Lesson 2 – A Photograph
Author: Shirley Toulson
Pre-text Questions (with answers)
Q1. Why do photographs often carry strong emotions with them?
Ans. Because they freeze moments in time, bringing back memories of people, places, and feelings connected to them.
Q2. Do you think photographs help us remember people who are no longer alive?
Ans. Yes. Photographs become tangible memories, reminding us of the presence, love, and bond we shared with those who have passed away.
Post-text Questions (with answers)
A. Understanding the Text
Q1. What does the cardboard show? Why has this word been used?
Ans. The cardboard shows a childhood photograph of the poet’s mother, about twelve years old, with her cousins at the beach. The word “cardboard” is used because old photographs were mounted on stiff paper, and also to suggest the fragility and fadedness of time.
Q2. What has the camera captured?
Ans. The camera has captured the smiling faces of the poet’s mother and her cousins as children, enjoying themselves at the beach with their uncle.
Q3. What has not changed over the years?
Ans. The sea, which has been there for eternity, has not changed, while human life has altered and moved on.
Q4. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate?
Ans. It indicated nostalgia and fondness. She remembered her carefree childhood days and laughed at how different life was back then.
Q5. What is the meaning of the line: “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss”?
Ans. It means both the poet and her mother smiled at the photograph but with a sense of helpless acceptance. The mother recalled her childhood with a sense of loss, and now the poet recalls her mother with the same bittersweet feeling.
Q6. What does the poet mean by “its silence silences”?
Ans. The poet means that the photograph evokes deep grief. It reminds her of her mother’s death, leaving her speechless and overcome by silence.
B. Talking About the Text
Q1. The poet’s mother laughed at her childhood photo. What does this tell us about her?
Ans. It shows she had a simple, affectionate nature. She could laugh at herself and recall her childhood fondly.
Q2. The sea has not changed, but human life has. What message does this contrast convey?
Ans. It highlights the permanence of nature compared to the transience of human life. While natural elements endure, human beings live and die.
Q3. How does the poem capture the idea of loss and memory?
Ans. Through the photograph, the poet reflects on her mother’s childhood, her mother’s nostalgia in adulthood, and finally the poet’s grief after her mother’s death.
C. Working with Words
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“Cardboard” → old photograph
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“Transient” → short-lived
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“Wry” → ironic, slightly bitter
D. Noticing Form
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The poem is free verse, without rhyme scheme, giving it a conversational and reflective tone.
Summary of A Photograph
Shirley Toulson’s poem A Photograph is a poignant meditation on time, memory, and the loss of loved ones. The poem reflects the universal experience of remembering those who are no longer with us and the inevitable passage of life.
The poem begins with the poet describing a photograph mounted on cardboard. The picture shows her mother as a twelve-year-old girl, standing at a beach with her cousins while their uncle takes the photo. The description is simple, yet full of tenderness: the girls are smiling, carefree, and enjoying their childhood moments. The sea, timeless and eternal, forms the backdrop to this fleeting human joy.
The poet then reflects on how her mother used to look at this picture and laugh. For her mother, the photograph was a reminder of her childhood days—simple, innocent, and carefree. She recalled those times fondly but also with a sense of loss, knowing that those moments could never return. Thus, the mother too was aware of the transient nature of life.
The poem then shifts to the poet’s own perspective. Many years have passed, and now the mother herself is no longer alive. For the poet, the photograph has become doubly painful. It first showed her mother’s nostalgia for her lost childhood, and now it reminds the poet of her own lost mother. The photograph becomes a silent witness to generations passing away.
The lines “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss” express how both the mother and daughter dealt with loss—first the loss of childhood, and then the loss of life itself. Both accepted these losses with a kind of weary resignation, aware that time cannot be reversed.
The poem ends with the deeply moving phrase: “Its silence silences.” The photograph is mute, but its silence conveys grief more powerful than words. For the poet, the silence of the photograph is the silence of her mother’s absence, and this overwhelms her.
At its heart, the poem is about the contrast between permanence and transience. The sea has remained unchanged for centuries, while human life is short-lived and fragile. Childhood gives way to adulthood, and life eventually gives way to death. The photograph freezes a moment, but only highlights the inevitability of change and loss.
Through simple imagery and gentle tone, the poem evokes a universal truth: memories stay, but people pass away, leaving behind only silence.
Biography of Shirley Toulson
Shirley Toulson (1924–2018) was a British poet, writer, and folklorist best known for her sensitive poems on memory, family, and the passage of time. She combined her literary talent with a passion for history and culture, particularly in the study of local traditions and landscapes.
Born in Henley-on-Thames, England, Shirley Toulson received her education at Prior’s Field School and later studied English literature at Birkbeck College, University of London. Early in life, she developed a love for poetry and creative writing, which shaped her career as both a poet and prose writer.
Toulson’s poetry is often marked by themes of loss, nostalgia, and memory. She wrote with great simplicity, yet her words carried emotional depth and universal appeal. Her most widely studied poem, A Photograph, reflects on the fleeting nature of life and the sorrow of losing loved ones. In this poem, she captures how photographs preserve memories, while time continues to take people away. This blend of personal reflection and universal emotion made her poetry resonate with readers across generations.
Apart from poetry, Shirley Toulson had a strong interest in folklore, archaeology, and the English countryside. She wrote extensively about rural traditions, landscapes, and historical trails. One of her most important contributions was her work on ancient pathways and traditions in Britain. Her book The Drovers’ Roads of Wales explored the ancient routes once used by farmers and traders in Wales. She also wrote The Celtic Year, which examined traditional Celtic festivals and beliefs linked to seasons and agriculture.
Toulson combined her literary skill with her interest in history to produce works that were both informative and evocative. She believed that the past lived on in traditions, landscapes, and stories, and much of her work sought to preserve this connection.
Throughout her career, she published collections of poetry, essays, and books on local history and folklore. Her ability to weave together personal memory with cultural history made her a unique voice in English literature.
Shirley Toulson passed away in 2018, but her works continue to be read in schools and appreciated by lovers of poetry and folklore. Through her poetry, she taught us the value of memory, the inevitability of loss, and the beauty of life’s fleeting moments.