Important Questions for Class 11 English Photograph Poem 1
Summary of Class 11 English Poem 1 Photograph
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Table of Contents
Stanza
Question 1:
Read the given stanza and answer the questions:
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.
(1) 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
Answer
(D) They are poet’s mother’s cousins
(2) What do you mean by word ‘wry’?
(A) ironic
(B) cry
(C) sad
(D) None of the above
Answer
(A) ironic
(3) Complete the following sentence:
She would laugh while looking all the photograph because _______________.
Answer
She would laugh while looking at the photograph because it reminded her of her childhood days and the funny way they were dressed for the beach, making her smile despite the sense of loss.
Question 2:
“The sea holiday was her past, mine is her laughter.
Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.”
(i) Who does “her” refer to in the above lines?
(a) The poet’s sister (b) The poet’s friend
(c) The poet (d) the poet’s mother
Answer
(d) the poet’s mother
(ii) What is the poet’s tone in these lines?
(a) Joyful and relaxed (b) Humorous and casual
(c) Angry and bitter (d) sad and reflective
Answer
(d) sad and reflective
(iii) What does the phrase “laboured ease of loss” suggest?
(a) The effort it takes to recall happy memories
(b) The struggle to forget someone completely
(c) A forced acceptance of the pain of losing a loved one
(d) The ecitement of remembering old times
Answer
(c) A forced acceptance of the pain of losing a loved one
Question 3:
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
(i) Whom does the ‘big girl’ refer to?
(a) A poet’s mother
(b) poet
(c) poet mother’s cousins
(d) all of the above
Answer
(a) A poet’s mother
(ii) Find out the figure of speech used in the last line of the above extract.
(a) simile
(b) personification
(c) alliteration
(d) oxymoron
Answer
(c) alliteration
(iii) What were the girls doing in the photograph?
(a) Running on the beach
(b) Swimming in the sea
(c) Paddling and posing for a picture
(d) Playing with a ball
Answer
(c) Paddling and posing for a picture
Important Questions for Class 11 English Photograph Poem 1
Short-Questions (40-50 words)
Question 1:
What does the poet feel when she looks at the photograph of her mother?
Answer
When the poet looks at the photograph of her mother, she feels deep sadness and nostalgia. The picture reminds her of her mother’s happy childhood and also makes her aware of the permanent loss caused by death. The moment is filled with quiet grief and reflection.
Question 2:
The poet talks about a particular cardboard. How is it special to her?
Answer
The cardboard is special to the poet because it holds an old photograph of her mother taken during her childhood. It preserves precious memories of her mother’s past and reminds the poet of the passage of time and the pain of separation.
Question 3:
How does the photograph bring a train of sweet and sad memories to the poet’s mind?
Answer
The photograph reminds the poet of her mother’s happy childhood with her cousins, which brings sweet memories. At the same time, it makes her realise that those days are gone forever and that her mother has grown old, filling her with sadness.
Question 4:
How do the speaker and her mother react to their sense of loss in the poem “The photograph”?
Answer
In “The Photograph,” the mother reacts to her sense of loss by laughing softly at the old photograph, accepting the past with a wry smile. The speaker, however, feels a deeper sense of loss after her mother’s death and responds with silence, reflecting pain, separation, and the emptiness left behind.
Question 5:
What moment does the photograph depict?
Answer:
The photograph depicts the poet’s mother as a young girl standing on a beach with her two cousins. It captures a happy and carefree moment from her childhood. The sea holiday scene reflects innocence, joy, and the passage of time.
Question 6:
How does the poet connect her mother’s past with her own present in ‘A Photograph’?
Answer:
The poet connects her mother’s past with her present by recalling a photograph taken during her mother’s childhood. While the photograph shows her mother’s carefree past, the poet reflects sadly on her mother’s death, contrasting youthful joy with present loss and silence.
Important Questions for Class 11 English Photograph Poem 1
Long-Questions (120-150 words)
Question 1:
The poem “A Photograph” describes the poet’s mother and various stages of her life. Describe those three stages of the mother’s life in your own words and the stage that you like the most. Write your answer with evidence from the poem in about 120-150 words.
Answer
The poem “A Photograph” presents three stages of the poet’s mother’s life.
The first stage shows her childhood, captured in a photograph where she is a young girl enjoying a sea holiday with her cousins Betty and Dolly. She looks happy and carefree, dressed for the beach.
The second stage shows her as a grown woman and a mother. Years later, she looks at the same photograph and laughs, recalling her childhood with a sense of irony and mild sadness. Her laughter shows acceptance of the passage of time.
The third stage is after the mother’s death, when the poet remembers her. At this stage, there is silence and deep grief, as the poet feels the permanent loss of her mother.
The stage I like most is the second one, where the mother laughs at her past. It shows emotional maturity, acceptance, and the ability to face loss with grace.
Important Questions for Class 11 English Photograph Poem 1
