ASSIGNMENT 2

I. 1.
(i)The name of the poem is “A Photograph” and the
poet is Shirley Toulson.
(ii)The mother in the photograph is shown as a young
girl with a sweet face who is smiling in the picture and
is enjoying her holiday.
(iii)Humans grow and after a specific period of time
die and become a part of nature but, the nature never
grows and hence the sea doesn’t die.
(iv)Here transient means temporary, not permanent,
as the footprints of the poet’s mother which were
washed away by the water. Here, it is also told that
humans are also immortal, temporary, and die after a
certain age.

2.
(i)Betty and Dolly are poet’s mother’s cousin sisters
who joined her for the sea holiday.
(ii)The poet’s mother laughed after seeing the
snapshot. She memorized the moments and the way
she was all dressed up by her sisters.
(iii)The line mentioned here refers to one of the old
memories of the poet’s mother when she was very
young and was enjoying the sea holiday with her
sisters.
(iv)The holiday is a past for the poet’s mother and her
laughter is the poet’s past. As now it’s been 12 years
 since her mother has passed away and the poet
misses her laughter.
3.
(i)She refers to poet’s mother.
(ii)The poet and her mother shared a bond of
unconditional love and deep down in her heart she
was broken and hence she couldn’t express her
sadness.
(iii)Circumstance

II. SHORT ANSWERS

1.
From the photograph we get to know that the poet’s
mother was a cheerful person and enjoyed her life to
the fullest. Even after the golden days she feels happy
after recollecting her past and is seen laughing. She is
very joyous in the picture and is holding the hands of
her cousin sisters.

2.
The poetess tells that her mother was very beautiful
and had a lovely smile. The photograph is taken by
the seaside which shows that she was attracted
towards beaches and loved spending time there. She
was also a family loving person.

3. This line shows a contrast between two completely

opposite things that is the sea which is immortal, and
signifies stability, and on the other hand human life,
which is full of unstabilities. The contrast is on the
basis if their age if living.

4.
 The photograph of the poet's mother with her
cousins was taken by her uncle and had a sweet
memory. She laughed after seeing the way she was
dressed by her sisters. The poet is very distressed as
she will now never be able to listen to her mother's
laughter all over again.

5.
The poetess is hurt and is speechless about the
feelings of her mother's death. She was overwhelmed
when she saw the photograph and couldn't express
her feelings on it.

III. Long Answers

1.
Shirley Toulson (poet) was deeply attached to her
mother. She missed her when she saw the picture of
her mother's childhood and she used to remember
the way her mother laughed after watching the
picture but now she is very sad as her mother has
passed away and she cannot express her grief.
 I have a very loving impression of the poetess'
mother as she was very loving and adorable. She had
an attractive smile everytime on her face. And her
laughter, as the poetess misses, depicts that she lived
her life to the fullest and did not cry for the passed
time.