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Stanza 1 tells us that in the photograph, grandmother looks “tall’ although she is supposed to be ‘small’. Her grandmother is still
youthful and has a “straight-back”. She is wearing a “white broderie anglaise shirt” and a “pleated skirt” which shows that she is a
woman of class, upper or middle. She is a kind and loving person. “Her big hand holds mine, white hand in black hand”-Perhaps,
the writer and her grandmother come from different ethnic background. The persona’s grandmother was a very brave person as she
was not afraid of death – “Her sharp blue eyes look her own death in the eye.” Note that the poet used the present tense to describe
her grandmother.
In stanza 2, the persona refers to her grandma in past tense when describing her actual state before dying. Her grandmother began
to grow older and develop a hunch back. She had become forgetful as dementia sets in – “Her soup forgot to boil” before she died –
“She went to the awful place grandmothers go.” Perhaps as a young child, the persona didn’t understand what that place was, it
Stanza 3 describes how the poet wants to remember her grandmother. The memory of her grandmother will definitely live on but
she doesn’t want to remember her as old and senile, but as how her grandmother was in the photo with her when she was only three
years old. She will always be remembered with her smile. Note that the present tense is used once again.
The language is clear and easy to understand. The Style is simple and direct to the point. There isn’t any clear rhyme scheme.
The tone heads towards a sense of strong family relationships. There is a lot of thought and love felt in the poem.
Point of View
The persona uses the words ‘my’ and ‘me’. Thus, it is in the first person point of view.
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Symbolism
The photograph symbolises the closeness between the grandmother and the persona. It highlights the feelings of the persona
Themes
Positive image people create in remembrance of a departed person. Just like the persona we remember our dearly
departed persons by the great things about them. The persona wants to remember her grandma as how she was in the photo, not
the days before she died. When our loved ones die, we no longer see the ugly side of a person. We forget and forgive all their
Coping with grief and loss. One excellent way to cope with grief and loss is to cling on the good memories of a person, instead
of remembering the bad. The persona coped with grief for the loss of her grandma by keeping it in her heart that although her
grandma is not with her anymore physically, she is still alive in her heart. She celebrates her grandmother’s life.
Moral Value
We must appreciate close family members while they are still alive. The poem teaches us that we must spend time with our loved
ones because when they are gone all that will be left are the memories of the time spent together.
Discussion
The poet, Jackie Kay, is half Scottish, half Nigerian, and she was adopted by a Scottish family. The persona could be the poet Ms
Jackie Kay herself, hence the “white hand in black hand”. The poet says that her grandmother is tall in the photo but later became
‘small’ as at the time the photo was taken her grandmother was younger. Her back was straight. Thus, she seemed taller. It could
also be because the writer was very young at the time -about three years old as mentioned in the last stanza. As her grandmother
grew older, her back became ‘round and hunched’. Therefore, she appeared ‘small’. Note that although the grandma is dead, she
refers to her in the present tense. This shows that she is alive in her heart, and that the state of her grandma in the photo is how she
wants to remember her. In the first stanza, the grandmother is strong and healthy in the photograph while in the second stanza the
grandmother is older and ill. In stanza 2, the grandmother is described in the past tense, this also shows that the persona is over the
tragedy; and her grandma is now dead. Overall, the poem is about how a photograph immortalises a person. This is shown in the
poem where she will always be remembered by the persona with the photograph although the grandmother is dead.
Exercise
4. According to the persona, where has the grandmother gone and why ‘there she is still’?
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5. Give one moral value one can learn from the poem.
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