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Summary of the poem a photograph

FIRST PHRASE
It begins with the poetess gendering at her mother?s photo which is lying with the cardboard boxes possibly uncared for some time. It is not dressed in any frame, metal etc so it is depicted as being susceptible to forces of decay.

The poetess? young mother is seen flanked by her siblings, who are younger than her. They seemed to be on a swimming trip and the strength of her young mother (12-year-old) is highlighted as support for the young cousins.
They are looking into the camera when they are photographed by their brother/uncle. They are happy and excited with their flinging locks and winsome smiles.

The picture also shows the sea waves lashing at them as the young maidens learn to keep up with the waves. The poetess lingers with the thought that sea, although in motion, has been able to resist the cycle of change even though her mother (motionless in the photograph) has surrendered to her mortality.

SECOND PHRASE
In the second phase, her mother has grown older and looks back the day at the sea. She remembers her two cousins and relives the day immortalized in the photograph. She enjoys making fun of her and her cousins? attires.

The lines have a tone of lamentation as the mother is trying to accept the continual motion of life as she grows older. Harking back at her twelve-year-old self maybe was an attempt to return to her childhood, a painful reminder of time and age.

THIRD PHRASE
In the third stage, the daughter is remembering her mother as she died earlier. The photograph has scripted a memory for both the mother and the daughter entwined them together even after her mother has left her forever.

She confesses a sense relish at envisioning her mother laughter much like her mother relished reliving the day at the sea.?The poetess further notices that the time elapsed since her mother?s final departure is the same as her age in the photograph i.e. 12 years, just a coincidence or an elaborate irony of life and death.

Both the mother and daughter eventually learned to accept the change and make peace with their memories even though they remind them of the transience of happy moments, laughter etc.

Even though?the death?or end makes things go quiet and empty, the poetess found the death of her mother to be loud and stimulating enough to pour her feelings out in form of a tribute and poem.

HOPE this will help you!!!
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View Full Answer
The poem, ?A photograph?, contrasts the eternal state of nature and the transitory state of human beings. The poet describes a photograph that captures interesting moments of her mother?s childhood when she went for a sea holiday with her two girl cousins. The poet draws a contrast between nature, changing at a snail?s pace and the fast-changing human life.

The poet recollects how her mother laughed at the photograph and felt disappointed at the loss of her childhood joys. The sea holiday was her mother?s past at that time, while her mother?s laughter is the poet?s past now. With great difficulty and at different periods of time, both reconcile with their respective losses and the pain involved in recollecting the past. For the poet, the death of her mother brings great sadness and an acute sense of loss. The painful ?silence? of the situation leaves her with no words to express her grief. Thus, the ?silence silences? her.

The three stanzas of the poem depict three different stages of life i.e. early adolescence (girlhood).adulthood and death.

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FIRST PHRASE?
It begins with the poetess gendering at her mother?s photo which is lying with the cardboard boxes possibly uncared for some time. It is not dressed in any frame, metal etc so it is depicted as being susceptible to forces of decay.?

The poetess? young mother is seen flanked by her siblings, who are younger than her. They seemed to be on a swimming trip and the strength of her young mother (12-year-old) is highlighted as support for the young cousins.?
They are looking into the camera when they are photographed by their brother/uncle. They are happy and excited with their flinging locks and winsome smiles.?

The picture also shows the sea waves lashing at them as the young maidens learn to keep up with the waves. The poetess lingers with the thought that sea, although in motion, has been able to resist the cycle of change even though her mother (motionless in the photograph) has surrendered to her mortality.?

SECOND PHRASE?
In the second phase, her mother has grown older and looks back the day at the sea. She remembers her two cousins and relives the day immortalized in the photograph. She enjoys making fun of her and her cousins? attires.?

The lines have a tone of lamentation as the mother is trying to accept the continual motion of life as she grows older. Harking back at her twelve-year-old self maybe was an attempt to return to her childhood, a painful reminder of time and age.?

THIRD PHRASE?
In the third stage, the daughter is remembering her mother as she died earlier. The photograph has scripted a memory for both the mother and the daughter entwined them together even after her mother has left her forever.?

She confesses a sense relish at envisioning her mother laughter much like her mother relished reliving the day at the sea.?The poetess further notices that the time elapsed since her mother?s final departure is the same as her age in the photograph i.e. 12 years, just a coincidence or an elaborate irony of life and death.?

Both the mother and daughter eventually learned to accept the change and make peace with their memories even though they remind them of the transience of happy moments, laughter etc.?

Even though?the death?or end makes things go quiet and empty, the poetess found the death of her mother to be loud and stimulating enough to pour her feelings out in form of a tribute and poem.?

HOPE this will help you!!!
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