Hornbill (Poem): A Photograph · Class 11 · CBSE · Science English
Explain how 'A Photograph' presents the relationship between time, memory, and loss.
Practice question from Hornbill (Poem): A Photograph (Class 11 · CBSE · Science English), with the correct answer and a step-by-step solution.
medium · Subjective · Q-ED8A61
Explain how 'A Photograph' presents the relationship between time, memory, and loss.
Answer: The photograph preserves a happy moment from the poet's mother's childhood, but time changes the young girl into an old woman and eventually takes her life. The unchanging sea represents permanence, while the changing human figures represent the temporary nature of life. The photograph keeps the memory alive, yet it also intensifies the poet's grief at her mother's death.
Solution
The poem moves from the mother's childhood, to the poet's later recollection, and finally to the present grief caused by her mother's death. The photograph preserves memory, but it also reminds the poet that human life is temporary.
More from Hornbill (Poem): A Photograph
- What does the photograph in the poem primarily contrast with the changing lives of human beings?
- Why does the poet describe human feet as 'terribly transient' in 'A Photograph'?
- What is the most appropriate interpretation of the ending 'Its silence silences' in 'A Photograph'?
- In 'A Photograph', the phrase 'The sea holidaying' is an example of which poetic device?
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