11th Eng Poem-1 A PHOTOGRAPH ( HORNBILL) Introduction, Summary, Message, Theme

. A Photograph Shirley Toulson

     

I. Introduction to the Poem

The poem captures three different moods and situations in three stanzas. The first one tells about a snapshot or an instant cardboard-photo of three girls. They are cousins. The eldest one, 12 years old, became the mother of the poetess after marriage. They are enjoying a sea holiday, putting on funny dresses. Their uncle clicks the camera and captures the smiling faces of all the three.

Some 20-30 years later, the mother looks at the photo and laughs. She tells the poetess how her cousins Betty and Dolly had all dressed for the holiday. The outing on the beach in a quaint dress was the mother's past. But her laughter has become a thing of the past for the poetess. The mother passed away some twelve years ago. The void created by her death has made life dull and eventless.

II. Complete Summary

The poetess looks at the photograph of her late mother, with her two cousins on a sea beach. The mother was the eldest of the three, 12 years old, and had a lovely face. They were escorted by the uncle, who clicked the camera. The girls stood in shallow water. The sea waves seemed to be washing their feet which changed fast with the passage of time. Only the sea has shown no change in its behaviour over the years.

The mother happened to see her photo after a time-gap of some 20-30 years. She was amused to see the pretty, beach dresses of all the three girls. She blushed and laughed. She told the poetess that they had been dressed for the pleasure trip by her cousins Betty and Dolly.

The sea holiday was the mother's past, but after she had passed away, her laughter became a thing of the past for the poetess. Both had lost their newness with the passing of time. The photograph is twisted and faded; the memory of the mother's laughter has also grown faint.

The mother of the poetess died some 12 years ago. The poetess has faced only blank silences after her mother's death. She has nothing to say about that period since the mother left.

MESSAGE -The poetess through the poem photograph conveys the message of impermanence of life. The poetess wanted to show that change is the only static thing in life. Photograph is not just a positive print recorded by a camera; it is rather the capturing those moments which one will never get back

THEME 

The theme of the poem Photograph is loss, memory and the transience of life. It explores how people may die but in a strange way they continue to live on in the form of memories. These memories are not just restricted to one's head but can also attain a tangible form such as photographs

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