Margaret Atwood: This is a Photograph of Me

• 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.
• In the background there is a lake, and beyond that, some low hills.
• (The photograph was taken the day after I drowned.
• I am in the lake, in the centre 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.)

Summary

The poem describes an old, blurry, and faded photograph. At first glance, the picture seems to be just a smeared, grey landscape. But as you study it, you start to see details: a tree branch on one side, a small house on a slope, and a lake with low hills behind it.

The speaker of the poem then reveals a shocking fact: the photo was taken the day after she drowned. The speaker is actually the main subject of the picture, but she is hidden. She is in the lake, in the very center, lying just under the surface.

She explains that it is difficult to see her exact location or size because the water distorts her image, just as water makes things look wavy or bent. The poem suggests that the speaker is an unseen or ignored presence. What looks like a simple, empty landscape is actually a record of her death and her hidden body.

The poem ends by speaking directly to the viewer. It says that if you look at the photo long enough and with real effort, you will eventually be able to see her, implying that seeing the truth requires time and careful attention.

Questions

1. What is the speaker's initial description of the photograph's quality?
2. What are the first distinct objects the speaker points out as the viewer's eyes adjust to the photo?
3. What natural landscape features are described as being in the background of the photograph?
4. When does the speaker reveal the photograph was taken?
5. What shocking personal event does the speaker connect to the timing of the photograph?
6. Where in the photograph does the speaker claim to be located?
7. Why, according to the speaker, is it difficult to see her "precisely"?
8. What is the "distortion" mentioned in the poem, and what is its literal cause?
9. What condition does the speaker give for the viewer to "eventually" be able to see her?
10. Analyze the shift in tone that occurs at the parenthetical stanza (lines 16-27).
11. Discuss the significance of the photograph being "smeared" and "blurred." What could this symbolize beyond a poor-quality print?
12. How does the poem challenge the idea of photographs as objective, truthful records of reality?
13. What is the effect of the speaker calmly guiding the viewer through the landscape before revealing the tragedy?
14. Explain the "effect of water on light" as a metaphor. What else might be distorted besides the speaker's physical image?
15. Who is the "you" the speaker is addressing, and what role does this "you" play in the poem's meaning?
16. Explore the theme of visibility versus invisibility as it relates to the speaker.
17. What is the mood of the poem, and how does Atwood's language create it?
18. Why is it significant that the speaker is "just under the surface" and not deep at the bottom?
19. How does the poem use the simple description of a landscape to explore deeper themes of death, memory, and hidden truths?
20. Discuss the use of parentheses. Why might the poem's most crucial information be enclosed in them?
21. What might the "small frame house" on the slope represent or symbolize in the context of the poem?
22. Analyze the power dynamic between the speaker (who knows the truth) and the viewer (who must search for it).
23. How does the poem relate to the idea of a "haunting" or an unseen presence?
24. What might the poem be suggesting about the nature of truth and the effort required to find it?
25. Consider the poem as a commentary on the overlooked or suppressed stories, particularly those of women. How does the speaker's "drowning" function in this interpretation?

Answers

1. It seems to be a smeared print with blurred lines and grey flecks.
2. A tree branch in the left corner and a small frame house on a slope to the right.
3. There is a lake, and beyond that, some low hills.
4. She reveals it was taken the day after she drowned.
5. Her own death by drowning.
6. She is in the lake, in the centre of the picture, just under the surface.
7. Because the effect of water on light causes distortion.
8. The distortion is how her image is bent or unclear, and it is caused by water affecting the light.
9. The viewer must look long enough.
10. The tone shifts from a calm description to a personal, unsettling, and mysterious one.
11. It could mean that the truth is unclear, hidden, or has been faded by time and memory.
12. It shows that a photo can hide the most important truth (a death) instead of revealing it clearly.
13. It creates a sense of shock and makes the final, terrible information more powerful.
14. It can be a metaphor for how emotions, memory, or different perspectives can bend or hide the truth.
15. The "you" is the reader, who is given the job of actively searching for the hidden speaker.
16. The speaker is physically present in the photo but is unseen, showing she is invisible or ignored by others.
17. The mood is eerie, haunting, and sad, created by the calm voice describing her own death.
18. It suggests the truth is very close and almost visible, not completely lost or buried deep.
19. It uses the ordinary, peaceful landscape to hide a dark secret, showing that truth is often hidden beneath a normal surface.
20. The parentheses make the information seem like a quiet, secondary thought, which makes the shocking content feel even more unsettling.
21. It could represent normal human life, family, or safety, which is separate from the speaker who is in the lake.
22. The speaker is in a position of power because she knows the secret, while the viewer must work hard to find it.
23. The speaker is like a ghost, present but unseen, speaking from beyond death and asking to be noticed.
24. It suggests that truth is not obvious and requires continuous, patient effort to be seen.
25. The speaker, a woman who is present but invisible, can represent how women's lives, stories, and tragedies are often ignored or hidden by society.