A Photograph Summary
The poem is a tribute to the poet’s mother. She is looking at
an old photograph of her mother which has a frame of cardboard. The picture has
three girls in which the middle one is the oldest and tallest.
It is her mother when she was twelve years old or so. Beside
her, on both sides are her two cousins, Betty and Dolly, who are holding her
hands and are younger than her. They went for paddling on a beach holiday. Her
uncle took the photograph then. The poet could not help but notice her mother’s
sweet face. The sea touched her terribly transient feet which depicted that she
changed over the years and the sea remained the same.
After twenty-thirty years, her mother would laugh at the
photograph. She would make the poet look at the photograph and tell her how
their parents would dress them up for the beach holiday. The beach holiday was
her mother’s favourite past memories while her laugh was the poet’s favourite
memory. Both of them lost something which they cherished a lot and yet cannot
live that moment again.
Those sweet moments were memories now.
Now, the poet’s mother had been dead for the past twelve
years, which is the same number as of her age when the photograph was taken
back then. She cannot express the grief that she has from her mother’s absence.
A Photograph Poem Explanation
Poem :
Line 1 – 4:
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 Meaning: Paddling – walking
Explanation of the Poem: In these lines, the poet is looking
at an old photo album which is made up of cardboard. In the picture, there are
three girls who are walking on the beach holding each other’s hands. The girl
in the middle is the tallest and oldest, the other two girls on each side are
younger than her. The girl in the middle is the poet’s mother. She is around
twelve years old when the picture was taken.
Poem :
Line 5 – 9:
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 Meaning: Transient – short-term; temporary
Explanation of the Poem: In the above lines, the poet
describes how the photograph was taken. Her mother’s uncle took the photograph
and told them to stop and pose. All three of them left their wet hair open and
smiled at the camera. The poet’s attention is drawn towards his mother’s face
which is described as a ‘sweet face’. The photograph was taken long before the
poet was born. The poet calls their feet ‘terrible transient’ as they were so
young by then and now they had grown older. On the other hand, the sea which
touched their feet has changed less.
Poem :
Line 10 – 13:
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
Word Meaning: Snapshot – photograph
Explanation of the Poem: After twenty-thirty years later, she
would laugh at the photograph. She would tell me to look at her cousins, Betty
and Dolly and how their parents would dress all three of them up for the beach.
They would have planned to take a photograph beforehand.
Poem :
Line 14 – 15:
Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.
Word Meaning: Wry – ironic; mocking
Explanation of the Poem: The poet recalls the sea holiday was
her mother’s favourite moment from the past. While the poet’s favouritemoment
from the past was her mother’s laughter. Both the women would think about those
past memories which they cannot live again. They tried their best to adjust to
what they lost.
Poem :
Line 16 – 19:
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 Meaning: Silences – a complete absence of sound
Explanation of the Poem: In the above lines, the poet says
that her mother died twelve years ago, the same age her mother was in the
photograph. Whenever the poet thinks of her mother’s death, she cannot explain
what effect she has of her mother’s death. Death has silenced her mother which
has also left her speechless.
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A Photograph Literary Devices
Alliteration – repetition of a consonant sound at the
beginning of two or more consecutive words. The instances of alliteration in
the poem are as follows-
Stood still
Through their
My mother’s
Terribly transient
Silence silences
Oxymoron – a term which contradicts itself
Laboured ease
Epithet – a phrase expressing a quality of a person or
something
Terribly transient