THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH JACKIE KAY

Exercise 1
Complete the poem. Try not to refer to the text.

The Living Photograph

My small grandmother is tall there,
straight-back, white broderie anglaise (1)___________________,
pleated (2)____________, flat shoes, grey bun,
a kind, old (3)_________ round her eyes.
Her big hand (4)____________mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her own (5) ______________ in the eye.
It was (6) __________ after all; that look.
My tall grandmother became small.
Her back round and (7) _____________.
Her (8) _____________ forgot to boil.
She went to the (9) ____________ place grandmothers go.
Somewhere unknown, (10) ___________.
But there she is still,
in the photo with me at (11)____________,
the crinkled smile is still (12) _____________ , breathing.

Exercise 2
Complete the bridge map with the antonyms to the words given.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Word:
Word:
Word:
Word:

true
sharp
forgot
awful

Antonym: ______________
Antonym: ______________
Antonym: ______________
Antonym: ______________

Exercise 3
Read the following statements and state whether they are True or False.
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

The persona recollects the memories of her grandmother as she looks at the
photograph.
(___________)
The personas grandmother is still living with her.
(___________)
The grandmother seems to be a friendly and kind woman.
(___________)
The persona is three years old when her grandmother dies.
(___________)
The grandmother remains strong and healthy until her death.
(___________)
In the photograph, the grandmother will always be alive.
(___________)

Exercise 4
Answer the following questions based on your understanding of the poem.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

How old was the persona when the photograph was taken?
__________________________________________________________________________
Which line in the poem tells us the grandmother has become forgetful?
__________________________________________________________________________
The grandmother seems to be a friendly and kind woman.
__________________________________________________________________________
The persona is three years old when her grandmother dies.
__________________________________________________________________________
The grandmother remains strong and healthy until her death.
__________________________________________________________________________
Give one moral value one can learn from the poem.
__________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5
Answer all the questions.
1. List down 3 themes of the poem?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Give 4 moral values that are found in the poem.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. How do you think of the persona feels towards her grandmother? Support
your answer with evidence from the poem.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. A picture speaks a thousand words is a common proverb. How would you
relate this to the poem The Living Photograph?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 6
Read the questions carefully and answer all the questions.
1. Sometimes an elderly member of the family is sent to a nursing home. Do you
agree with this practice? Provide your reason.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. If you were to take care of your grandmother for a day, what would you do
to make her experience an unforgettable one?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Answers
Exercise 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Shirt
Skirt
Smile
Holds
Death
True

7. Hunched
8. Soup
9. Awful
10. Unthinkable
11. Three
12. Living

Exercise 2
1.
2.
3.
4.

false
dull
remembered
Beautiful

Exercise 3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

True
False
True
False
False
True

Exercise 4
1. She was three years old
2. The line, her soup forgot to boil
3. The word unthinkable
4. In the first stanza, the grandmother is strong and healthy in the photograph
while in the second stanza the grandmother is older and ill.
5. The poem is about how a photograph immortalises a person. This is illustrated
in the poem where in real life, the grandmother is dead but with the
photograph, she will always be remembered by the persona.
6. The poem teaches us that we must spend time with our loved ones because
when they pass away, all that will be left are the memories of the time spent
together.
Exercise 5 & 6
-Accept all correct and acceptable answers-

THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH JACKIE KAY

1. List two items grandmother wears in the photo.
a) _____________________________________________________________
b) _____________________________________________________________
2. What do you think the writer is referring to in the phrase the awful place
grandmothers go?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Why do you think the writers small grandmother is tall in the photo?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. In the first stanza, what does the word there refer to?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Which line tells you that the writer and her grandmother come from different
ethnic background?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
6. How old was the writer when the photo was taken?
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Why do you think the writer says that her grandmother is tall in the photo but
later became small?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
8. Quote evidence from line 14 to line 16 that the photograph was taken a long
time ago.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
9. Explain the meaning of the word crinkled.
___________________________________________________________________________
10. How do these lines make you feel about photographs of people you love?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Answers
1. a) pleated skirt
b) flat shoes/white broderieanglaise shirt
2.

The writer is referring to death.

3.

I think it is probably because the photo was taken when the writers
grandmother was younger. Her back was not rounded and hunched
then, so she looked tall.

4.

It refers to the photograph.

5.

white hand in black hand

6.

She was three years old.

7.

I think she says that because at the time the photo was taken her
grandmother was younger. Her back was straight therefore she
seemed taller. It could also be because the writer was very young at
the time (only 3 years old). As her grandmother grew older, her back
became round and hunched. So she appeared small. The writer
would also have grown bigger and taller too, therefore her
grandmother no longer appears tall to her.

8.

The persona says that the photograph was taken when he/she was
three years old.

9.

Wrinkled

10.

(accept all logical answers)