The living photograph presentation slide

1. The Living Photograph
by Jackie Kay
Prepared by Miss Tang (Theo2015)

2. Stanza 1
Lines
1. My small grandmother is
tall there,
2. straight-back, white
broderie anglaise shirt,
3. pleated skirt, flat shoes,
grey bun,
4. a kind, old smile round her
eyes.
Meaning
• The word ‘there’ refers to
the old photograph.
• Grandmother wears a white
embroidered shirt, a
pleated skirt and flat shoes.
Her hair is tied up in a bun.
• Grandmother’s eyes look
kind.

4. Stanza 1
Lines
5. Her big hand holds mine,
6. white hand in black hand.
Meaning
• Grandmother is holding the
grandchild’s white hand in her
black one. This tells us that the
grandchild may be of mixed
parentage.
• White hand represents the
poet's youth, purity, and
innocence.
• Black hand represents that the
grandmother is experienced.
An old soul who has been
through a lot in life.

6. Stanza 1
Lines
7. Her sharp blue eyes look
her own death in the eye.
Meaning
• Grandmother has sharp
blue eyes and they seem to
look at death without fear.
This reveal that
grandmother is growing old
and death is unavoidable.

7. Stanza 2
Lines
8. It was true after all that
look.
9. My tall grandmother
became small.
10. Her back round and
hunched.
Meaning
• The look on grandmother’s
face that she was expecting
death was true.
• Grandmother became
shorter as her back grew
bent with age.

9. Stanza 2
Lines
11. Her soup forgo to boil.
12. She went to the awful
place grandmothers go.
13. Somewhere unknown,
unthinkable.
Meaning
• The soup that did not boil
reveals that the
grandmother became
forgetful and senile.
• Grandmother died. Death is
described as an ‘awful’,
‘unknown’ and
‘unthinkable’ place. This is
clearly a child’s view point.

10. Stanza 3
Lines
14. But there she is still,
15. in the photo with me at
three,
14. the crinkled smile is still
living, breathing.
Meaning
• The word ‘there’ refers to
the old photograph taken
with the grandmother when
the persona was three years
old.
• To the grandchild, the
grandmother looks alive in
the photograph.
• The memory of his/ her
grandmother is still fresh
and new.

13. THEME
• Remembering a loved one
• Family relationships
• Life and death
MORAL VALUES
• We should remember our elders.
• We should treasure our family photographs.
• We should cherish the memories with our
grandparents.

14. TONE/ MOOD
• Nostalgic
• Serious
• Positive
POINT OF VIEW
• First person narrative

15. Language/ Style
• Simple vocabulary: ‘flat’, ‘grey’, ‘kind’, ‘round’,
‘big’ …
• Imagery: ‘white broderie anglaise shirt’, ‘grey
bun’.
• Contrast: ‘tall’ and ‘small’, ‘straight-back’ and
‘back round and hunched’, ‘white hand’ and
‘black hand’.
-End-