Literature

Component:
POEMS
(Form 4)

The Living Photograph

&
The Charge of the Light Brigade

Prepared by: Puan Azalina Mohd Yusof

SM Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra

The Living Photograph

by Jackie Kay
The poets background
Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1961 to a Scottish
mother and a Nigerian father. She was adopted by a white couple at
birth and was brought up in Glasgow, studying at the Royal Scottish
Academy of Music and Drama and Stirling University where she
majored in English.
The experience of being adopted by and growing up within a white
family inspired her first collection of poetry, The Adoption
Papers (1991). The poems deal with an adopted child's search for a
cultural identity.

The Living Photograph

My small grandmother is tall there,
straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt,
pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
a kind, old smile round her eyes.
Her big hand holds mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her own death in the eye.
It was true after all that look.
My tall grandmother became small.
Her back round and hunched.
Her soup forgot to boil.
She went to the awful place grandmothers go.
Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
But there she is still,
in the photo with me at three,
the crinkled smile is still living, breathing.
Stanza One
2

Line no.
1

Line
My small grandmother is tall there,

2
3

straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt,

pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,

a kind, old smile round her eyes.

5
6

Her big hand holds mine,

white hand in black hand.

Her sharp blue eyes look her own death in the eye.

Interpretation
The persona is describing her
grandmother in the photograph (tall :
healthy & well)
Her physical appearance (straightback) & what she wears (very neat &
proper)
Note: broderie anglaise is French for
English embroidery
Her smile shows that she is kind &
gentle
Her grandmother is loving & caring
The white hand belongs to her
grandmother & the black hand is the
personas (togetherness)
Her grandmothers vision is still
good but she is actually dying

Stanza Two
Line no.
1

Line
It was true after all; that look.

2
3
4

My tall grandmother became small.

Her back round and hunched.
Her soup forgot to boil.

5
6

She went to the awful place grandmothers go.

Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.

Interpretation
that look refers to the look of
someone dying
Her grandmothers condition got
worse when she was sick and dying
She was too ill to take care of
herself
She died
The place her grandmother was sent
to(afterlife) - was a mystery to the
persona

Stanza Three
Line no.
1
2
3

Line

Interpretation
The persona is looking at the
photograph of her grandmother and
her when she was three years old
To her, the memory of her old
grandmother is still new and fresh

But there she is still,

in the photo with me at three,
the crinkled smile is still living, breathing.

TIME>>> STANZA 1 : Present (Looking at the photograph)

STANZA 2 : Past (Remembering what happened)
STANZA 3 : Present (Looking at the photograph again)

Without love, life isnt worth living.

Jackie Kay

THEMES:
Family love
Appreciation
Loving memories
MORAL VALUES:
Love & care
Appreciation
Kindness
Thoughtfulness
Gratitude
MORAL LESSONS:
We must try our best to have a good and strong relationship with our grandparents
We should love and appreciate our elders especially in our family
We should spend as much time as we can with our loved ones before they die
We should take photographs with our loved ones and keep them
We must not forget those who have died
We must learn to move on and accept life and death as part of life cycle
PRACTICE 1
STANZA 1
1. Give three descriptions of the personas grandmothers appearance.
(a) _______________________________________________________
(b) _______________________________________________________
(c) _______________________________________________________
2. Based on Stanza 1, describe the grandmothers personality.
(a) _______________________________________________________
(b) _______________________________________________________
3. What does line 7 tell you about the grandmother?
__________________________________________________________
STANZA 2
1. Describe the grandmother when she was old and sick.
(a) _______________________________________________________
(b) _______________________________________________________
2. Why did she forget to boil her soup?
__________________________________________________________
3. What happened to the grandmother in the end?
__________________________________________________________
STANZA 3

1. How old was the persona when the photograph was taken?
__________________________________________________________
2. Describe the personas feelings when she looks at the photograph.
__________________________________________________________
3. Quote the phrase that describes the grandmother as being old.
__________________________________________________________
PRACTICE 2 (HOTS Questions)
1. In stanza 1, why does the grandmother look tall in the photograph?
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
2. Based on stanza 1, describe how the persona feels about her grandmother.
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
3. Why do you think the persona describes the afterlife as awful, unknown and
unthinkable?
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
4. Is it good to keep photographs of your loved ones? Give two reasons.
(a) __________________________________________________________[1 mark]
(b) __________________________________________________________[1 mark]
5. Do you consider the grandmother as courageous? Give your evidence from the poem.
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
6. In your own words, describe the relationship between the persona and her grandmother.
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
PRACTICE 3 (VOCABULARY)
No.
1
2
3

Word
pleated
hunched
awful

Meaning

No.
4
5
6

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

Word
unknown
unthinkable
crinkled

Meaning

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

(1809-1892)
The poets background
This poem was written to memorialize a suicidal charge by light cavalry
over open terrain by British forces in the Battle of Balaclava (Ukraine) in
the Crimean War (1854-56). 247 men of the 637 in the charge were killed
or wounded. Britain entered the war, which was fought by Russia against
Turkey, Britain and France, because Russia sought to control the
Dardanelles. Russian control of the Dardanelles threatened British sea
routes.
The poem was written in the same year.

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Some one had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
6

Cannon in front of them

Volleyed& thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Line
no.
1
2

STANZA 1

INTERPRETATION

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Forward, the Light Brigade!

6
7

Charge for the guns! he said.

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Line
no.
1

Forward, the Light Brigade!

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

A league is an old way to measure

distance, and it was equal to about 3
miles. So half a league is roughly a mile
and a half the brigade/battalion was
charging forward in the battlefield
The place where many soldiers would die
in the battle (very scary & uncertain)
The exact number of soldiers was 600,
riding horses
The captain commanded the soldiers to
move forward bravely
Note: they are called "Light" to separate
them from the "Heavy Brigade," another
kind of cavalry unit at the time.Tennyson's
poem is based on real events. In 1854,
there was a Charge of the Light Brigade
during the Crimean War.
The soldiers were ordered to attack
The soldiers moved to the battlefield,
prepared to fight and to die fighting.The
brigade was ordered into the valley, even
though they knew that they were going to
die.
Emphasis on the small number of soldiers
few but brave soldiers riding on
horseback

STANZA 2

INTERPRETATION
Again, the captain commanded the
soldiers to move forward
Was there any soldier who would lose his
courage, be terrified or sad?
Of course the Light Brigade was too tough
7

and loyal to feel dismayed. These men did

not feel discouraged at all. They were
ready to do their job, even though the
order might be crazy (to meet their death).
4

Some one had blundered.

Theirs not to make reply,

6
7

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die.

8
9

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

The soldiers knew that this charge was

not a good idea, that someone had made
a mistake.
The soldiers were loyal and obedient
they did not talk back to their commander
Or to figure out the point of the attack
All they could do was to ride and fight and
possibly die
Repetition of stanza 1 to emphasize
courage/bravery, loyalty, commitment,
duty

Line no.
STANZA 3
1
Cannon to right of them,
2
Cannon to left of them,
3
Cannon in front of them
4

Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

INTERPRETATION
The soldiers were surrounded by enemy
cannon on their left, right and front. Bad
news for the Light Brigade they were
actually surrounded by enemies.
So the huge walls of cannon all around
them were firing and making a sound like
thunder
The soldiers in the Light Brigade were
being shot at with bullets and big explosives
fired from the cannon - a violent, noisy,
destructive force that sounded like a storm.

Boldly they rode and well,

7
8

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

These soldiers were not scared of the

gunfire. They rode bravely, confidently and
with determination. It shows us how heroic
these men were.
They were ready/willing to die of honour
Hell suffering and torture but the soldiers
were brave
600 brave/courageous soldiers men of
honour

THEMES:
Bravery / Courage
Honour
War and conflict
Death and destruction
MORAL VALUES:
Bravery / Courage
Loyalty
Determination
Confidence
Honour
Sacrifice
MORAL LESSONS:
We must struggle for peace, not war.
We must be loyal to our superiors.
Discipline is important in life.
Always be brave in facing challenges in life.

PRACTICE 1
STANZA 1
1. What does the Light Brigade refer to?
_________________________________________________________________
2. Who said Forward, the Light Brigade!?
_________________________________________________________________
3. What was the order?
_________________________________________________________________
4. Into the valley of Death
What would happen to the men?
_________________________________________________________________
STANZA 2
1. Based on this stanza, describe the personality of the soldiers.
(a) ________________________________________
(b) ________________________________________
(c) ________________________________________
2. The word Theirs refers to ____________________________________________
3. What is the meaning of blundered?
__________________________________________________________________
STANZA 3
1. Describe the scene of the battlefield.
__________________________________________________________________
9

2. What Volleyed and thundered?

__________________________________________________________________
3. What do you think happened at the end of the poem?
__________________________________________________________________
PRACTICE 2 (HOTS Questions)
1. In your own words, describe how the soldiers felt when they went into the battlefield.
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
2. In your opinion, was it the right thing to do for the soldiers to follow the captains
command? Give a reason.
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
3. What do you think of the captains command?
_____________________________________________________________[2 marks]
4. Give two suggestions on how we should show our appreciations to those who defend
our country.
(a) __________________________________________________________[1 mark]
(b) __________________________________________________________[1 mark]

PRACTICE 3 (VOCABULARY)
No.
1
2
3
4

Word
league
valley
dismayed
blundered

Meaning

No.
5
6
7
8

10

Word
volleyed
shell
boldly
jaws

Meaning

History

A major conflict of the 19th century, the Crimean War claimed at least 750,000 lives, more than
even the American Civil War, and had a profound impact on such renowned personalities as
British nurse Florence Nightingale and Russian author Leo Tolstoy. It got its start in and around
Jerusalem, then part of the Ottoman Empire, where Orthodox Christian and Catholic monks had
been engaging in fierce, sometimes deadly brawls for years over who would control various holy
sites. Following one such violent squabble in 1852, Czar Nicholas I of Russia, a self-proclaimed
defender of Orthodox Christianity, demanded the right to exercise protection over the Ottoman
Empires millions of Christian subjects. Upon being rejected, he then sent his army, the largest in
the world, to occupy two Ottoman principalities in present-day Romania. The czar also
purportedly had his eyes on Constantinople, the Ottoman capital, which if taken would give his
navy unfettered access to the Mediterranean Sea. Unnerved by this expansionism, Britain and
France sent their own warships to the area and vowed to defend Ottoman sovereignty.

Fighting officially broke out in October 1853, and the following month the Russians decimated the
Ottoman fleet in a surprise attack. But although Nicholas referred to the declining Ottoman
Empire as the sick man of Europe, his land forces made little progress in their push south,
underscored by the failed siege of a fortress in present-day Bulgaria. Meanwhile, in March 1854,
Britain and France declared war and immediately bombarded the then-Russian city of Odessa.
With Austria likewise threatening to jump into the fray, Nicholas withdrew from Romania. Rather
than declare victory, however, Britain and France decided to punitively target the Russian naval
base in Sevastopol, located on the Crimean Peninsula. On September 13, 1854, a joint allied
force of over 60,000 troops sailed into Kalamita Bay, about 33 miles north of their objective. Due
to stormy weather, it took five days for them to fully disembark. Believing the conflict would be
over quickly, they brought neither winter clothing nor medical supplies. They moreover lacked
accurate maps, had little idea how many Russian troops opposed them and flouted the dietary
restrictions of the Muslim Ottoman soldiers within their ranks. To make matters worse, a cholera
outbreak erupted.

Nonetheless, the British and French defeated the Russians in their first run-in near the Alma
River, causing a panicked retreat with the help of their long-range Mini rifles. They then
commenced a roundabout march to Sevastopol, where they spent two-and-a-half weeks digging

11

trenches and lugging artillery into position prior to initiating a bombardment of the city on October
17. By that time, however, the Russians had significantly strengthened their defenses. After
holding out for eight days, they tried to break the siege with a dawn attack on Britains supply
base in the nearby fishing village of Balaclava. That morning, having forced Ottoman troops to
abandon four defensive redoubts, they were able to occupy the Causeway Heights just outside
town. But they failed to progress any further thanks to a regiment of Scottish highlanders and the
Heavy Brigade, each of which repelled a Russian advance.

With Balaclava now safe, Lord Fitzroy Somerset Raglan, the British commander-in-chief in
Crimea, turned his attention back to the Causeway Heights, where he believed the Russians
were attempting to make off with some of his artillery guns. He ordered the cavalry, consisting of
both the Heavy and Light brigades, to advance with infantry support and take advantage of any
opportunity to recover the lost ground. Lord Raglan expected the cavalrymen to move
immediately, with the infantry to come later. But George Bingham, the earl of Lucan, who
commanded the cavalry, thought he wanted them to attack together. As a result, Lucans men sat
around for 45 minutes waiting for the infantry to arrive. At that point, Raglan issued a new order,
telling the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front and try to prevent the enemy carrying away
the guns. From his vantage point, however, Lucan could not see any guns being removed.
Confused, he asked Raglans aide-de-camp where to attack, but instead of pointing to the
Causeway Heights, the aide allegedly waved his arm in the direction of a Russian artillery battery
at the far end of an exposed valley.

Lucan next approached his brother-in-law James Brudenell, the earl of Cardigan, who
commanded the Light Brigade. The two men loathed each other so much they were barely on
speaking terms. And neither was apparently respected by the troops. One officer in the Light
Brigade went so far as to call them both fools. Cardigan, he wrote in a letter home, has as
much brains as my boot. He is only equaled in want of intellect by his relation the earl of Lucan.
Though perturbed by Raglans order, Lucan and Cardigan obeyed it without first checking back in
to make sure they understood it correctly. At their bidding, the roughly 670 members of the Light
Brigade drew their sabres and lances and began their infamous mile-and-a-quarter-long charge
with Russians shooting at them from three directions (though never from all three at once). The
first man to fall was Raglans aide-de-camp. Another soldier then had his head clean carried off
by a round shot, yet for about 30 yards further the headless body kept in the saddle, according to

12

a survivor. Other survivors spoke of being splattered with horse blood, of watching their
companions lose limbs, of seeing brains on the ground and of going through smoke so thick it
was like riding into the mouth of a volcano.

The Heavy Brigade, which, its name notwithstanding, resembled the Light Brigade except with
regard to uniform color, was supposed to follow in support but only went a short way down the
valley before Lucan directed it to turn back. Somehow, the Light Brigade reached its destination
anyway, crashing into the enemy lines with a vengeance. A few Russians even shot at their own
comrades in a desperate bid to clear an escape route. The Light Brigades members didnt hold
the ground for long, though, before being forced to stagger back from whence they came. En
route, Russian artillery pounded away again from the Causeway Heightsbut not from the other
two sides, as the Light Brigade had taken out one battery itself and the French had taken out
anotherwhile Russian cavalrymen attempted to entrap them. In the end, of the roughly 670
Light Brigade soldiers, about 110 were killed and 160 were wounded, a 40 percent casualty rate.
They also lost approximately 375 horses.

Despite failing to overrun Balaclava, the Russians claimed victory in the battle, parading their
captured artillery guns through Sevastopol. Yet they would surrender the city and naval base
nearly a year later, after which they agreed to give up a small chunk of territory and to keep their
warships out of the Black Sea in exchange for peace. Meanwhile, the Light Brigades exploits had
already become legendary in Britain, thanks largely to Alfred Tennysons poem The Charge of
the Light Brigade. Named poet laureate a few years earlier by Queen Victoria, he praised the
bravery of the men as they rode into the valley of death. His poem The Charge of the Heavy
Brigade at Balaclava, on the other hand, never quite captured the publics imagination.

Additional Information on the Poem :

Stanzas 4, 5 & 6
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
13

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Remember & honour...

14

ANSWERS

The Living Photograph

15

PRACTICE 1
STANZA 1
1. Give three descriptions of the personas grandmothers appearance.
(a) tall
(b) straight-back
(c) has a kind old smile
(Also accept : neat / properly dressed)
2. Based on Stanza 1, describe the grandmothers personality.
(a) kind
(b) warm
(Also accept : loving / caring / other suitable adjectives)
3. What does line 7 tell you about the grandmother?
Still strong / determined / courageous / brave
STANZA 2
1. Describe the grandmother when she was old and sick.
(a) small
(b) round and hunched
2. Why did she forget to boil her soup?
She was too ill / sick
3. What happened to the grandmother in the end?
She died
STANZA 3
1. How old was the persona when the photograph was taken?
Three
2. Describe the personas feelings when she looks at the photograph.
Sad / nostalgic / other suitable adjectives
3. Quote the phrase that describes the grandmother as being old.
(the) crinkled smile

PRACTICE 2 (HOTS Questions)

NOTE :The answers for HOTS questions can be varied & wide ranging but most importantly,
they should be logical/reasonable and relevant to the question. Teachers are advised to use
their own discretion. The answers given below are simply examples of acceptable ones.
1. In stanza 1, why does the grandmother look tall in the photograph?
Because she is still well/healthy even though she is already old [2 marks]
2. Based on stanza 1, describe how the persona feels about her grandmother.
She loves her grandmother very much and she is very close to her grandmother.
16

[2 marks]
3. Why do you think the persona describes the afterlife as awful, unknown and
unthinkable?
Because she is still a child and to her, death is something that is very scary and
mysterious.[2 marks]
4. Is it good to keep photographs of your loved ones? Give two reasons.
(a) Yes, because we can always remember how they look like [1 mark]
(b) Yes, because we can show the photographs to our children and grandchildren and
tell them about their ancestors [1 mark]
5. Do you consider the grandmother as courageous? Give your evidence from the poem.
Yes, she was very courageous based on the line Her sharp blue eyes look her own
death in the eye [2 marks]
6. In your own words, describe the relationship between the persona and her grandmother.
They were very close and they loved each other very much. [2 marks]
PRACTICE 3 (VOCABULARY)
No.
1

Word
pleated

hunched

Meaning
Folded sewn or pressed
into the cloth
Crouched

awful

Terrible/bad

No.
4

Word
unknown

Meaning
Unfamiliar/mysterious

unthinkable

crinkled

Cannot be
considered/imagined
Wrinkled

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

PRACTICE 1
STANZA 1
1. What does the Light Brigade refer to?
Soldiers
2. Who said Forward, the Light Brigade!?
The commander/captain/leader of the brigade
3. What was the order?
To attack the enemies/to move forward/to go into battle
4. Into the valley of Death
What would happen to the men?
They would die/they would not survive the battle
17

STANZA 2
1. Based on this stanza, describe the personality of the soldiers.
(a) loyal/obedient
(b) brave/courageous
(c) confident/determined
2. The word Theirs refers to the soldiers
3. What is the meaning of blundered?
Made a mistake
STANZA 3
1. Describe the scene of the battlefield.
The soldiers were surrounded by the enemies / the soldiers were attacked with cannon
and gunshots
2. What Volleyed and thundered?
The cannon
3. What do you think happened at the end of the poem?
Most of the soldiers died in the battle / the soldiers lost the war / other possible answers

PRACTICE 2 (HOTS Questions)

NOTE :The answers for HOTS questions can be varied & wide ranging but most importantly,
they should be logical/reasonable and relevant to the question. Teachers are advised to use
their own discretion. The answers given below are simply examples of acceptable ones.
1. In your own words, describe how the soldiers felt when they went into the battlefield.
They felt very brave and determined to win the war even though they were a small a
group of soldiers [2 marks]
2. In your opinion, was it the right thing to do for the soldiers to follow the captains
command? Give a reason.
Yes, because it was their duty to follow their leader OR
No, because the captains command means that they would die in the battle [2 marks]
3. What do you think of the captains command?
It was the right thing to do because all the soldiers were experienced OR
It was a crazy thing to do because there were only 600 soldiers to fight against so many
enemies. [2 marks]
4. Give two suggestions on how we should show our appreciations to those who defend
our country.
(c) We should have a special Hero Day to honour them [1 mark]
(d) We should give them a special award for their honorable deeds [1 mark]

18

PRACTICE 3 (VOCABULARY)
No.
1

Word
league

valley

dismayed

Meaning
Short distance / way to
measure distance (in the
old days)
Low, flat land between
hills/mountains / dale
Shocked/terrified/sad

blundered

Made a serious mistake

19

No.
5

Word
volleyed

Meaning
Hit/fired/shot

shell

Bullets from guns

boldly

Bravely/courageously

jaws

Lower part of your face