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NCERT Class 11 English A Photograph Summary & Notes: Photographs capture the moments and emotions you feel in your heart. They are not just pictures, but time capsules that take you down memory lane.
In Shirley Toulson’s poem “A Photograph”, the photograph is of the poet’s mother as a young girl, standing on a beach with her cousins. That single photo symbolises lost time, childhood, and the pain of remembering someone who is no longer alive.
This blog gives you the NCERT Class 11 English A Photograph Summary & Notes, complete with explanations, meanings, and insights to help you truly understand the poem.
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Important Word Meanings in ‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson
To fully understand the poem A Photograph by Shirley Toulson, it’s helpful to know the meanings of some key words and phrases used by the poet. These words bring out the depth of emotion, the passage of time, and the bond between the poet and her mother.
Here’s a quick reference:
| Word / Phrase | Meaning |
| Paddling | Walking or playing in shallow water, especially at the beach. |
| Terribly | Intensely or extremely (used here to emphasise the fleeting nature of life). |
| Transient | Temporary; lasting for only a short time. |
| Wry | A mixture of amusement and sadness, slightly sarcastic or bittersweet. |
| Laboured ease | A difficult feeling of comfort; refers to the struggle of coping with loss. |
Summary of ‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson
Now, let’s dive into the NCERT Class 11 English A Photograph Summary & Notes of the poem ‘A photograph’ in simple language.
The cardboard shows me how it was
When the two girl cousins went paddling,
Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,
And she the big girl — some twelve years or so.
All three stood still to smile through their hair
At the uncle with the camera. A sweet face,
My mother’s, that was before I was born.
And the sea, which appears to have changed less,
Washed their terribly transient feet.
Some twenty — thirty — years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot. “See Betty
And Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they
Dressed us for the beach.” The sea holiday
Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.
Now she’s been dead nearly as many years
As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all.
Its silence silences.
The poem is about an old photograph of the poet’s mother as a child, standing at the beach with her two cousins.
Stanza 1
The poet looks at an old cardboard photograph (in earlier times, photos were often mounted on cardboard). The picture shows three young girls at the beach, two are cousins, and the third is the poet’s mother, who was around 12 years old at that time.
The girls are holding hands and smiling at the camera, which was held by an uncle. The poet lovingly describes her mother’s face as “sweet.” She also points out that while many things have changed over the years, the sea seems the same, and it gently touched their “transient feet”, this means their time, like life itself, was temporary or short-lived.
Stanza 2
Years later, when the poet’s mother was alive, she would laugh while looking at the photo. She would talk about her cousins, Betty and Dolly, and comment on how funny their beach clothes looked.
That beach trip was her childhood memory, but for the poet, the memory is her mother’s laughter while remembering it. The poet calls both memories “wry” (a mix of sad and sweet), because they both carry a sense of loss and happy moments that are now gone.
Stanza 3
Now, the poet says, her mother has been dead for many years, possibly the same number of years she had lived as a young girl. Looking at the photograph now, the poet feels a deep, painful silence.
She has no words to describe the grief; only silence remains, and that silence is so powerful, it silences even her thoughts and feelings.
Main Message of the Poem:
The poem talks about how time passes, how people change, and how memories stay alive through things like photographs.
It shows the deep bond between a mother and daughter, and how photographs can bring both joy and sadness– joy from the memories, and sadness because those moments can never come back.
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Line-by-Line Explanation of the Poem ‘A Photograph’
Let’s break down “A Photograph” by Shirley Toulson line by line in simple language to understand its meaning and emotions.
Stanza 1: The Old Photograph
“The cardboard shows me how it was”
- The poet looks at an old photograph printed on cardboard (old photos were often stiff).
- The photo captures a moment from the past- how things were once.
“When the two girl cousins went paddling,”
- The photo shows the poet’s mother as a child with her two cousins.
- They were paddling (walking in shallow water) at the beach.
“Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,”
- The two younger cousins held the poet’s mother’s hands.
- This suggests she was the elder one taking care of them.
“And she the big girl — some twelve years or so.”
- The poet’s mother was around twelve years old at that time.
“All three stood still to smile through their hair”
- The girls stood still, smiling to pose for the camera.
- Their hair was possibly blown across their faces by the sea breeze.
“The uncle with the camera. A sweet face,”
- They were smiling at their uncle, who was taking the photo.
- The poet admires her mother’s sweet, young face.
“My mother’s, that was before I was born.”
- The poet reflects that this time was long before the poet herself was born.
“And the sea, which appears to have changed less,”
- The sea in the background looks the same, even now, unchanged.
- Unlike humans, nature remains unchanged over time.
- However, the people in the photo have grown older or passed away.
“Washed their terribly transient feet.”
- The sea waves washed over their feet, which were “transient” (temporary, not lasting).
- Metaphorically, human life is short compared to nature.
- “Terribly transient” means that human life is short and temporary, unlike the sea, which remains constant.
Stanza 2: Memories, Loss and Laughter
“Some twenty — thirty — years later”
- Around 20 or 30 years after the photo was taken, the poet’s mother would still remember and talk about it.
“She’d laugh at the snapshot. ‘See Betty and Dolly,’ she’d say,”
- The poet’s mother used to laugh when looking at the old photo as it brought her fond memories.
“‘and look how they dressed us for the beach.’”
- The poet’s mother would point out her cousins, Betty and Dolly, and humourously comment about their funny beach clothes, showing a light-hearted connection to her past.
“The sea holiday was her past, mine is her laughter.”
- For the mother, the beach trip was a happy childhood memory.
- For the poet, her mother’s laughter while remembering is now a memory.
- This line points out two generations and two different connections to the same moment.
“Both wry With the laboured ease of loss.”
- “Wry” = bittersweet, mixed emotions.
- Both the mother’s laughter and the poet’s memory of it carry a bittersweet feeling.
- The phrase “laboured ease of loss” means that even though time has passed, the pain of loss is still present; it’s not easy to move on.
Stanza 3: Deep Grief, Silence, and Death
“Now she’s been dead nearly as many years As that girl lived.”
- The poet’s mother has been dead for about as long as she was alive in that photo (around 12 years).
- This shows how much time has passed.
“And of this circumstance/ There is nothing to say at all.”
- The poet finds herself speechless and helpless in the face of such deep grief of her mother’s death.
- She can’t express what she feels.
“Its silence silences.”
- The final line suggests that some losses are beyond words.
- The silence of death is so deep that it overwhelms the poet.
- The poet feels completely silent and numb.
Analysis of the Poem ‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson
By now, we know the NCERT Class 11 English A Photograph Summary- what the poem is about, the storyline, key events, and what is happening in the poem. However, knowing the summary of ‘A Photograph’ is not enough.
It is important to dig deeper into the meaning, emotions, themes, poetic devices, and the poet’s intentions. It interprets why things are written the way they are and what they represent.
These details will help you frame your CBSE answers nicely and secure high marks. Let’s analyse Class 11 ‘A Photograph’, in this section.
A Photograph is a deeply emotional and reflective poem that explores the fragile nature of life, the power of memories, and the lasting impact of personal loss.
Theme of Time and Transience
The poem beautifully shows how time quietly changes everything. When the photograph was taken, it was a happy, simple moment– three young girls enjoying a day at the beach. But now, looking at the same photo brings sadness, because one of those girls (the poet’s mother) is no longer alive.
The line “terribly transient feet” is very powerful. “Transient” means not permanent, and the poet uses this word to say that people, like footprints on wet sand, are temporary. The sea washes away the footprints, just like time slowly erases people and their moments.
Even though the sea in the background of the photograph looks unchanged, the people in it have aged, and one has passed away. This contrast shows us that nature is eternal, but human life is short-lived.
Mother-Daughter Relationship
There’s a deep and emotional bond between the poet and her mother in this poem. When her mother was alive, she would look at the photograph and laugh warmly, remembering her cousins and the fun they had.
The poet doesn’t just remember the photo- she remembers her mother’s reaction to the photo. For the poet’s mother, the photo is a memory of her childhood. For the poet, the photo is a memory of her mother’s voice, her laughter, and her presence.
This creates a touching image of how memories pass from one generation to another. What starts as joy eventually becomes nostalgia, and then finally turns into a painful silence when a loved one is no longer there.
Tone and Mood
The tone of the poem keeps changing, just like human emotions:
- Nostalgic: In the beginning, the poet talks about her mother’s childhood with warmth. It feels like a cherished memory frozen in the photograph.
- Wry (bittersweet): When the poet recalls how her mother used to laugh at the photo, there’s a mix of humour and sadness. It shows how we laugh even at old, emotional memories, but there’s always a little pain hidden in that laughter.
- Grieving and Silent: By the end, the tone becomes very heavy. The poet says that her mother has been gone for many years, and there’s nothing more left to say. Her grief is so deep that she is left in silence, unable to express how she feels.
This shift in tone helps us understand how memories can bring joy and pain at the same time.
Symbolism of the Photograph
The photograph is the central symbol in the poem. It captures a single moment in time, keeping it safe forever. But as time passes, that frozen moment becomes a reminder of what is lost. It symbolises:
- The past: A time that can never come back.
- The passage of time: How people change, grow old, or die, but the photo stays the same.
- Human fragility: People are temporary, like “transient feet”, while things like the sea or a photo can last much longer.
- Frozen memories: A photograph keeps a memory alive visually, even when the people in it are gone.
For the poet, this photograph becomes a painful reminder– not just of her mother’s childhood, but also of her absence now.
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Poetic Devices in ‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson
The poetic devices add layers of meaning to the poem. They help the poet express nostalgia, love, loss, and grief in a way that feels gentle yet powerful.
Each device makes the poem more moving and relatable for readers. For example, the visual imagery of the sea, the soft alliteration of silence, the emotional contrast between past and present, etc.
Let’s explore the poetic devices in Shirley Toulson’s ‘A Photograph’.
Imagery
Imagery uses descriptive language to create mental pictures in the reader’s mind. It appeals to our senses- sight, touch, sound, etc.
Examples from the poem:
- “The cardboard shows me how it was / When the two girl cousins went paddling…”
- “All three stood still to smile through their hair / At the uncle with the camera.”
These lines help us visualise the beach, the girls smiling with wind-blown hair, and the uncle clicking the photo. It brings the old photograph to life in our imagination, making the memory vivid.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words placed close together. It adds rhythm and can emphasise certain emotions or ideas.
Example from the poem:
- “Its silence silences.”
The repetition of the ‘s’ sound creates a soft, whisper-like effect, which mirrors the quietness and emotional stillness felt by the poet after her mother’s death. It deepens the sense of grief and emptiness.
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech where two opposite ideas are placed side by side to create a deeper meaning or irony. Example- perfectly imperfect, serious joke, deafening silence, etc.
Example from the poem:
- “The laboured ease of loss.”
The words “laboured” (difficult) and “ease” (comfort) are opposites. Together, they show that even though time has passed, the pain of losing her mother still lingers. The poet has learned to live with the loss, but it still hurts inside.
Contrast
Contrast highlights differences between two things to make a point more strongly. It’s often used to show change, passage of time, or emotional shifts.
Examples from the poem:
- “The sea, which appears to have changed less, / Washed their terribly transient feet.”
The sea is constant, but the people (like her mother) have changed or passed away. This contrast emphasises the fragility of human life.
- “The sea holiday was her past, mine is her laughter.”
This shows the difference between the mother’s memory (of childhood) and the daughter’s memory (of her mother laughing about it). It’s a beautiful contrast between generations and emotions.
To sum up, Shirley Toulson uses this short poem to talk about some very big life truths- that time moves on, people leave us, and yet memories stay.
The poem makes us feel the joy of childhood, the love between a mother and daughter, and the silent, aching pain of losing someone close.
It’s simple, touching, and powerful, a quiet reflection on how life goes on, but some silences remain forever.
Explore Notes of Class 11 English Hornbill
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FAQs
The central idea is the passage of time and the pain of loss. The poet reflects on a childhood photograph of her mother and expresses deep grief over her mother’s death, showing how memories stay even as people fade away.
The poem conveys that life is fragile and short-lived, but memories are powerful and lasting. It highlights how time changes everything, except the emotional connection we have with our loved ones.
Key poetic devices used include:
– Imagery – to paint vivid pictures (e.g., beach scene)
– Alliteration – “silence silences”
– Oxymoron – “laboured ease of loss”
– Contrast – between the timeless sea and human life
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