The Living Photograph –

Jackie Kay
Read the poem, The Living
Photograph’ and answer the
questions that follow.
Practice 2
a) What do ‘the sharp blue eyes’ tell us about the
grandmother’s race?
– She was a white woman
b) According to the persona, where has the
grandmother gone?
– She had passed away and gone to the awful place
c) Do you think the grandmother can be described as
brave?
– Yes, because she was said to have looked ‘her own death
in the eye’
d) My tall grandmother became small
What had happened to the grandmother’s height and how
does she look then?
– She became shorter and she used to be tall when she was
young.
Practice 3
a) In stanza 3, which word means ‘creased’?
– The word ‘crinkled’
b) When do you think the grandmother can be described
as ‘tall there’?
– When she was young
c) Which line tells us that the persona and her
grandmother are of different race?
– The line ‘white hand in black hand’
d) What do you think was the age gap between the
persona and her grandmother in the photo? Provide a
reason for your answer.
– I think the age gap must be big because the persona
describes he grandmother’s smile as crinkled when she
was only 3 years old.
Practice 4
a) In stanza 2, which word means ‘to have a bent back’?
– The word ‘hunched’
b) How old was the persona when the photograph was
taken?
– 3 years old
c) What happened to the soup and where do you think it
was?
– It was not boiled on the stove at the kitchen
d) She went to the awful place grandmother go…
Do you think the persona understand about death?
Provide a reason for your answer.
– Understanding: No, I don’t she understand then.
– Reason: She mentions the place as awful, unknown and
unthinkable.
Practice 5
a) In stanza 3, what does the smile tells us about the
face?
– The face is wrinkled
b) What is the main theme of the poem?
– Love and ties between a grandmother and granddaugther
c) Which phrase tells us the grandmother’s race is
different from that of the persona?
– The phrase ‘white hand in black hand’
d) ‘But there she is still’
How do you think the persona feels when she looks at
the photograph? Provide a reason for your answer.
– Feeling: she feels happy and loved
– Reason: She feels that the grandmother is still living as
though she is still around makes her feel happy.