Use of Photographs in This is a Photograph of Me and Photography, 1958At First Sight, "This is a Photograph of Me" by Margaret Atwood and "Photography , 1958” by Patricia Young are strikingly similar works in that both poems use the imagery of a photograph as a communication device, however, upon closer inspection they differ greatly 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 have the poet as the speaker, both poems describe how the poet feels about herself, and both poems use photography as a device to convey their message to the reader. Less obvious are the different approaches taken by each poet. In the poem “This is a Photograph of Me” by Margaret Atwood, photography is used by the poet as a device to directly communicate his message to the reader. The title of the poem directly and bluntly announces that the poem will be a self-examination. The poem begins with Atwood directly and literally describing the photograph itself: "It was taken some time ago. / At first it appears to be / a smudged print: blurry lines and gray spots / mixed with the paper." The poet's use of words such as "smeared," "blurred," and "mixed" immediately and directly communicates to the reader that the poet feels unclear, directionless, and without focus. After this opening stanza, the poet begins to describe the contents of the photograph: "then as you scan it, you see in the left corner / a thing that's like a branch: part of a tree" and "to the right, halfway up / what should be a gentle / slope, a small wooden house." Margaret Atwood gradually draws the reader inward, from the outer edge of the photograph towards the center of the photograph, the poem, and the poet himself. This can be seen clearly from the following lines: "I am in the lake, in the center / of the image, just below the surface." The atmosphere created is one of introspection and self-examination: "but if you look long enough, / sooner or later / you will be able to see me." Atwood uses the device of photography to draw the reader from the outside world inward, towards his world at the center of the photograph..