Class 11 English Poetry Chapter 1 A Photograph answer to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse through different chapters Class 11 English Hornbill Poetry Chapter 1 A Photograph, Class 11 English Hornbill Poetry Question Answer, HS 1st year English Notes and select needs one.
Class 11 English Poetry Chapter 1 A Photograph
Also, you can read the SCERT Class 11 English Poetry Chapter 1 A Photograph All Be Together” book Notes online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per AHSEC (SCERT) Book guidelines. Class 11 English Poetry Chapter 1 A Photograph Notes are part of SCERT All Subject Solutions. Here we have given Assam Board Class 11 English Poetry Chapter 1 A Photograph Solutions for All Subjects, You can practice these here.
A photograph
Chapter: 1
HORNBILL
THINK IT OUT
1. What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the poem? Why has this word been used?
Ans: In the poem “A Photograph”, the word ‘cardboard’ refers to the frame that supports and borders the photograph. It serves as a reminder of the poet’s mother’s lost childhood, capturing a moment with her two cousins on the beach. This word is used symbolically to emphasize the transience of human life in contrast to the lasting nature of art. While the poet’s mother reminisced about the past with happiness and nostalgia, the photograph also highlighted the temporary nature of human existence.
2. What has the camera captured?
Ans: The camera captured a very fond memory. The photograph was taken on a beach holiday where the author’s mother and her cousins Betty and Dolly had fun and they were dressed up weirdly for it. The camera has captured all the three girls alive in it. It has captured the pretty face of the poet’s mother who was a girl of twelve at that time.
3. What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest something to you?
Ans: The sea has remained unchanged over the years, highlighting the fleeting nature of human life in contrast to the permanence of nature. Time spares no one. The youthful faces and delicate feet of the three girls are “terribly transient,” emphasizing the mortality of humans when compared to the timeless and unchanging sea.
4. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate?
Ans: After coming across the photograph, the author went to her mother to ask further about it. The simple piece of cardboard brought a warm smile to her mother’s face as she reminisced about the cherished beach holiday she had shared with her cousins, Betty and Dolly, at the age of twelve. The nostalgic memory made her laugh as she reflected on their attire from those days.
5. What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss.”
Ans: Both the poet’s mother and the poet experience a deep sense of loss. The mother has lost the innocence and carefree joy of her childhood, which the photograph had once captured. For the poet, her mother’s smile has now become a distant memory. Ironically, both attempt to endure their respective losses with quiet acceptance.
6. What does “this circumstance” refer to?
Ans: “This circumstance” refers to the poet’s life without her mother. The present situation of the poet wherein the poet is absorbed in the painful memory of her dead mother.
7. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are they?
Ans: The first stanza of the poem talks about the childhood of the poet’s mother when she went on a beach holiday with her cousins. It was a happy memory which the mother held close to her heart.
The second stanza talks about the mother being old and gradually entering old age. The poet is now a young girl and was narrated this happy memory by her mother on being presented with the photograph.
In the third stanza, the poet has progressed deeper into life and aged. Her mother is now dead and she fondly remembers her smile and memory when she once again comes across the picture.

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