Question

What do the first 15 lines of the poem "This Is a Photograph of Me" convey?

• A. Express emotions relating to a lost love
• B. Describe the photograph
• C. Introduce the poet’s life story
• D. Narrate a dream sequence

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Describe the photograph

• First 14 lines describe the photograph and then the final 12 (in parentheses) usher us deeper into the speaker's confidence with the first use of the 'I' pronoun.

  "It was taken some time ago.
  At first it seems to be
  a smeared
  print: blurred lines and grey flecks
  blended with the paper;

  then, as you scan
  it, you see in the left-hand corner
  a thing that is like a branch: part of a tree
  (balsam or spruce) emerging
  and, to the right, halfway up
  what ought to be a gentle
  slope, a small frame house."

  (The photograph was taken
  the day after I drowned.

  I am in the lake, in the center
  of the picture, just under the surface.

  It is difficult to say where
  precisely, or to say
  how large or small I am:
  the effect of water
  on light is a distortion

  but if you look long enough,
  eventually
  you will be able to see me.)"