Feliks Skrzynecki
Feliks Skrzynecki, composed by Peter Skrzynecki, is an affectionate, yet puzzled portrait of the persona’s father, as seen through the eyes of the composer. The first stanza beings with the line, ‘My gentle father’ which shows a touching opening for the text and the use of ‘My’ also demonstrates the son’s feeling of the father belonging to him. The father is portrayed as a man who is completely content with life, and keeps pace with his own mind’s making. In the verse, it states the father’s devotion to his tasks stems from his sense of belonging to his garden; ‘Loved his garden like an only child’. The use of possessive pro noun demonstrates his that he uses his garden as a means of keeping his mind still and clear. The choice of words is also effective, even deliberate. For example; ‘Spent years walking it’s perimeter’ – perimeter may act as a symbol of boundaries which is explored later in the poem.
The second stanza is a general sense of a portrait of the persona’s father, and displays a strong emphasis on his physical actions. The portrait is still depicted as an affectionate one, and admiration. The use of hyperbole - ‘Why his arms didn’t fall off’, is a display of subtle humor and deliberate exaggeration. This may act as a symbol of the difference in maturity between the son and father, and how he perceives his father’s actions as something he couldn’t achieve.
The first verse of the third stanza - ‘His Polish friends -’ again shows a sense of ownership and belonging by the use of possessive pro noun. It also states a cultural reference and shows how the son feels as if he doesn’t belong. This stanza also describes Poland’s farming culture and customs are also identified – ‘I thought … Feliks Skrzynecki.’ This verse is of significance as the son states that he wasn’t used to hearing his father’s full name, and strengthens his sense of not belonging. ‘Talking, they reminisced…’ this line reflects how this group of men hold a shared past and highlights the sense of ‘brotherhood’. The concrete images created by the son’s description is precise and authentic, and contains a sense or irony; a juxtaposition between the positive and negative aspects of their lives in Poland and having been transferred to work in Germany. As men, they built their lives and own way of living, and then had to perform for someone else. All of this ‘Did not dull the softness of his blue eyes’, which again signifies the love and admiration the son possesses for his father.
Mild and subtle expression is used in the fourth stanza to symbolise his character through the depiction of his son. This stanza still sustains and explores his father’s personality as one of strength and courage. Even when his father went through the process of having cancer in his foot, he was still able to see through struggle there is optimism – ‘They dug cancer out of his foot, his comment was: “but I’m alive”’. This is also highlighted through the poem when references are made to his hard labor in Germany.
The fifth stanza begins with the maturing of the persona, and a sense of irony; as the boy grows older, he knows less about his father’s heritage and suggests distance. This stanza explores the father’s influence on his early life, and natural inheritance through osmotic process of absorbing his father’s culture, yet the son feels a loss of belonging to his father. It also suggests the changing society in which the father lives in, he no longer belongs – ‘Who ask me in dancing-bear grunts: “Did your father ever attempt to learn English?” His father, in frustration, reacts in swearing in Polish at the department clerk which demonstrates a break down in communication.
The sixth stanza is another of mild and subtle expression, which contrasts with the last. The persona again describes his father’s habit of finding joy in what he already has, not what he has left to gain. The son describes a delicate disconnection to his father, as he simply describes his father’s return to his home and garden in which he feels he belongs. ‘Watching stars and street lights come on, happy as I have never been’ is an effective line in concluding his father’s experience and sublime feeling of completion in his own personal space. His simplistic nature is one in which is to be looked upon with pride, and the persona’s time on earth has been one in which he is making the most of. It carries a subtle sense of morose tone from the persona, as he longs to reach his father’s place of enlightenment.
The final stanza delves into the persona’s experience in school, in which particularly pays attention to the teachings of history, and the persona forgetting his first Polish word – ‘At thirteen, stumbling over tenses in Caesar’s Gallic War, I forgot my first Polish word’. It also reflects the notion of drifting away – manifestation of losing a part of himself, in which shapes the persona’s character, and reinforces the power of family relationships. ‘He repeated it so I never forgot’ reinforces the father’s will to influence and guide his son, and acts as a link between the persona and his culture.
St Patrick’s College
First stanza:
There is a factual tone to the whole poem, may suggest disconnection and isolation of the persona’s surroundings – no emotional attachment. “Impressed by the uniforms, of her employer’s sons,” the persona’s mother is employed by someone else, working as a migrant employee; “good enough for them, it’s good enough for me” attitude. Migrants earn minimum wage, yet the mother wants what’s best for her son – provide all she can.
Stanza two:
This stanza delves into cultural references of Polish traditions – highlight’s religion as Roman Catholic. Devotional signs such as; “Mother crossed herself, as she left me at the office – said a prayer, for my future intentions.” Personification is used when describing the statue of Mary on the roof of the school – “Our lady watched with outstretched arms, her face overshadowed by clouds.” This can be perceived as a sign of fate, as the boy can receive the sign as though he isn’t going to have the most exuberant time at St Patrick’s College – sense of not belonging. There is a placed emphasise on the distance or ignorance of the persona. This is highlighted in the closing line of this stanza; “Luceat Lux Vestra, I thought it was a brand of soap.” The persona is shown to have a lack of understanding of the school’s crest/motto. Again shows a lack of belonging.
Stanza three:
This stanza explores the routine and daily ritual in which the persona entailed while receiving his education at St Patrick’s College. It also further highlights the persona’s lack of emotional connection or judgment. There is a pause in the middle of the stanza, which demonstrates a change in direction or transportation which is supported in the lines; “The station’s ten ramps –Caught the 414 bus.” “Uncertain of my destination, every time I got off.” These concluding lines of the third stanza present a paradox or irony – the persona follows the same route every day, yet displays great uncertainty of how his day will unfold. It portrays a negative impression, and similar to that of a tourist – his destination is unknown (lack of belonging, loss of place).
Stanza four:
This stanza is again in the factual tone that was demonstrated in the beginning to present a lack of belonging once more. “For eight years, I carried the blue, black and gold” is the opening line, and displays the time period in which the persona attended high school. High schools used to start in year five; the senior years of primary school. The persona’s eight years of high school was also summed up in two verses – demonstrates lack of connection. When discussing the uniform, the third verse states; “I’d been privileged to wear” the persona was “privileged” to wear something in which he didn’t belong to. Even though he didn’t belong, he still felt a sense of honour to be apart of the community, and seen in the uniform. The rest of the stanza is in the form of a list – the educational outcomes in which he came across. “But good at spelling;” – the use of semi-colon is used to introduce a list or related idea. It follows with “Could say The Lord’s Prayer in Latin, all in one breath.” “And Christian decorums for homework.” Demonstrates the Christian form of etiquette, and how this school sits parallel with the persona’s mother’s beliefs – she felt it was best for her son to be in such an environment.
Stanza five:
The fifth stanza opens with the lines; “My last day there, Mass was offered up For our parting intentions.” Teachers, a priest assumingly, and parents offer the students the best wishes for the future. The persona’s description of this particular event lacks emotive language or details. The persona also states that Our Lady was still “watching” and had been unchanged by eight years of weather – can suggest the persona’s personal views of belonging to the school community haven’t changed either. Latin references are highlighted again to demonstrate the religious orientation of the school. Irony is used in the verse; “Prayed that Mother would someday be pleased.” This presents the son’s ideas that his eight years of discontent will eventually pay off – her having to give her wage in order to pay for school fees will be of worth. Irony is also used in the concluding lines of the poem, creating a sense of cold comfort and indifference. “That the darkness around me wasn’t “for the best” Before I let my light shine.” This directly correlates with the concluding verse in the first stanza; “wanting only “What was best.”” These were the words of the persona’s mother when she decided to enroll her son for St Patrick’s College. It also demonstrates a lack of strive and knowledge on the persona’s part – he felt the “best” was yet to come. Through his absence of belonging and personal recognition of what was before him, the poem presents the thought that his achievements weren’t met in the environment in which he was held within.
10 Mary Street
This poem is nostalgic and refers to the persona’s nineteen years spent in his parent’s house. They found a place to settle and put in roots for the foundation of a new life, of peace and ritual. It is a descriptive poem that includes the working class environment and a sense of community with other immigrants. The persona’s parents are presented as house proud, hard-working people who maintain their dignity in their new environment. “10 Mary Street” deals with immigrants claiming identity and having to losing it again.
Title:
Poem is about a place of significance – place, culture, ritual, community and stability.
First stanza:
Tone of affection is demonstrated through description of minor aspects of the house – systematic routine to emphasise belonging. Dynamic relationship between the house and people. Lines one and two; the persona begins with the establishment of a time-frame which should give a sense of belonging to this address – tone of the title is more factual than emotive - does not call it ‘My Home’; “For nineteen years we departed, Each morning, shut the house, Like a well-oiled lock … “ The use of first person plural demonstrates belonging – “We departed”. “Over that still too narrow bridge … “. This line shows that the persona has revisited place of residence; suggests sense of belonging.
Stanza two:
“Back at 5 p.m., From the polite hum-drum … “– precise observation suggests thorough imagery. “Hum-drum” – ordinary things of life. Parent’s jobs – their life is about their work, their identity is defined by their home. “My parents watered plants – grew potatoes and rows of sweet corn … “ This demonstrates the parent’s belief that the family will provide for them – traditions carried over from Europe. “Like adopted children” – simile holds importance, adopted children; chosen to belong. Not the natural environment, still shown affection. “I swear I’d stay off strawberries and peas forever.” Humorous observations – hyperbole, subtle, affectionate tone. Dramatic structure – tells a story.
Stanza three:
Present tense suggests the house the persona grew up in for nineteen years is still there – “The house stands in its china – blue coat – “sense of belonging is not altered by the house coming down. “With paint guaranteed for another ten years” - use of subtle humour; same colour as his parents painted it. The use of the technique of listing is not used in the same way as it usually is; the brackets suggest official listing (losing sense of identity, impersonal). It also shows a physical change to the land, alienation – minimal sense of regret.
Stanza four:
Repetition of “For nineteen years” – reinforce sense of belonging to the residence and family. Polish kielbasa in italics – highlights differences between destination and tradition; polish terminology. Concrete images act as a list of experiences – vivid depiction of his past and what it means to him in the present. More references are made; contrast of distinctive qualities; “A dozen Puffing Billies.”
Stanza five:
“Naturalised more than a decade ago …” – foreign convention. They became an Australian citizen. “We became citizens of the soil, that was feeding us – “. Nurturing, retaining aspects of their own culture through the land. Presents the persona with an identity with all its complexity. “Inheritors of a key, that will open no house, when this one is pulled down.” – the recognition that an era is coming to an end.
Hope it helps
