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The dynamic between a long poem and a photograph is very different from that between a short poem and a photograph; the latter pairing works best in exhibitions. People always want to know where a photograph was taken, but in photo-poetry a level of imaginative engagement is lost as soon as they find out.
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Aug 10, 2010 · Even then, techniques used in short poems to avoid story-making — relying on images, condensing language, undermining the normal rules of syntax and grammar — often result in a long poem that sounds like an extended story told by a disturbed voice.
Photographs should stand free from any title other than the language of the poem. The dynamic between a long poem and a photograph is very different from that between a short poem and a photograph; the latter pairing works best in exhibitions.
- Sonnet. Sonnets are practically synonymous with Shakespeare, but there are actually two different kinds of this famous poetic form. Having originated in 13 century Italy, the sonnet usually deals with love and has two common forms: the Petrarchan (named for its famous practitioner, the poet Petrarch) and the Shakespearean (also known as the English sonnet).
- Villanelle. Villanelles have even more specific rules than sonnets. Luckily, many of the lines are repetitions, but this means you’ll have to take care to make those lines meaningful.
- Haiku. You might remember writing a few of these back in grade school, because not only are these poems short, but they can be very fun to write. The haiku originated in 17 century Japan.
- Ekphrastic Poems. Ekphrastic poems don’t really have specific rules, but they do speak of another work of art. Ekphrasis comes from the Greek word for “description,” and that’s exactly what this poem should do: vividly describe a painting, statue, photograph, or story.
- Summary Ofa Photograph
- Themes in A Photograph
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis of A Photograph
- Similar Poetry
In the first part of ‘A Photograph,’ the speaker describes looking at a photograph of her mother as a child. Through this, she is able to get across her feelings about time and how quickly it moves. Somethings, like the sea, stay the same while her mother did not. The second part of the poem takes the scene into the speaker’s own life when she was ...
Toulson explores several important themes in ‘A Photograph’. The most prominent are loss/mourning and memories. The entire poem is centered around the speaker’s recollections from her own life and her recollections of her mother’s memories. She feels both sorrow and joy as she recalls her mother’s words when the two looked at the photograph togethe...
‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson is a nineteen line poem that is contained within one stanza of text. The lines are written in free verse, meaning that they do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. But, that being said, it does not mean that the poem is entirely without rhyme or meter. There are several examples of half-rhymescat...
Toulson makes use of several literary devices in ‘A Photograph’. These include but are not limited to caesura, alliteration, and imagery. The first of these can be seen several times in the text when the poet breaks lines with punctuation. For example, line four reads: “And she the big girl – some twelve years or so” or line ten: “She’d laugh at th...
Lines 1-9
In the first lines of ‘A Photograph,’ the speaker begins by using the word “cardboard” to refer to a photograph. Unlike the photographs of today, in the pre-digital era, photos were printed on thick photo paper similar to cardboard. This photograph reminds her of a time when “two girl cousins went paddling”. In the photo, she sees them hoping hands with her mother who at that time was only twelve years old. This photograph was taken long before the speaker was born but it is still capable of...
Lines 10-19
In the next lines of ‘A Photograph,’ the speaker takes the reader into her lifetime when “twenty-thirty-years later” (suggesting that she doesn’t quite know how long ago it was) her mother laughed with her at the photograph. She speaks about the “girl cousins,” “Betty” and “Dolly”. This was a tender memory in her mother’s past and the speaker compares it to an important one of her own—her mother’s laugh. This is the first concrete evidence that the reader has that the mother has passed away....
Readers who enjoyed ‘A Photograph’ should also consider digging deeper into poetry that focuses on themes of loss and memory. One of the best poems about loss is ‘When Great Trees Fall’ by Maya Angelou. In this piece, Angelou depicts loss as an inevitable part of the human experience and is able to identify with all those who have felt loss at some...
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- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Quick answer: "A Photograph" contrasts nature's eternity with human transience by highlighting the enduring nature of the sea compared to the fleeting lives of...
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A Photograph is a poem written by English poet Shirley Toulson. It portrays a daughter’s nostalgic recollection of her mother’s memories and laments over the absence of her mother in her present time.
