with a camera at the beach.

2. What has the camera captured?         2012

Ans. The camera has captured the pretty face of poet’s mother who was a girl of about twelve and the smiling face of two girl’s cousins Betty and Dolly. They were standing at the beach holding poet’s mother hand.

3. Why did the poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot? What did their laugh indicate? 2015  2016  2017

Ans. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot as they were dressed up by their parents for the sea holiday. She pointed it out to her cousins Dolly and Betty who were with her in the photography. The laugh indicate her youthful sprit.

4. What is the meaning of the line ‘Both wry with the labored case of loss?

Ans. Both the poet’s mother and the poet suffer a sense of less. The mother has lost her happy and cheerful childhood. For the poet lost that sweet laughter of the mother as was captured by the snapshot years ago.

5. Why are feet of all the girls called ‘terribly transient’?         2016

Ans. . Feet of all the girls are called terribly transient because all three girls are mortal. They are subjected to death, decay, old age or destruction etc. Compared to the sea, the three girls are mortal. They have, ‘momentary’ existence.

6. “The sea, which appears to have changed less, washed their terribly transient feet.” How does the poet contrast the girls’ terribly transient feet’ with the sea?

Ans. All the girls standing at the beach have ‘terribly transient’ existence. They are mortal and suffer physical changes with the passage of time. The mother’s sweet face and her smile has disappeared after twenty or thirty years. But the vast sea remains unchanged or seems ‘to have changed less’ in their comparison.

7. Why are feet of all the girls called ‘terribly transient’?

Ans. Feet of all the girls are called terribly transient because all three girls are mortal. They are subjected to death, decay, old age or destruction etc. Compared to the sea, the three girls are mortal. They have, ‘momentary’ existence.

8. What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest anything?

Ans. In the photograph only the sea has not changed whereas many changes has cove to these little girls who had enjoyed on that beach. This suggests that human beings are subjected to death, decay, old age or destruction.

9. What does “this circumstances” refers to?

Ans. The poet talks about her mental condition at present. The situation is very lonely and she feels unbearably sad without her mother’s presence.

10. Why do you think were girls smiling through their hair?

Ans. The girls were smiling through their camera because they were happy and excited and wanted to make their smiles long-lasting by capturing them in their uncle’s camera through snap.

11. What is the reason that the sea has not changed?

Ans. The sea and its huge body of water is a natural object. Unlike human life it is not a subject ot death decay, old age or destruction etc. It remains forever and therefore has hardly changed at all.

12. Why there is nothing to say at all?

Ans. While talking about the emptiness created by the death of her mother, the poet becomes very sad and sentimental. She feels the paid of her mother’s presence and losses the power of expression, she becomes unable to talk about her exact emotions. That is why she feels and says that there is absolutely nothing to say at all.

13. The three stanzas of the poem ‘A photograph’ depict three different phases. What are they? 2018

Ans. Shirley Toulson’s ‘A Photograph’ describes three phases in time.

In the first phase, the poet’s mother is described as a twelve year old girl with a sweet and innocent smile. She is standing on the beach enjoying a holiday with her two cousins – Dolly and Betty. This was the phase before the poet’s birth.

In the second phase, the poet’s mother’s middle age is described, where she is laughing at her own snapshot. Perhaps the girls were looking quite funny in the beach clothes.

The third phase describes the poet’s feelings for her mother, who has died many years ago. This is the current phase. The photograph revives nostalgic feelings in her and it leads to a deeper silence.

14.Briefly evaluate the poet’s attitude towards life as seen in the last stanza of the poem, ‘A Photograph’.         2019

Ans: The poet recalls that it is nearly twelve years since her mother died. The poet is consumed with grief but is left with no words to express her loss pain. The poet is totally absorbed in memories of her dead mother. The painful silence of this situation leaves the poet speechless. The poet can fell the grief but it unable to express it through words. The silence caused by death makes the atmosphere gloomy, where no one is able to utter words.

EXTRACT:

Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate alternative from those that are given below:

1.       The cardboard shows me how it was                          2015

When the two girls cousins went paddling,  

Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,

And she the big girls – some twelve years or so

All three stood still to smile through their hair

At the uncle with the camera

Questions and Answer:

1. What does the cardboard show

Ans. The cardboard shows the poet’s mother. She was standing at the beach with her two girl cousins.

2. Do you see the poet in the photograph? If not, why?

Ans. No, she is not in the photograph. She was not even born at that time.

3. Who was the ‘big girl’ and how old was she?

Ans. The ‘big girl’ was the poet’s mother. She was about twelve-years-old.

4. Who was standing with a camera and where?

Ans. The uncle was standing with a camera at the beach.

5. Explain: ‘went paddling’.

Ans. ‘Went paddling’ here means went for wading or bathing in the shallow water of the sea.

2.My mother’s that was before I was born.

And the sea, which appears to have changed less,

Washed their terribly transient feet

Questions and Answer:

1. Where was the mother standing and why?

Ans. The mother was standing at the beach. She had gone there for a holiday at the sea.

2. How did she look at that time?

Ans. She looked very sweet and young at that time.

3. Compare the change that comes in the mother and in the sea.

Ans. The sea doesn’t show much of a change. It means that the poet’s mother is mortal. She suffered obvious physical changes with the passage of time.

4. Why are the feet of all the girls called ‘terribly transient’?

Ans. Compared to the sea, the three girls are mortal. They have ‘momentary’ existence.

5. Find a word in the passage that means ‘momentary’.

Ans. Transient.

3.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 labored ease of loss.

Questions and Answer:

1. Who is ‘she’ in the passage?

Ans. ‘She’ is the poet’s mother.

2. Who were Betty and Dolly?

Ans. Betty and Dolly were girl cousins of the poet’s mother.

3. Why did the mother laugh at the snapshot?

Ans. The mother laughed at the snapshot as they were dressed up quite funny by their parents for the sea-holiday.

4. What is the irony for both of them?

Ans. The irony is that both the mother and the poet suffer from a sense of loss. The mother lost her childhood fun she had at the beach. The poet lost that sweet laughter of the mother as was captured by the snapshot years ago.

5. Explain: ‘laboured ease of loss’.

Ans. Both of them struggled to ease the sense of loss they suffered.

4.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.

Questions and Answer:

1. When did the poet’s mother die?

Ans. The poet’s mother died about thirty years ago.

2. Explain: ‘nearly as many years as that girl lived.’

Ans. She has been dead for as many years as the number of years she lived.

3. What is ‘this circumstance’?

Ans. This ‘circumstance’ means the condition of her death.

4. How does ‘silence’ intensify more ‘silence’?

Ans. The poet’s silence gives birth to a pall of silence.

5. Give the opposite of ‘silence’ and use it in a sentence of your own.

Ans. Noise. Don’t make a noise in the class.

6. Briefly evaluate the poet’s attitude towards life as seen in the last stanza of the poem, ‘A Photograph’. 2019

Exam Questions from 2011 to 2024

1. What has the camera captured in the poem ‘A Photograph’?         2012

2. Why would the poet’s mother laugh at the snapshot?         2015  2016

3. Whose transient feet is the poet talking about? Why are they transient?         2016

4. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate?          2017

5. The three stanzas of the poem ‘A photograph’ depict three different phases. What are they?     2018

9. Read any one of the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow:

a) The cardboard shows me how it was                       2015,    2017

    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,

    All three stood still to smile through their hair

    At the uncle with the camera

i.  What does the cardboard show the poet?                             1

Ans: Ans. The cardboard shows the poet’s mother. She was standing at the beach with her two girl cousins.

ii. How did the girls go to the sea beach?                                1

Ans: The girls went to the sea beach by paddling.

iii. Why did the two girl cousins hold one of the poet’s mother’s hands?                  1

Ans: The two girl cousins  was holding one of the poet’s mother’s hands because she was the eldest one among them.

iv. Who clicked the three girls in the cardboard?                                                        1

Ans: Poet’s   mother’s uncle clicked the three girls in the cardboard. 

b)‘The cardboard shows me how it was            2013

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

All these stood to smile through their hair

At uncle with the camera’

(a) The photograph shows

         i.            The poet and his mother

       ii.            The poet and his cousins

      iii.            The poet’s mother and her cousins

     iv.            The poet’s mother and her friends.

Ans. iii the poet’s mother and her cousins

(b) ‘Paddling’ in the second line means

         i.            Walking in shallow water with no shoes or socks

       ii.            Paddling a boat

      iii.            Paddling a bike

     iv.            Swimming up and down

Ans. I walking in shallow water with no shoes or socks

(c) The ‘big’ girl described in the fourth line was

         i.            The poet’s grandmother

       ii.            The eldest sister of poet’s mother

      iii.            The poet’s mother

     iv.            The eldest cousin of the poet

Ans. iii The poet’s mother

(d) All three stood still

         i.            In a ship

       ii.            On the ground

      iii.            On a hill

     iv.            At the sea beach

Ans. iv At the sea beach

(e) The names of the two cousins standing with the mother were

         i.            Susan and Sarin

       ii.            Enna and Anna

      iii.            Betty and Dolly

     iv.            Mack and Jack

Ans. iii Betty and Dolly

(f) Pick out the correct option of the opposite of the word ‘shows’ from the alternative given below:

         i.            Reveals

       ii.            Displays

      iii.            Hides

     iv.            Avoids

Ans. iii Hides.

c) The cardboard shows me how it was             2019

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.

All three stood still to smile through their hair

At the uncle with the camera.

1)      What does the cardboard show the poet?                          1

2)      Who was ‘the big girl’?                                                     1

3)      How old was the poet’s mother when the photograph was clicked?                 1

4)      Who clicked the photograph?                                             1

5)      Write briefly what the girls did on the sea beach.               4

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