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Stanza One
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Line no.
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Line
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Interpretation
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1
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My small grandmother is tall
there,
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The
persona is describing her grandmother in the photograph (tall : healthy &
well)
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2
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straight-back, white broderie
anglaise shirt,
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Her
physical appearance (straight-back) & what she wears (very neat &
proper)
Note: broderie
anglaise is French for ‘English embroidery’
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3
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pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey
bun,
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4
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a kind, old smile round her eyes.
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Her
smile shows that she is kind & gentle
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5
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Her big hand holds mine,
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Her
grandmother is loving & caring
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6
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white hand in black hand.
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The
white hand belongs to her grandmother & the black hand is the persona’s
(togetherness)
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7
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Her sharp blue eyes look her own
death in the eye.
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Her
grandmother’s vision is still good but she is actually dying
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Stanza Two
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Line no.
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Line
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Interpretation
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1
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It was true after all; that look.
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‘that
look’ refers to the look of someone dying
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2
|
My tall grandmother became small.
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Her
grandmother’s condition got worse when she was sick and dying
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3
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Her back round and hunched.
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4
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Her soup forgot to boil.
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She
was too ill to take care of herself
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5
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She went to the awful place
grandmothers go.
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She
died
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6
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Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
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The
place her grandmother was sent to(afterlife) - was a mystery to the persona
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Stanza Three
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Line no.
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Line
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Interpretation
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1
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But there she is still,
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The
persona is looking at the photograph of her grandmother and her when she was
three years old
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2
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in the photo with me at three,
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3
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the crinkled smile is still
living, breathing.
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To
her, the memory of her old grandmother is still new and fresh
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.
