ER
THE LIVING
PHOTOGRAP
H
BY JACKIE
KAY
LITERAL MEANING
Stanza 1
My small grandmother is tall there,
Straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt,
Pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
A kind, old smile around her eyes.
Her big hand hands hold mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her even death in
the eye.
Stanza 2
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 grandmother
go.
Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
Stanza 3
But there she is still,
In the photo with me at three,
The crinkled smile is still living, breathing
FIGURATIVE MEANING
Stanza 1
My small grandmother is tall there,
Straight-back, white broderie anglaise
shirt,
Pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
A kind, old smile around her eyes.
Her big hand hands hold mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her even death in
the eye.
Stanza 2
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 grandmother
go.
Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
Stanza 3
But there she is still,
In the photo with me at three,
The crinkled smile is still living, breathing
THEME
Close family ties
Grandmother-granddaughter relationship
Love and appreciation
Coping with grief and loss
Unwillingness to let go of someone close
Value of photograph
POINT OF VIEW
1 s t person point of view
- the persona uses the words my and me
LITERARY ELEMENTS
a) Imagery
b) Contrast
Descriptive image of
the grandmother
when she was young
in the photograph
(1 s t stanza) and
when she became
old (2 n d stanza)
Two contrasting
images of
grandmother in the
1 s t and 2 n d stanza
e.g. tall, straight
back
VS
small, hunched
LITERARY ELEMENTS
c) Symbolism
a photograph is
used to fl ashback
the sweet memory
of a grandmother by
her grandchild
d) Irony
The title presents
irony in denying
death. The
grandmother is
dead. However, her
photographs bring
her back to life.
MORAL VALUES
VOCABULARY
VOCABULARY
THANK YOU!!
sf2015