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.
-Jackie Kay

I.

Stanza 1
It 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 handPerhaps, the writer and her grandmother come
from different ethnic background. The personas
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.

II.

Stanza 2

III.

Stanza 3

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 didnt understand what that place was,
it was just unknown and unthinkable.

Stanza 3 describes how the poet wants to

remember her grandmother. The memory of her
grandmother will definitely live on but she
doesnt 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.

THEME
Close family ties.
Grandmother-Granddaughter relationship.
Love and appreciation.
Unwillingness to let go of someone close.
Value of photograph.

MORAL VALUE
We must strive for close family relationship
with our grandparents and parents.
We should love and appreciate close family
members while they are still alive.
We must learn to let go of the dead.
Keeping a memento like a photograph helps to
keep memories alive.

POINT OF VIEW
1st person point of viewthe persona uses the
words, my and me

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

The persona gives her views and feelings of her
grandmother
Language is easy to understand
Clear and descriptive
Stylesimple and understanding

TONE AND MOOD

Appreciative and thankful
Thoughtful and Loving
Sense of strong family ties

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
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and 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.
-LORD ALFRED TENNYSON

I.

STANZA 1
The light cavalry was marching to the Valley of
Death because the foes were no match for them.
It was like committing suicide. They were 600 of
them riding horse fighting in a battle. Their
leader ordered them to move forward and
confiscate the guns to prevent the guns from
being carried away by the enemies.

II.

STANZA 2
The soldiers were still moving forward. No one
was discouraged by the fact that somebody had
made a foolish mistake by giving them a wrong
order. They were not in the position to answer
any questions nor to ask why. They kept on
moving because it was their responsibility and
they received order from their superior. Even if
there were fated to die, all the six hundreds of
them were still moving forward.

III.

STANZA 3
The soldiers bravely fought the battle. They
were attacked from their right, their left but
they still moved forward. True enough, they were
also attacked from the front. But they marched
fearlessly to the Valley of Death and fought
until their last breaths.

 THEME
Warfare and conflict.
Carrying out given duty.
Courage in the face of danger.
Courage and destruction.

MORAL VALUES
We must struggle for peace rather than
warfare.
When given duty, we try out best to carry it
out.
When we know that some instructions or
orders could lead to danger, we must be
prepared to voice our feelings.
We should be brave in the face of danger.
LANGUAGE AND STYLE
Simple.
Straight-forward style with few literary
devices.
TONE AND MOOD
A fast-paced poem with rather sombre mood.
Valour and bravery.
Heroic.

DEAR MR KILMER
MAIN CHARACTERS :
I.

Richard Knight

II.

Hannah Schermers

Courageous
-send card to Hannah and having fight with Abner
and Harry.
Diligent and Helpful
-He always help Pa in farm and Angie in the
kitchen doing the house chores.
Sensitive
-Could not kill the buck even having a chance to
do it.
Patient
-still strong even her tavern had been
vandalised.
Intelligent
-always helping Richard with good ideas and
suggestion to complete his poem.
Appreciative
-thanked Richard for sending her the sympathy
card.

III.

PA

Understanding
-He didnt angry and ask Richard the reason why
he didnt kill the buck.
Responsible
-He took care of Gus, Angie and Richard alone
after her wife died.
Loving
-He dont let his son Gus to join the army
training.

MINOR CHARACTERS :
I.

GUS

Adventurous

-desperately want to join the war without

discussing with Pa because he didnt like do
farming.
Impatient
-cannot wait to join the army training.
Stubborn
-disobey Pa because he want to join the war.

II.

MR KILMER
Understanding
-he understands Richard feelings and feel not
awkward when communicating by the way of writing
letter.
Helpful
-give Richard advice and motivation through
letter.
Patriotic
-joined the war even though he is a famous poet.

III.

MRS HANSEN

IV.

ANGIE

Supportive
-urges Richard to read his poem in front of the
class.
Tolerant
-do not angry when Hannah and Richard turned
down the role.
Creative
-support Hannah with giving a sympathy card.

Hardworking
-doing all the house chores by herself without
complaining.
Loving
-continuing her mother role after her mother
death and she realising that no one will taking
care of her family.

IMPORTAN EVENTS :

MORAL VALUES :
I.

COURAGE AND RESILIENCE

Hannah urns down the role of Lady Liberty ,which
she wanted very much ,even though she won it
fairly.

II.

TRUTH ,INTEGRITY AND HONOUR

Richard tell his father the truth-that he
purposely misfired ,as he cannot bear killing
the beautiful buck.

III.

COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING

Joyce Kilmer understanding Richards challenges
and gives him a lot of encouragements and
supports.

IV.

GENEROUS AND KIND HEARTED

Hannah bakes cookies for Mr Kilmer.
Hannah invited Richard for supper.