The poem describes a photograph of the poet's mother from her childhood. The photograph shows the mother as a young girl of twelve, standing on the beach with her cousins. They are smiling at the uncle who is taking their picture. In the present, the poet remembers how her mother would laugh while looking at the old photograph and reminiscing about her beach holiday from the past. Now, the poet's mother has been dead for nearly as many years as she was in the photograph. This reality of her mother's death leaves the poet speechless.

1. A PHOTOGRAPH
- Shirley Toulson
By: Shivani Singh
PGT- ENGLISH, Army Public School, Delhi Cantt.

2. About the poet…
Shirley Toulson was born on 20th May 1924 in Henley-on-
Thames, England as the daughter of Douglas Horsfall Dixon
and Marjorie Brown. She had a huge passion on writing and
was greatly influenced by her father who was a writer too. She
secured a B.A on Literature from Brockenhurst College in
London in the year 1953. Shortly, she took writing as career
but also served as the editor for many magazines in meantime.
She married AlanBrownjohn on 6th February 1960. They had
three children - Janet Sayers, Ian Toulson and Steven
brownjohn. ut after nine years they divorced on March 1969.
Celtic Christianity influenced her greatly that most of her
major works like "Celtic Alternative" in 1987 and "Celtic Year"
in 1993 were on that topic. But these works indeed made her
more famous.

3. THEME AND CENTRAL IDEA
A description of a photograph
A nostalgic and melancholic poem
The interlocutor’s memories of her mother and the mother’s
memory of her beach holiday
She misses her mother with a heavy heart.
Transient nature of time
The poet reveals how death can silence you and leave you
speechless.

4. Stanza 1
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.
All three stood still to smile through their hair
At the uncle with the camera.

5. Cardboard= picture frame on which the photograph
has been mounted.
Paddling= splashing water around( contextual) : the
verb form of paddle refers to the action of navigating
through the water, either in a boat using a paddle or
as a swimmer who used the hands and feet to move
around in shallow water.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

6. DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Explanation:
 The poet describes the photograph and tells the reader that the picture tells
about the beach holiday. ‘It’ means the holiday spent by her mother.
 Here is a reminder to the poet and works as a memory not just of the poet but
alkso of the poet’s mother.
 The scene captured by the photo is as mentioned here:
There were three girls. The younger ones were holding the hands of elder,
twelve year old girl. She was the poet’s mother. They could be seen navigating
through the water of the sea along the beach.
They all stood still and their smiles could be seen behind there hair which were
being blown awry by the sea winds.

7. Poetic devices
a.Personification: The cardboard shows me how it was…
b. Alliteration: ‘stood still to smile’

8. Answer these:
1.What is the meaning of ‘cardboard’?
2.Describe the scene depicted in the
photograph.
3.Why were the girls standing still?
4.Who was taking the photograph?

9. 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.
Transient= short lived
Poetic devices:
1.Alliteration: ‘terribly transient feet’
2. Transferred epithet: ‘terribly transient feet’
The feet are not short lived but the human
being is .
This Photo by Unknown Author is licens
under CC BY

10. Explanation:
 The [poet further points out that her mother’s facewas young and
innocent untouched by the vagaries of time.
 The picture was clicked obviously befor the poet was born.
 She draws the reader’s attention towards the fact that while the
mother had grown old since the time the photograph was taken,
the sea looks just the same.
 The idea is to highlight the shortlived nature of human existence
and the permanence of nature as exemplified by the sea here.
 Further, the poet draws an image of their footprints getting
washed away by water. This is to bring in focus the manner in
which the vagaries of time can destroy man’s exixtence.

11. Answer these:
1. Whose face is sweet and how?
2. What seems to have changed less.
3. Explain ‘terribly transient feet’.

12. Stanza 2:
DESCRIPTION OF THE PASTS OF BOTH MOTHER AND POET
Some twenty- thirty- years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot, “ Betty
And Dolly.” She’d say, and look how they
Dressed us for the beach.” the sea holiday
Was her pats, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.
Snapshot= photograph
Wry= a wry expression shows that you find the situation slightly
amusing because you know more about it than other people.
Laboured=having exerted efforts, having borne with difficulty and pain
ease=lack of difficulty

13. .The poet says that the the picture was captured around 20 or 30 years
ago.
While remembering her beach holiday, the mother would laugh. She
would show the poet the two girls and call them betty and Dolly. She
found the attire amusing since it appeared old- fashioned .
The poet asserts that both she herself and her mother had lost
something in the past.
For the mother, it was her youth and beautiful moments spent during
the holiday. For the poet, it was the mother’s laughter which was now a
part of her memories. Both found it painful to recollect their cherished
memories.
Both are nostalgic and melancholic about their past.

14. Poetic devices:
1.Oxymoron:
Laboured ease of loss- the process of making the pain of
loss and separation bearable is extremely difficult and
needs efforts.
However, both have been able to make it bearable to
themselves over a period of time.

15. Answer these:
1.Who were the three girls in the photograph?
2.Why would the mother laugh?
3.Explain: Both wry with the laboured ease of loss’.

16. Now she has been dead nearly as many years
As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all.
Its silence silences.
Circumstance= situation
Poetic devices;
Alliteration – silence silences
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

17. The poet returns to the present says that her mother has been
dead for almost twelve years ago.
However, about this aspect ( circumstance), she cannot say
anything.
After describing the photograph and her feelings for her mother
and their respective losses, the poet is speechless.
These lines bring in sharp focus othe sad truth of life. Death is
the ultimate reality and it renders everyone silent.

18. THANKYOU !