THE LIVING

PHOTOGRAPH
By Jackie Kay

ABOUT THE POET:

Jackie Kay

Born: Edinburgh, Scotland in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a

Nigerian father; adopted and raised within a white family
Originally wanted to be an actress, but became a writer after a
serious road accident
Has published collections of poetry, a novel, two short story
collections, drama, poems and short stories for children, and a
memoir
Works revolve around issues of race, family and cultural
differences
Lives in Manchester
A Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.
Has won many awards and honours including the Eric Gregory
Award in 1991, the Somerset Maugham Award in 1994 and the
Guardian Fiction Prize in 1998. In 2006, she was awarded an MBE
for services to literature.

SYNOPSIS
The poem talks about:
the personas photograph of her
grandmother
her grandmothers attributes
her grandmother has passed away but the
persona still feels her presence as she looks
at the photograph of her young self and her
grandmother

UNDERSTANDING THE
POEM
Stanza 1
The persona describes her grandmother as
tall and well-dressed with a kind smile.
Her smile comes from her eyes
On her deathbed, she held the personas
small black hand in her big white hand.
She was not afraid to leave the world.

Stanza 2
The persona accepts that her grandmother
has passed to the other world, as all
grandmothers do.
Grandmother, who was of a tall stature
became small, hunched and forgetful.

Stanza 3
The persona at age three had taken a
photograph with her grandmother.
When she looks at the photograph, she
feels her grandmothers presence.
To the persona, her grandmother is still very
much alive and smiling at her.

THEMES
Close family ties
Grandmother granddaughter relationship
Love and appreciation
Unwillingness to let go of someone close
Value of photographs as a memento to
remind us of what we used to be and helps
to keep our memories alive.

MORAL VALUES
We must strive for close family relationships
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.
We must not dwell on the past too much.

TONE & MOOD

Appreciative and thankful
Thoughtful and loving
Sense of strong family ties

POINT OF VIEW
First person point of view the persona uses
the words my and me
The persona, a granddaughter, gives her
views and feelings of her late grandmother

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

Language is:
easy to understand
clear and descriptive
Style
simple
understanding

LITERARY DEVICES
Sound devices

Alliteration: tall there, hand holds

Assonance: soup forgot to boil, still living

Literary devices

Symbol: the photograph (symbolise the close ties between the

grandmother and persona)

Contrast: straight back and hunched is a comparison of her young and

aged grandmother; white hand in black hand is a comparison of the
persona and grandmothers skin colour

Imagery: straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt, pleated skirt, flat

shoes, grey bun creates the image of a prim and properly dressed person

Diction: back round and hunched, crinkled smile , still living,

breathing

Figurative language: metaphor (her sharp blue eyes look her own death in
the eye); personification (soup forgot to boil soup personified as a
human who forgot to do something)

CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, although some of our grandmothers may be
gone in body, her spirit and love will continue to live on in
our hearts and memories forever. If your grandmothers are
still alive, cherish and appreciate her before shes gone. As
the saying goes, YOU NEVER MISS THE WATER TILL THE
WELL RUNS DRY!

Lets watch a video on a

grandmothers love
before we end the
presentation!

10,000 Bowls of Porridge

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY

Answer 6 comprehension questions based

on the poem The Living Photograph (refer
to handout)

Create a collage of your photos of/with your

grandmother of the size of half of the A4
paper, print it out and paste in your book.

THATS ALL FOLKS!!