A Photograph Class 11 Common Questions Answers for AHSEC 2025

A Photograph Class 11 Common Questions Answers for AHSEC 2025: A Photograph is a poem from class 11 English textbook Hornbill. A Photograph is written by poetess Shirley Toulson. Here in this post you'll get A Photograph Class 11 Common Questions Answers for AHSEC 2025.

A Photograph HS 1st Year Common Questions Answers for AHSEC 2025

Q1. The sea ‘appears to have changed less’ in comparison to the three girls who enjoyed the sea holiday. Comment.

Ans: The poet compares the mortal nature of human beings with the eternal nature of the sea or natural objects. With the passage of time, the poet’s mother died but the vast sea has remained as it was since the photograph was taken.

Q2. What has the camera captured ? HS 2012

Ans: The camera took pictures of three girls. One of them is the poet's mother of about twelve years. She is accompanied by two cousins, each of whom is holding the hand of the poet's mother. They are standing on the beach and their feet are being washed with water. His smile is visible even in the midst of his flying hair.

Q3. What does the poet say about her mother’s face ?

Ans: The poet remarks that her mother had a sweet face, smiling and caring for her cousins who were younger to her. The poet also says that her mother used to enjoy these sea holidays, and would laugh heartily, later on when she saw the photograph.

Q4. What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss.” HS 2012, 2024

Ans: The line expresses the similarity between the facial expressions of her mother and herself. Both faces had turned very owing to the terrible feeling of loss in their respective lives. The mother was sad about the absence of a happy and cheerful childhood. The poet had turned sad at the loss of her mother's laughter as the latter was dead.

Q5. How does the poet react to her past ? Why has she not mentioned anything about her mother’s death ?

Ans: The poet remembers with sadness her mother’s laughter which she cannot hear any more. The poet is full of a sense of loss and does not mention about her mother’s death, as it may bring more gloom to her and make her speechless.

Q6. The poet’s mother would have laughed at the snapshot. What did this laughter indicate ? 

or

The poet's mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate ? HS 2014, 15, 17, 22

Ans: This laugh indicates her remembering her past. She looked back to her childhood with nostalgia and remembered the innocent joys of her childhood days. She was recalling the memory of the sea trip and laughing about the way everyone was dressed. She was apparently recalling all that happened back in those days of the trip and reliving the memories so as to make herself feel happy at present too.

Q7. What has not changed over the years ? Does this suggest something to you ?

Ans: Only the sea has not changed over the years. The pretty faces and the feet of the three girls have changed over time. They are transient because time spares none.

Q8. Why would the poet's mother laugh at the snapshot ? HS 2015, 16, 23

Ans: The poet's mother laughed at the snapshot while recalling a moment of her childhood captured in the photograph. She looks back at her childhood days with nostalgia and recollects her joys and memories.

A Photograph Class 11 Common Questions Answers for AHSEC 2025 Pdf

Q9. The poet talks about a particular cardboard. How is it special to her ?

Ans: The poet talks about a particular cardboard to which is pasted her mother’s photograph taken at the sea beach. The mother seems to have been enjoying her sea holiday. The photograph is special as she has lost her mother sometime back and looking at the photograph makes her happy as well as sad.

Q10. Whose transient feet is the poet talking about ? Why are they transient ? HS 2016

Ans: The poet is referring to the feet of her mother as seen in the photograph. They are transient because her mother is not alive anymore. Here transient means something that is not permanent.

This phrase draws a contrast between the length of human life and that of the sea.

Q11. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are they ? 

or

The three stanzas of the poem 'A Photograph' depict three different phases. What are they ? HS 2018

Ans: The three stanzas depict three different phases of life. The first stanza refers to the childhood of the poet’s mother. The second stanza refers to the adulthood of the poet’s mother. The last stanza refers to the last phase of life – the death of the poet’s mother.

Q12. How does the poet use imagery to evoke nostalgia in the poem A Photograph ?

Ans: Poet Shirley Toulson employs vivid imagery to evoke nostalgia and bring the past to life in "A Photograph." Through descriptions of the photograph's details, such as "frozen waterfall," "three of them," and "the stone steps," the poet creates a vivid tableau that resonates with readers' own memories and experiences.

Q13. Briefly evaluate the poet's attitude towards life as seen in the last stanza of the poem, 'A Photograph'. HS 2019, 2021

Ans: The period of nearly twelve years since the poetess's mother passed away, has been painful for the poet. She can not hear her laughter anymore. There is only silence now. The period after the death of the poet's mother, the life of the poet has been dull and eventless. The void created by her death is slowly becoming less painful. The time that passes silently but steadily weakens old memories of loss and grief.

Q14. What is the 'laboured case of loss' in the poem 'A Photograph' ? 2020, 2021

Ans: The phrase means that the poet has to accept the loss. The line, “Both wry with the labored ease of loss” tells us about the poetess and her mother and how they both have been disappointed with the loss that they have experienced over time.

Q15. What is the enduring appeal of "A Photograph" ?

Ans: The enduring appeal of "A Photograph" lies in its ability to evoke powerful emotions and resonate with readers across generations. The poem's universal themes and evocative language make it a timeless piece of literature that continues to captivate and inspire audiences worldwide.

Q16. How did the poet's mother look at the time of taking the photograph ? HS 2022

Ans: At the time of taking the photograph, the poet's mother looked cheerful and charming when she posed for the photograph with her two cousins, she was about 12 years old. She was physically fit, She had a lovely smile, and She was dressed up in a cute outfit.

Q17. What does the word 'cardboard' refer to in the poem, A Photograph ? HS 2023

Ans: ‘Cardboard’ in the poem refers to the photograph. This word has been used because photograph is now just a piece of paper with the memory as the poet's mother is dead now. It shows that human life is transitory and the cardboard which remains is memorable piece of paper.

Q18. Describe the three girls with particular reference to the 'Big girl' in the poem, A Photograph. HS 2024

Ans: The three girls were the three sister. The eldest (Big girl) one was poet's mother and the rest two were her cousins. The elderly girl was no one but poet's mother. Poet's mother was standing in the between and other two girl were holding Poet's mother's hand from opposite sides.