A Photograph

Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
The poet talks about a particular cardboard. How is it special to her?
Answer:
The poet talks about a particular cardboard to which is pasted her mother’s photograph taken at the sea
beach. The mother seems to have been enjoying her sea holiday. The photograph is special as she has
lost her mother sometime back and looking at the photograph makes her happy as well as sad.

Question 2.
What can you say about the childhood of the poet’s mother?
Answer:
The childhood of the poet’s mother must have been filled with fun and happiness. This is clear from the
snapshot of the sea holiday. They are enjoying their holiday.

The mother of the poet laughs when looking at the snapshot even after many years have passed since
the sea holiday. All this shows us that it was a very pleasant childhood.
Question 3.
What moment does the photograph depict?
Answer:
The photograph clicked by. the uncle of the poet’s mother depicts a sea-holiday being enjoyed by the
poet’s mother and her two cousins Dolly and Betty. They are full of smiles in their beach dresses, not
worrying about their flying hair.

Question 4.
Were the three cousins camera friendly? Who was taking their photograph?
Answer:
The three cousins appear to be camera-friendly as they stood at the sea beach without moving when
the uncle took the photograph.
Question 5.
The poet’s mother would laugh looking at the photograph. Why?
Answer:
The poet’s mother was in middle age when she looked at that photograph and used to laugh
remembering those golden days of her childhood, enjoying a sea holiday. She would also laugh at the
beach dresses which looked weird after many years.

Question 6.
What impression do you form about the poet’s mother?
Answer:
The poet’s mother was very pretty at the age of twelve. She enjoyed the sea holiday. This is indicated by
the happiness that she gets in middle age after looking at her childhood photograph.
Question 7.
The sea ‘appears to have changed less’ in comparison to the three girls who enjoyed the sea holiday.
Comment.
Answer:
The poet compares the mortal nature of human beings with the eternal nature of the sea or natural
objects. With the passage of time, the poet’s mother died but the vast sea has remained as it was since
the photograph was taken.

Question 8.
Why does the poet feel nostalgic?
Answer:
The poet sees an old photograph of her mother in which she was standing on the beach with her two
cousins — Dolly and Betty. They were enjoying themselves. The photograph captured her mother’s
sweet and smiling face. At that time, she was around twelve years old. The poet remembers how her
mother used to laugh whenever she looked at that old photograph. But time has passed and now the
poet has been left only with the memories of her mother. Thus, she feels nostalgic

Question 9.
What does the poet say about her mother’s face?
Answer:
The poet remarks that her mother had a sweet face, smiling and caring for her cousins who were
younger to her. The poet also says that her mother used to enjoy these sea holidays, and would laugh
heartily, later on when she saw the photograph.

Question 10.
How does the poet react to her past? Why has she not mentioned anything about her mother’s death?
Answer:
The poet remembers with sadness her mother’s laughter which she cannot hear any more. The poet is
full of a sense of loss and does not mention about her mother’s death, as it may bring more gloom to
her and make her speechless.

Question 11.
Does the poet appear to be grieving?
Answer:
The poet is certainly filled with a sense of loss. Her mother is long dead and though the poet has
adjusted to her absence, she is not able to completely overcome her loss.

She remembers how it used to be when her mother was still with her. The last line is an apt depiction of
her state of mind. The loss has filled her life with silence.

Question 12.
Comment on the tone of the poem.
Answer:
The tone of the poem is that of sadness. Shirley Toulson looks at an old photograph of her mother and is
sadly reminded of her mother who is no more. She mentions about death of her mother indirectly only
but this photograph has made her speechless and silent.

When was the photo taken? What has been shown in the Photograph?
The photo was taken when the poet’s mother was a child of around 12 years or so. The Photograph
shows poet’s mother and her two cousin sisters Betty and Dolly holding her hand in the beach.

Explain “Its Silence Silences” from the poem “A Photograph”.

The expression from the poem “A Photograph” by Shirley Toulson mean the death or loss of poet’s
mother and the poet’s inability to express her grief and sorrow. “Its silence” here refers to death of
poet’s mother and “silences” refers to the poet’s silence or sorrow because of it.

Why does the poet feel nostalgic?

On seeing the photograph, the poet feels nostalgic because it reminds her of her mother who is dead.
The photograph visualises the time when her mother was a child. She remembers how her mother used
to look at one of her old photograph, where she posed in a beach with her cousins Betty and Dolly with
a smile.

The poet’s mother would laugh looking at the photograph. Why?

The poet’s mother laughed while recalling a moment of her past captured in the photograph. She looks
back at her childhood days with nostalgia and recollects her innocent joys. Looking at the picture, years
later, brings in her minds the fond memories. She laughs at the way they were dressed up for the beach
holiday.

Explain “The sea holiday was her past, mine is her laughter”.
Gone are the childhood days of the poet’s mother and the sea holiday has become her past, the
photograph flashes her back to the scene that was captured around 30 years ago. Gone is the carefree
laughter of her mother which was love at one time. But now, the laughter of her mother has eventually
become a thing of the past for the poet. She has silently resigned herself to the fate.

Explain “Terribly transient feet”.

In the phrase “terribly transient feet” the word ‘feet’ is used to describe human beings and transient
means short-lived or temporary. The phrase as a whole means that human life is impermanent. Human
beings are mortal and have to die one day or the other but the sea is permanent and will remain the
same even after our death.

What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss”?
Both the poet’s mother and the poet suffer a sense of loss. The mother has lost her childlike innocence
and joyful spirit that the photograph captured years ago. For the poet, the smile of her mother has
become a thing of the past. Ironically, both labour to bear this loss with ease.

What does ‘this circumstance’ refer to?

‘this circumstance’ refers to the painful memory of the death of poet’s mother. The happy and carefree
girl seen in the photograph is no more. The poetess could not help being sorry and sad to think of her
mother as an objected person.

Did the mother enjoy her childhood? How do you know?

The poet’s mother was a happy and carefree girl. She enjoyed her childhood days with her cousins,
which is evident in the photograph of the sea holiday that they had once enjoyed. The memory of the
holiday also made her laugh.

What was the occasion of taking the photograph? Who was there with the girls?
The poet’s mother along with her cousin sisters Betty and Dolly had gone to the beach for a picnic
during summer holidays and so, were posing for a photograph which was being taken by there uncle
who was there with them, the girls.

A Photograph Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
The poet has paid a tribute to her mother. Similar instances can be seen in ‘The Portrait of a Lady’. This
made you think that writing about a loved one is much better than building their statues or drawing
their portraits. Comment.
Answer:
Many writers have paid tributes to their loved ones through beautiful writing. Khushwant Singh gave an
adorable description about his grandmother through his story. Shirley Toulson remembered her mother
through her heart-touching poem.

In my opinion, writing about a loved one is much better than building their statues or drawing their
portraits. One can never tell the true personality of a person just by looking at their sculptures or
portraits. One can never know about the amazing time someone has spent with them. That magic can
only be created by words.

Words stand the passage of time, whereas sculptures or portraits may get damaged by it. Hence, words
are the best way by which anyone can pay a tribute to one’s loved ones.

Question 2.
“Its silence silences,” writes Shirley Toulson. The loss of her mother has silenced her. Do you think that
this attitude of the poet is the right attitude to live life? Why/ why not?
Answer:
There is no doubt that Shirley Toulson has given a very touching tribute to her mother by remembering
her through her verses. It is apparent that she is very much nostalgic and is grieving at the loss of her
mother. Though she says that over the years she has adjusted to her mother’s absence, but
circumstances have surely filled her with silence and a deep void.

We cannot deny that it hurts very much to lose someone, but the attitude shown by the poet at the end
is not the right way to live your life. Life will keep going on even if we stop to lament our loss.

Loss is universal. It is the law of nature. We cannot let ourselves get depressed just because of this. It is
also understandable that we will grieve. However, grieving to the point of hampering the normal
functioning of our lives is not acceptable.

Question 3.
Happy moments are short-lived but provide a lifetime memory. They provide a cushion to bear the
difficulties which the future has in store for you. Comment in the light of the poem ‘A Photograph’ by
Shirley Toulson.
Answer:
Our life is a mixture of happy as well as adverse times. We must learn to move on with the help of those
happy memories which provided us with so much enjoyment and happiness. As life is not a bed of roses,
everyone at one stage or another is likely to face difficulties.
At the time of difficulties, happy moments can give us solace and fill us with positivity which is required
during difficult times. Happy moments will certainly provide us with a hope that, as happy moments are
short-lived, so are difficult times. One must learn to cope with the situation. The memories of happy
times can provide us a cushion to bear difficulties with patience and peace.

Question 4.
‘Both wry with the laboured ease of loss.’ The poet is missing her mother. What is the role of the mother
in forming the personality of a child?
Answer:
A mother’s role in shaping the personality of a child is of paramount importance. The child watches his/
her mother intently and learns about the world and how to react to it at the initial stages. The mother
can
play an important role by making the child to deal constructively with mistakes, forgive others, handle
frustration, show kindness and share love.
When a mother is nurturing and caring the child, it will develop a healthy bond with not only the mother
but will be willing to form new relationships with others.
Children and adults both want a sense of independence and autonomy. It is very important on a
mother’s part to offer choices to the child. This makes the child feel that he/she is smart enough to
make choices.
The mother’s thoughts nourish a child’s mind and soul as her personal attention nourishes a child’s
body. She is a child’s first teacher. She tries to imbibe such values that may help a child lifelong.