ANCESTORS;
I've got some notes that we got from school -
There is a strongly speculative tone to this poem as Skrzynecki reflects on human identity and the chain of life that links us all to our ancestors. Any understanding of who we are involves a consideration of our connection to others. The title alludes to the poet's forebears, those
bearded, faceless men who have preceded him in a family line. They are known of and referred to but are not individualised, signifying an ancestral chain but remaining netherworld figures; enigmatic and only half formed. There is no hint of ancestral worship or reverence for tthis human continuum that fuses past and present. Rather there is the emphasis on our own mortality within a context of eternity.
The poem has a simple structure of mostly four line stanzas, presented in the main as rhetorical questions which query our relationshup with those who have preceded us. Sinister connotations arise from references to
shadows, dream, whispers and
darkness in the opening lines and the
tastes of blood which bring the poem to a close. These are loaded terms, able to conjure up disturbing and eerie associations. Perceptions remain indistinct which gives a dark, dreamlike quality to the verse. There is an enigmatic element to the poem's examination of life and death with conplex layers of meaning that are never fully developed.
HERE YOU GO
& this is all taken from a book called ;
belonging, an area of study; a resource book for teachers.
I hope this helps.