KSEEB Class 9 · English (1st language) · KTBS Revised 2024-25
Photograph
Chapter summary, hard words and model exam answers for Karnataka Board Class 9 English.
Free online summary and notes (Karnataka Board Class 9 English). Read it here, no PDF download needed.
About the author
Shirley Toulson (1924–2018) was a British journalist, writer, and editor. Her poem "Photograph" meditates on a cardboard picture of her mother as a girl at the beach with cousins. The poem is widely taught for its theme of time, loss, and the silence that follows death.
Summary
The poet looks at an old picture of her mother holding hands with two girl cousins at the beach.
The poet looks at an old picture of her mother holding hands with two girl cousins at the beach.
All three faces show youthful holiday joy - a moment before adulthood and loss.
All three faces show youthful holiday joy - a moment before adulthood and loss.
Paddling, wet hair, smiles - simple scene now distant in time.
Paddling, wet hair, smiles - simple scene now distant in time.
Mother grew from girl to woman, then died. The poet notes chronological gap between then and now.
Mother grew from girl to woman, then died. The poet notes chronological gap between then and now.
There is nothing to say about death's finality; words fail where photograph continues.
There is nothing to say about death's finality; words fail where photograph continues.
Both mother and the poet's childhood are gone; only the image and muted grief remain.
Both mother and the poet's childhood are gone; only the image and muted grief remain.
Hard words & meanings
| cardboard | stiff paper used for old photographs |
| paddle | to play at the edge of the sea |
| transient | not lasting; temporary |
| nostalgia | sad affection for earlier times |
| mortal | human; not living forever |
| silence | quiet that follows unspeakable loss |
| preserve | to maintain a moment or memory |
| chronology | arrangement of events by date |
| inevitable | certain to happen - here, death and change |
Model exam answers, grammar & audio
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