NCERT Solutions For Class 11 English
Hornbill
A Photograph (Shirley Toulson)
CONTENTS
Ø Theme
Ø Summary
Ø Poetic Device
Ø Stanza based Q-Ans
Ø Question Answers
Ø Word Meaning
Theme
The poem commences with the
depiction of a photograph featuring the poet's mother and her two cousins
during a seaside vacation. This particular holiday held a special place in her
mother's heart as a cherished memory. While the photograph encapsulates a
singular moment in her mother's life, the inexorable march of time inevitably
brings change. Over the years, the visage of her mother underwent
transformations, yet the unchanging sea persistently lapped at their feet. This
serves as a poignant illustration of the alterations time imposes upon human
existence. Although her mother has departed, frozen in eternal youth and
beauty, she endures within the confines of the photograph. The poet experiences
joy at glimpsing her mother's smile through the image, but the painful reality
of her absence remains irreplaceable.
Summary
The poem serves as a homage
to the poet's mother. The poet gazes at an antiquated photograph of her mother
encased in a cardboard frame. The image features three girls, with the central
figure being the eldest and tallest, portraying the poet's mother at around
twelve years old. Flanking her on both sides are her younger cousins, Betty and
Dolly, captured during a beach holiday where they engaged in paddling. The
photograph, taken by her uncle, reveals her mother's sweet countenance, and the
transient touch of the sea on her feet symbolizes the passage of time,
highlighting her evolving nature against the backdrop of an unchanging sea.
In the subsequent decades,
the poet's mother would fondly reflect on the photograph, sharing memories of
how their parents attired them for those beach vacations. The beach holiday
became a cherished recollection for her mother, and the poet holds dear the
memory of her mother's laughter. Both mother and poet experienced loss, unable
to reclaim those cherished moments.
These
once-sweet moments have now transformed into memories. Presently, the poet's
mother has been deceased for a dozen years, equivalent to her age in the
photograph. The poet grapples with an indescribable grief over her mother's
absence, unable to articulate the profound loss that has marked the passing of
twelve years since her mother's demise
Poetic
Device
1)
Alliteration
involves the recurrence of a consonant sound at the start of successive words.
Notable instances in the poem include:
Stood
still
Through
their
My
mother’s
Terribly
transient
Silence
silences
2)
An epithet
is a descriptive phrase that captures a particular quality of a person or
object.
Terribly
transient
3)
An oxymoron
is a figure of speech where contradictory terms are combined.
Laboured
ease
Stanza based Q-Ans
Stanza 1
“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”
Read the given stanza and
answer the following questions
What
is the meaning of cardboard in this context?
A.
A thick paper on which the poet’s photograph was pasted
B.
A thick envelope
C.
A thick piece of paper with a photo of the poet’s mother attached
D.
A paper boat
Ans:
C. A thick piece of paper with a photo of the poet’s mother attached
What
does the cardboard depict?
A.
A scenery
B.
The picture of a house
C.
The picture of a school
D.
The picture of three girls
Ans:
D. The picture of three girls
Who
is the big girl mentioned here?
A.
The poet herself
B.
The poet’s mother
C.
The poet’s relative
D.
The poet’s friend
Ans:
B. The poet’s mother
In
the picture, what are the three of them doing?
A.
playing in the sand
B.
standing beside the house
C.
holding hands
D.
holding hands and paddling
Ans:
C. holding hands
Stanza 2
“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.
Read the given stanza
and answer the following questions
What does the phrase “smiling through their hair” signify in the
poem?
A. The girls who were photographed had their hair decorated
B. The photographed girls were wearing a mask
C. When the girls were smiling for the camera, their hair was
covering their faces.
D. The hair of the girls in the picture was smiling as well
Ans: C. When the girls were smiling for the camera, their hair was
covering their faces.
What has remained constant over time?
A. The photo
B. The cardboard
C. The girls
D. The sea
Ans: D. The sea
Identify a term in the extract that describes something as
“lasting only briefly”?
A. Still
B. Transient
C. Changed
D. Less
Ans: B. Transient
What poetic device involving epithets was used in the poem?
A. Terribly transient
B. Through their
C. Both wry
D. Laboured ease
Ans:
A. Terribly transient
Stanza 3
“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.”
Read the given stanza
and answer the following questions
Why did she laugh?
A. Seeing the absurd dresses they were sporting while on holiday
by the sea
B. One of them cracked a joke
C. Seeing the weird dresses they were wearing at the party
D. Because they saw a funny man at the sea holiday
Ans: A. Seeing the absurd dresses they were sporting while on
holiday by the sea
Who are Betty and Dolly?
A. They are poet’s cousins
B. They are poet’s friends
C. They are poet’s mother’s friends
D. They are poet’s mother’s cousins
Ans: D. They are poet’s mother’s cousins
The word ___________ in the extract is the synonym of photograph.
A. Snapshot
B. Picture
C. Mine
D. Laboured
Ans: A. Snapshot
What do you mean by the word ‘wry’?
A. Ironic
B. Cry
C. Sad
D. None of the above
Ans:
A. Ironic
Stanza 4
“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”
Read the given stanza
and answer the following questions
Who
does she refer to?
A.
The poet’s dead aunt
B.
The poet’s dead mother
C.
The poet’s dead cousin
D.
The poet’s sister
Ans:
B. The poet’s dead mother
Why
is there nothing to be said regarding the poet’s mother’s passing?
A.
The poet is perplexed
B.
When her mother passed away, the poet was not in her senses
C.
The death of the poet’s mother has left a deep void in the poet’s heart
D.
The poet and her mother did not get along well
Ans:
C. The death of the poet’s mother has left a deep void in the poet’s heart
The
phrase “events that change your life, over which you have no control” is
synonymous with which word in the extract?
A.
Silences
B.
Circumstances
C.
Situation
D.
Circumstance
Ans:
D. Circumstance
What
does the author feel in the last phase?
A.
Pain and grief
B.
Happy and nostalgic
C.
Sad and nostalgic
D.
Pain and nostalgic
Ans:
A. Pain and grief
Question Answers
Question 1 What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the
poem? Why has this word been used?
Answer: The term
‘cardboard’ signifies that the photograph is a quick snapshot with a cardboard
backing. This word has been employed to indicate the early stages of
photography.
Question 2 What has the camera captured?
Answer: The camera has
captured three individuals—two girls and the poet's mother—enjoying a holiday
by the seaside.
Question 3 What has not changed over the years? Does this
suggest something to you?
Answer: The sea hasn't
changed over the years. This suggests a stark contrast with the rapid changes
that human beings undergo.
Question 4 The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What
did this laugh indicate?
Answer: The poet's mother
laughed upon seeing the photograph because, though she was young and charming
at the time, the attire she wore in the funny mode of the sea holiday appeared
amusing.
Question 5 What is the meaning of the line ‘Both wry with
the laboured ease of loss’?
Answer: The line
suggests that both, the poet and her mother, are ironically experiencing the
sorrowful and burdensome ease that comes with loss. The laughter and moments
captured in the photograph are now tinged with the weight of grief.
Question 6 What does ‘this circumstance’ refer to?
Answer: 'This
circumstance' refers to the period since the poet's mother's passing. It
denotes the dull span of time with no memorable experiences, leaving the poet
with little to say about it.
Question 7 The three stanzas depict three different phases.
What are they?
Answer: The three
stanzas depict distinct phases: the first portrays the mother's youthful days
captured in the photograph; the second reflects the poet's childhood memories
associated with her mother's laughter at the snapshot; and the third describes
the extended period following the mother's death, marked by a lack of
noteworthy events.
Question 8 The face of the poet’s mother was sweet and
glowing. Why?
Answer: The mother's
face appeared sweet and glowing because, during the period captured in the
photograph, she was young and still childless.
Question 9 What does the poet mean by ‘terribly transient
feet’?
Answer: The phrase
'terribly transient feet' refers to the impermanence and transience of the
human body. The sea waves washing the feet in the photograph symbolize the
changes that occur with the passage of time.
Question 10 Its silence silences. Elaborate.
Answer: The phrase
"its silence silences" conveys that the prolonged period after the
mother's death has been so uneventful and devoid of excitement that the silence
of time itself has silenced the poet. There is nothing noteworthy or remarkable
to express during this time.
Question 11 Sum up the main features of the poem ‘A
Photograph’ in about 80 words.
Answer: "A
Photograph" portrays the poet's melancholic reflection on a photograph of
her late mother. The poem unfolds in three phases—youthful memories captured in
the photograph, recollections of the mother laughing at it during the poet's
childhood, and the extended period after the mother's death. The sea remains
unchanged, symbolizing the constancy against human transience. The poet
grapples with grief, emphasizing the silence and emptiness of the time that
followed her mother's demise.
Question 12. The three stanzas
delineate distinct phases. What are they?
Answer: The initial stanza unfolds her mother's early years, around
the age of twelve, captured in a photograph during a beach holiday with her
cousins. The second stanza delves into the poet's childhood, reflecting on her
mother's interactions with the photograph and reminiscing about the events
mentioned earlier. In the final stanza, the poet discloses her mother's demise,
which occurred twelve years ago, corresponding to the age captured in the
photograph. The poet grapples with pain, recalling her mother's bygone memories
while viewing the photograph, unable to articulate her sorrow.
Word Meanings
1. Paddling
– walking
2. Silences
– a complete absence of sound
3. Snapshot
– photograph
4. Transient
– short-term; temporary
5. Wry –
ironic; mocking
