peter skroynecki's 10 mary street & ancestors

[porcupinebaby]

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Does any body know or have a brief analysis on 10 Mary Street and Ancestors, please?

[dd24]

10 Mary Street

• The first line “for nineteen years” establishes a long connection to the house.
• “we departed” – suggests a break from a much loved place
• “over that still too-narrow bridge” suggests a link between 2 worlds : the outside would and 10 Mary street
• “polite hum-drum of washing clothes” – suggests not belonging of menial jobs
• “like adopted children” – simile of the strong connection to the house
• “like a hungry bird” – simile, the garden is a source of nourishment
• “…bursting at the seams of my little St Patrick’s college cap” – implies St Pats cap didn’t fit the poet in both physical and abstract sense
• “For nineteen years we lived together” repetition to emphasize length and common interests.
• “kept pre-war Europe alive…a dozen puffing billies”- 4th stanza emphasizes belonging to a little world but isolated from mainstream society
• “Inheritors of a key that’ll open no house when his one is pulled down” – metaphor, house gave them warmth and connection.

[kelllly]

Ancestors

Skrzynecki reveals in Ancestors that he is developing a stronger sense of belonging with his family.

Techniques:

Rhetorical questions

• The series of rhetorical questions dramatises and heightens Peter's sense of urgency to understand his relationship with his ancestors.

Setting

• The alienating landscape in the setting of 'Mountains' and 'A moonlit plain / Of grasses and sand' enables Peter to clear his mind of complications and focus on his struggle.

Imagery

• In the first stanza the visual imagery of 'shadows' and 'bearded, faceless men' are ambiguous as the shadows and men have no identity; thus, Peter feels unsatisfied. However, by the fifth stanza, 'their faces become clearer'.
• Furthermore, Skrzynecki's use of gustatory imagery in the simile 'tongue dry / As caked mud' and in the personification 'wind tastes of blood' emphasises that his dream affects his senses.

• This progression in imagery, from vague and haunting images to more specific and powerful ones, shows Peter's growing closeness to his ancestors.

Hope that helps!