Form 4 Literature

1. The Living
Photograph
By Jackie Kay

2. The Poet : Jackie Kay
 Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1961
 Scottish mother Nigerian father
 Adopted by a white couple
 Raised in Glasgow

3.  Studied English at the University of
Stirling, Scotland
 Currently a professor of Creative
Writing at Newcastle University,
England
 A Member of the Order of the British
Empire (MBE)

4. Stanza 1
 Describing her grandmother in a
photograph – ‘is’
 Standing tall and straight, tall, broderie
anglaise shirt – shows a woman of
class; upper or middle class
 White hand in black hand – come from
a mixed race family
 Sharp blue eyes – isn’t afraid of death

5. Stanza 2
 ‘was’ – how she remembers her
grandmother used to be
 Has become smaller in size
 ‘Her soup forgot to boil’ – forgetful,
senile, signs of dementia
 She passes away and goes to a place
that is unimaginable to the persona

6. Stanza 3
 ‘is’ – in the photograph (still living in
her heart)
 Feels her grandmother’s presence
whenever she looks at the photograph
 She wants to remember her as
healthy, not old and fragile

7. Theme:
 The positive image people create in
remembrance of a departed person
 Coping with grief and loss – one way
is to hang on to the good memories of
a person

8. Moral Values
 We must strive for close family
relationships
 We should love and appreciate our
family members while they are still
alive
 We must not dwell on the past too
much
 We should learn to let go of the dead

9. Questions
 How are the people in the photograph
related?
 What does the line, My small
grandmother is tall there mean?
 What is the grandmother wearing in
the photograph?

10. Questions
 What does the line, white hand in
black hand suggest?
 Which line in the poem tells us the
grandmother has passed away?
 Name one theme of the poem.
Provide evidence from the text to
support your answer.
Theme:
Evidence:

11. Questions
 Why do you think the persona
describe the place that grandmothers
go as awful?
 Name one moral value you have
learned from the poem. Provide
evidence from the text that shows this
moral value.
Moral value :
Evidence :

12. Questions
 Do you like the poem? Give one
reason to support your response.
Response:
Reason :