Use of photographs in This is a Photograph of Me and Photography, 1958At first glance, Margaret Atwood's "This Is a Photograph of Me" and "Photograph , 1958” by Patricia Young are strikingly similar works in that both poems use the imagery of a photograph as a means of communication. However, upon closer examination, they differ significantly in the approach each poet takes in using this same device. The similarities between these two poems are immediately apparent to the reader; both poems are written by female poets, both poems have the poet as the speaker, both poems describe how the poet feels about her, and both poems use photography as a means to convey their message to the reader. What is less obvious are the different approaches each poet takes. In the poem “This Is a Photograph of Me” by Margaret Atwood, photography is used by the poet as a way to directly communicate his message to the reader. The title of the poem announces in a direct and frank manner that the poem will be an examination of oneself. The poem begins with Atwood directly and literally describing the photograph itself: “It was taken some time ago. / At first it seems to be / a trace / an impression: blurred lines and gray spots / mixed with the paper. The poet's use of words like "spread out," "blurred," and "mixed" immediately and directly communicate to the reader that the poet feels fuzzy, directionless, and unfocused. After this opening stanza, the poet begins to describe the content of the photograph. : "then scanning it, you see in the left corner / a thing that looks like a branch: a piece of tree" and "on the right, halfway up / what should be a gentle slope, a small house at framework." Margaret Atwood gradually draws the reader inward, from the outer edge of the photograph toward the center of the photograph, the poem, and the poet herself. This is clearly seen in the following lines: "I am in the lake, in the center / of the picture, just below the surface." The atmosphere created is one of introspection and self-examination: “but if you look long enough, / eventually / you will be able to see me.” Atwood uses the device of photography to draw the reader from the outside world into her world at the center of the photograph..