A Photograph Shirley Toulson

Think it out

1.  What does the‘cardboard’ denote in the poem? Why has this word been used? 

2. What has the camera captured?

3. What has not changed over the years? Does this suggestsomething to you?

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

5. What is the meaning of the line, “Both wry with thelaboured ease of loss”?

6. What does “this circumstance” refer to?

7. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What arethey?

 

Short Answer Type Questions:

1. What does the poet see in the photograph?
2. Why does the sea appear to have changed less?
3. What does 'transient feet' mean?
4. What made the poet's mother laugh when she saw the photograph?
5. Why is the poet's mother's 'laughter' a thing of the past for the poet?
6. How does the poet react at her mother's death?