FORM 4 POEM

                                                            THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH 

                                                                           by Jackie Kay)

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.

Poem The Living Photograph: 

HOTs Questions + Answers

HOTs QUESTIONS:

1.    Why do you think the grandmother wore flat shoes?

Most probably because she is aging and cannot wear heeled-shoes.

2.    Why do you think the grandmother became small?

She became small because she had aged and her back had hunched.

3.    Why did the grandmother’s back become round and hunched?

This is because she is aging and her bones are weaker.

4.    According to the persona, where has the grandmother gone and why ‘there she is still’?

Her grandmother had passed away and gone to the awful place.

5.    Why is the smile described as still living and breathing?

Most probably the photograph is very well taken.

6.    Why did the grandmother go to that awful place?

She became old and passed away.

7.    Why was the place described as awful?

No one has been there and persona can no longer see or talk to her grandmother.

8.    How do we know that the grandmother looked prim and proper?

She was properly dressed in white broderie anglaise shirt with pleated skirt and flat shoes.

9.    ‘white hand in black hand’

     What other feature mentioned in the stanza tell us the grandmother’s race? Provide reason to support your answer.

Feature: Blue eyes

Reason:  The persona is black and the grandmother is white

10.   ‘Her soup forgot to boil’

       What other thing do you think the grandmother was likely to forget to do? Give a reason to support your   

       answer.

Thing: Where she placed her spectacles or forgot to turn on the kettle

Reason: As one gets older, its normal to be forgetful.

......................................................................................................................................

1.    Why do you think her soup forgot to boil?

She was old and forgetful/absent-minded

2.    Quality                                              Evidence

       Kind                                    " a kind old smile"

       Protective/caring               " her big hands holds mine"

       fearless/ courageous         " look her own death in the eye"

       friendly                                 " the crinkled smile is still living"

3. 'she went to the awful place grandmothers go...'

      Do you think the persona understands about death? Provide a reason for answer,

     

          Understanding: No, I don't think she understands death.

Reason: She mentions the place as awful, unknown and unthinkable when normally heaven is  described as beautiful.

4.  '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 mentions that the grandmother's crinkled smile is still living and breathing as though her grandmother is still standing beside her

5.    Give one moral value one can learn from the poem.

     The poem teaches us that we must spend time with our loved ones because when they pass away,

GRAMMAR FOR ALL.....

Agreement

Agreement* is the word for the correct matching of the subject and the verb in a sentence. (Another way to say this is that the subject and verb go together.) English has very few verb endings and the only one that learners really have to worry about is the -s ending in the present simple tense. As an example let's look at the verb to work:

	Singular	Plural
1st person	I work	We work
2nd person	You work	You work
3rd person	He works She works It works	They work

It can be seen that the -s is needed in the 3rd person singular*. It has to be: My father works in a bank. My mother drinks green tea for breakfast every day. Oil floats on water.

Of course, the same rule applies when the 3rd person subject is a pronoun. So you have to say: He works in a bank. She drinks green tea for breakfast every day. It floats on water.

You also need to remember the -s in sentences with relative pronouns. So, for example, it must be: Do you know the man who lives in the next apartment? A carnivore is an animal that eats other animals. And don't forget the -s when the verb is used as an auxiliary: Does your mother like English food? She has forgotten her homework again.

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Learners often make agreement mistakes when the noun is unexpectedly singular or plural. So, for example, everybody, news and data are singular, whereas people,police and jeans are plural:

• Where is everybody going?
• The news was bad.
• The data is too old to be useful.
• The police are looking for the killer.
• Most people want to be rich.
• Your trousers are too tight!

Similar mistakes of agreement occur between such nouns and their pronouns. It has to be:

• Do you want to hear the news? It's very good!
• You need to buy some new jeans. Those are too tight!
• The police? They are never here when you need them.

FORM 4 POEM

The Video :

LITERATURE FORM 4

THE POEM

THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH - By Jecky Kay

HELLO 2019...

WRITING....

DEAR MR. KILMER.... 2018

Question 1
Using the details from the novel that you have studied, write about the character who deserves sympathy.
With close reference to the text, give reasons for your decision?

Sample answer

The novel that I studied was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. The character who deserves sympathy is Richard.. He had a problem to tell people that he wrote poetry. This was the right decision for him eventhough it was hard for him to do so and I felt sympathy for him because he was alone facing the difficulty.

Richard Knight had a secret. Nobody knew that he wrote poetry including his family, teachers and schoolmates. One day, Richard learnt about Mr Kilmer when Richard’s English teacher, Mrs Hansen read a poem to the class. The title of the poem was “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer. Mr Kilmer was a famous poet. He enlisted in the army. He wrote a letter to Mr Kilmer. In his letter, Richard told Mr Kilmer that he wrote poems too.Richard asked for Mr Kilmer’s advice. He wanted to know whether he should tell his secret to everybody.

A few days later, Richard received a letter from Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to overcome his fear. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to share his poetry with people around him. Nobody was interested when Richard told his family about Mr Kilmer’s letter and his secret. Gus did not believe that Mr Kilmer was famous.Pa did not believe that Richard wrote poetry. Richard asked whether his family members wanted to read his poems. Nobody was interested. Richard was sad.

The next day, Richard told Mrs Hansen that he wrote poetry. He showed her Mr Kilmer’s letter. Mrs Hansen helped Richard to choose a poem. Richard would send the poem to Mr Kilmer. As advised by Mrs Hansen, Richard shared Mr Kilmer’s latest letter and his poem with the class. Some of his classmates, including Blanche and Peggy, were deeply moved by his poem. They started to respect Richard. Hannah suggested a different ending to Richard’s poem.

In conclusion, Richard was a brave boy when he decided to tell his secrets to everyone. Eventhough he deservesd sympathy from us, he managed to handle and solve the problem successfully. We should make Richard as an example in our life.

Question 2 (SPM 2015 à Similar to SPM 2007)

Suggest one character in the novel you have read who you think is a good role model for teenagers.

Briefly describe the character and give reasons for your choice with close reference to the text.

Sample answer

he novel that I read was ‘Dear Mr Kilmer’ by Anne Schraff. A good role model for teenagers was Richard. Richard was 15 years old. He was tall, pale and slender. Richard was Mr Knight’s son. He was Angie and Gus’s younger brother. He was Mr Kilmer’s penpal and Hannah’s best friend. He loved poetry. There were three reasons why I chose Richard.

Firstly, he was kind. One day, Mrs Hansen asked her class to sign a card for the Schermers. Someone vandalised the tavern owned by Hannah’s parents. They painted “Dirty Huns” all over the walls. Mrs Hansen brought a card to express regret for what had happened. The troublemakers like Abner, Harry, Blanche and Peggy refused to sign the card. They warned other classmates not to sign the card. The boys were afraid Abner and Harry would hit them. The girls worry that popular girls like Peggy and Blanche would not speak to them. However, Richard was the only student who signed the sympathy card for Hannah Schermer. After school, Richard took the card from Mrs Hansen. He wanted to give the card to Hannah. Hannah accepted the card reluctantly. Later, Hannah apologised to Richard for being rude. This was the beginning of their friendship.

Secondly, Richard was brave. This was shown when Richard told his family he wrote poetry. Before telling his secret to his family, Richard wrote a letter to Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer was Richard’s penpal. Richard learnt about Mr Kilmer when Richard’s English teacher, Mrs Hansen read a poem to the class. The title of the poem was “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer. In his letter, Richard told Mr Kilmer that he wrote poems too. However, he kept this as a secret from everyone.Richard asked for Mr Kilmer’s advice. He wanted to know whether he should tell his secret to everybody. One day, Richard received a letter from Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to overcome his fear. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to share his poetry with people around him. Nobody was interested when Richard told his family about Mr Kilmer’s letter and his secret. Gus did not believe that Mr Kilmer was famous.Pa did not believe that Richard wrote poetry. Richard asked whether his family members wanted to read his poems. Nobody was interested. Richard was sad. Gus advised Richard not tell anyone he wrote poetry. He wanted Richard to fit in with other people. Everyone called him a Hun Lover after he signed the card for Hannah.

Thirdly, he was supportive. Hannah and Richard won the roles of Lady Liberty and the Doughboy respectively because they wrote the best essays. Mrs Hansen asked the class to write an essay as one of the activities for a patriotic programme which helped sell Liberty bonds. Many students were angry when Hannah won the role. They regarded Hannah as an unpatriotic German although she was an American citizen. Hannah told Richard that her essay started a little war in Turtle lake. She did not want to cause any more problems. So she declined the role of Lady Liberty. Richard wanted to support Hannah. Therefore,Richard declined his part as the Doughboy. His family, his schoolmates and the Turtle Lake People criticized him for turning down his role. They called him unpatriotic and a traitor. These criticisms never stopped Richard from standing up for what was right.

In conclusion, Richard was a good role model for teenagers because he had good personalities.