What impression do you form about the poet's mother after reading the poem 'A Photograph'?

The poetess’s mother appears as a physically well-formed person with a sweet face and beautiful smile. She has a friendly temperament and free mixing nature. She has great affection for her two girl cousins and goes with them for a sea-holiday where they put on quaint dresses. She poses with them smilingly for a snap. Her laughter on seeing the dresses in the snap shows her fine temperament and good humor.

What impression do you form about the poet's mother?

How does the poetess describe her mother's temperament?
(a) Reserved and distant
(b) Friendly and free mixing
(c) Strict and authoritarian
(d) Moody and unpredictable

Solution

(b) Friendly and free mixing

What is the physical description of the poetess's mother?
(a) Physically frail with a serious expression
(b) Physically well-formed with a sweet face and beautiful smile
(c) Physically imposing with a stern demeanor
(d) Physically unremarkable with a neutral expression

Solution

(b) Physically well-formed with a sweet face and beautiful smile

Suggested Reading: What has the camera captured?

The poetess’s mother laughs at her past. How does the poet react to her past?

The sea holiday was a past experience for the poetess’s mother. A glimpse of the photograph perhaps revived some feelings of shared joy and she laughed. For the poet, her laughter is an incident of the past. It is amusing in an ironic manner. The sense of loss overcomes pleasure.