POEM 1 : THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH (by Jackie Kay)

My small grandmother is tall there,

straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt,
pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
a kind, old smile round her eyes.
Her big hand holds mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her own death in the eye.
It was true after all; that look.
My tall grandmother became small.
Her back round and hunched.
Her soup forgot to boil.
She went to the awful place grandmothers go.
Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
But there she is still,
in the photo with me at three,
the crinkled smile is still living, breathing.
Stanza 1
Line Meaning
The persona’s grandmother looks tall in the
1 My small grandmother is tall there,
photograph.
She is standing with good posture, wearing an
2 straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt ,
embroidered lace blouse.
She wears the blouse with a pleated skirt, non-
3 pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
heeled shoes and her hair in a bun.
4 a kind, old smile round her eyes. She is smiling kindly.
5 Her big hand holds mine, Her big hand is holding the persona’s hand.
The contrast of their skin colours can clearly be seen
6 white hand in black hand.
in their linked hands.
Her grandmother’s blue eyes suggests that her death
7 Her sharp blue eyes look her death in the eye.
is near.

Stanza 2
Line Meaning
8 It was true after all; that look. The persona’s reference of death came true.
9 My tall grandmother became small. The grandmother became thinner and more fragile.
10 Her back round and hunched. Her back became hunched.
11 Her soup forgot to boil. She became forgetful.
12 She went to the awful place grandmothers go. Soon, she passed away.
Upon her death, she went to a place that no one
13 Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
knows.

Stanza 3
Line
14 But there she is still,
15 in the photo with me at three,
16 the crinkled smile is still living, breathing.
Meaning
However, in the photograph, her grandmother will
always be alive.
The persona was there years old in the photograph
with her grandmother.
Her grandmother’s smile is still so alive and real.

Moral Value
1 We must treasure our loved ones when they are alive.
 We must spend as much time as we can with our loved ones while they are still living
  When they pass away, all that will be left are the memories, as is illustrated in the poem.
2 It is difficult to lose a family member.
 It is always difficult to deal with the death of a loved one.
 The persona loses her grandmother when she was younger but she will always remember her.
3 We must never forget the importance of family relationship.
 We should not forget to love and care for our family, especially our grandparents who are the pillars
of a family.
 When they are old and sick, we must continue to take care of them.
Summary of Stanza 1
The persona is looking at an old photograph of her grandmother and herself. She describes the
photograph – her grandmother is standing tall and straight, dressed in a white embroidered lace blouse
with a pleated skirt, and flat shoes. Her grey hair is pulled neatly into a bun. She is smiling kindly while
holding the persona’s hand in hers, giving her the security and comfort. As the persona describes their
linked hands – white hand in black hand – it is clear that they come from a mixed race family. The last
line seems to suggest that the persona knows that her grandmother’s death will come soon.
Summary of Stanza 2
While the first describes the photograph, in the second stanza, the persona is remembering her
grandmother later, when she is older and has become ill. The persona recalls how her grandmother soon
grows thinner and more fragile. Her back is hunched and she becomes forgetful as is illustrated in the
line, Her soup forgot to boil. Eventually, she passes away and upon her death, she goes to an
unimaginable place.
Summary of Stanza 3
However, in the photograph, the persona’s grandmother will forever be alive. She is still there, holding the
hand of her three-year-old granddaughter, with her smile looking so alive and real.
Themes
1 The everlasting quality of a photograph
 A photograph immortalizes a person or a moment. What is captured in a photograph will remain
alive forever.
 In the poem, the persona’s grandmother has already passed away. However, in the photograph, she
will always be healthy and alive.
 A photograph also allows us grandmother passes away to reflect on what happened in the past and
relive our memories.
2 Death
 Death is a definite outcome for all of us.
 In the poem, the persona recalls how her grandmother was once strong and healthy but soon grows
older and becomes ill.
 In the end, the grandmother passes away and the persona is only able to relive her memories with
her grandmother through a photograph.
 he Charge of the Light Brigade

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said :
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'

Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew

Some one had blundered :

Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die :
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell,
Rode the six hundred.

Alfred Lord Tennyson.

About the Poem

This poem is about the 600 British soldiers as mentioned in the poet's background. It also
about the heroism and courage of a brigade. Well, many died in that battle which is
called by Crimean War (1854-1856). The soldier belonged to a light brigade which
means they were on horseback and armed only with sabres and baton (light arms). By
some mistake by one *in the poem said so, and they were ordered into a valley which had
heavily armed Russian enemy battalions on three sides - front, left and right. The
Russians were fully armed and they were very powerful and they had powerful cannons.
Now, when the light brigade charged into this "valley of death", they were massacred by
the cannons fire.Yes, most of them died but they showed great heroism and patriotism in
battle. On one side, well, we can see how heroism and patriotism took part in the way we
think, but hey! the coin has two sides right? another side would be the challenging ideas
of the concept of obedience, patriotism and nationalism. Don't you think so?

Now, the themes for this poet are,

1. Heroism and courage

2. Patriotism
3. Duty
4. The tragedy of was
5. Leadership failure

Moral values:

1. Patriotism
2. Duty
3. Anti-war sentiment

The persona :

The poem is narrated by an omniscient (all-seeing) narrator who reports not only the
action but the thoughts and spirit of the 600 men as a collective unit. There is also a
reference that "someone has blundered".

Tone/Mood

Since the poem is about war so, it is clear that the tone and mood is quite intense and as
the overall mood, it would be collective action, rather than individual impulse. The poem
has the sound of military march and also the feeling of exhaustion, something like that.
But to me, as long as you could imagine how war is about then, marks are waiting for you
students! but make sure you relate your answer with the poem. Easy right?

As for the Language and Style, well, as you can see, there were Repetition. Why? As you
all know, we repeat things because we want to make a bold statement by saying a few
times. In this poem, the repetition (refrains) was used to create hypnotic effect and the
refrains give us the impression of an army marching forward. *I will explain more on
Language and Style of this poem, once I read it VERY thoroughly, ok?

Point of view :

The poem is narrated by an omniscient (third person) narrator.