The Living Photograph

by Jackie Kay

Prepared by Miss Tang (Theo2015)

 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.
 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.
 Stanza 1
Lines Meaning
7. Her sharp blue eyes look • Grandmother has sharp
her own death in the eye. blue eyes and they seem to
look at death without fear.
This reveal that
grandmother is growing old
and death is unavoidable.
 Stanza 2
Lines Meaning
8. It was true after all that • The look on grandmother’s
look. face that she was expecting
death was true.
9. My tall grandmother • Grandmother became
became small. shorter as her back grew
10. Her back round and bent with age.
hunched.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 TONE/ MOOD
• Nostalgic
• Serious
• Positive

POINT OF VIEW
• First person narrative
 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-