A Photograph

• The previous year AHSEC board questions of the year 2018-2022 

• 2018
• Q: The three stanzas of the poem "A Photograph" depict three different phases. What are they? (3 marks)

• Ans: The three stanzas of the poem depict three different phases in the poet's life:

  • Stanza 1: The poet's mother as a young girl on a beach holiday with her two cousins.
  • Stanza 2: The poet's mother as a grown woman, laughing at the photograph of her younger self.
  • Stanza 3: The poet as an adult, looking at the photograph of her mother and feeling a sense of loss.

• Q: The poet's mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate? (2 marks)

• Ans: The poet's mother's laugh indicated that she was happy and carefree in the moment captured in the photograph. It also showed that she was able to find humor in her own youth and innocence.

• Q: What does the line "Both wry with the laboured ease of loss" mean? (2 marks)

• Ans: The line "Both wry with the laboured ease of loss" means that both the poet and her mother are feeling a sense of loss, but they are both trying to cope with it in their own way. The poet is trying to find humor in the situation, while her mother is trying to find comfort in the memories of her younger self.

• 2019

• Q: What does the cardboard show the poet? (1 mark)

• Ans: The cardboard shows the poet a photograph of her mother when she was a twelve-year-old girl on a beach holiday with her two cousins.

• Q: How old was the poet's mother when the photograph was taken? (1 mark)

• Ans: The poet's mother was twelve years old when the photograph was taken.

• Q: Why did the two girl cousins hold one of the poet's mother's hands? (1 mark)

• Ans: The two girl cousins held one of the poet's mother's hands because she was the eldest of the three girls.

• Q: Who clicked the photograph? (1 mark)

• Ans: The poet's mother's uncle clicked the photograph.

• 2020

• Q: What does the poet mean by the line "The sea holiday was her past, mine is her laughter"? (2 marks)

• Ans: The poet means that the sea holiday was a happy time in her mother's life, and the laughter in the photograph captures that happiness. The poet now has the memory of her mother's laughter, even though her mother is no longer alive.

• Q: What does the poet mean by the line "This circumstance" in the last stanza? (2 marks)

• Ans: The poet means the fact that her mother is dead. The poet is both sad and resigned to this circumstance.

• Q: What is the significance of the title of the poem "A Photograph"? (2 marks)

• Ans: The title of the poem is significant because it highlights the importance of photographs in capturing memories. The photograph in the poem is a reminder of the poet's mother's happiness, even though she is no longer alive.

• 2021

• Q: How does the poem reflect the passage of time? (3 marks)

• Ans: The poem reflects the passage of time in several ways. First, the poem shows how the poet's mother has changed over time. When the photograph was taken, she was a young girl on a beach holiday. When the poem was written, she was a grown woman who had died. Second, the poem shows how the poet's own perspective has changed over time. When she was a child, she saw the photograph as a happy reminder of her mother. Now, as an adult, she sees the photograph as a reminder of her mother's death.

• Q: What are the different emotions that the poet experiences while looking at the photograph? (3 marks)

• Ans: The poet experiences a range of emotions while looking at the photograph. She feels happy, sad, nostalgic, and resigned. She is happy to see her mother's laughter, but she is also sad to know that her mother is no longer alive. She is nostalgic for the time when her mother was alive, and she is resigned