Feliks Skrzynecki Analysis
Skrzynecki
Feliks Skrzynecki
Feliks Skrzynecki is the poet’s father and this poem is a tribute to his dignity and stoicism in the face of loss and hardship. Felix’s individual journey from Europe to Australia, from one culture to another, echoes through the poem and it is clear that the impact of the journey is as strong for the son as it is for the father.
Feliks Skrzynecki is an individual physical and cultural journey experienced by Felik’s and narrated by Peter Skrzynecki. It seems Felix Skrzynecki never was culturally accepted in Australia, except by other immigrants, “Did your father ever attempt to learn English?” Despite this, Felix Skrzynecki is at peace, he made the best of his journey and finds contentment in the simple …show more content…
However much he denies his past and his heritage, it is part of him.
This poem is divided into three sections, the first is a description of a postcard which depicts the town of Warsaw, the home of his parents, “A post card sent by a friend / Haunts me.”
At the beginning of the second stanza Peter Skrzynecki addresses Warsaw as a person “Warsaw, Old Town, / I never knew you” this immediately gives the inanimate city power over the persona and establishes a personal relationship between the two. Despite the destruction of Warsaw during the war “[Warsaw] survived / In the minds / Of a dying generation / Half a world away,” the people who lived in Warsaw for all those years still defend their home, Warsaw is still very much alive in their hearts.
The repetition of “I repeat, I never knew you” provides us with an insight into Skrzynecki’s feelings – he’s saying, ‘don’t drag me into this!’ He does not want to part of the heavy history, but he cannot fight the constant tug-o-war of tension inside him, between loving and admiring his parents and him not wanting the same life for himself. He is caught in his heritage and he cannot deny the visceral connection between himself and
Feliks Skrzynecki
Feliks Skrzynecki is the poet’s father and this poem is a tribute to his dignity and stoicism in the face of loss and hardship. Felix’s individual journey from Europe to Australia, from one culture to another, echoes through the poem and it is clear that the impact of the journey is as strong for the son as it is for the father.
Feliks Skrzynecki is an individual physical and cultural journey experienced by Felik’s and narrated by Peter Skrzynecki. It seems Felix Skrzynecki never was culturally accepted in Australia, except by other immigrants, “Did your father ever attempt to learn English?” Despite this, Felix Skrzynecki is at peace, he made the best of his journey and finds contentment in the simple …show more content…
However much he denies his past and his heritage, it is part of him.
This poem is divided into three sections, the first is a description of a postcard which depicts the town of Warsaw, the home of his parents, “A post card sent by a friend / Haunts me.”
At the beginning of the second stanza Peter Skrzynecki addresses Warsaw as a person “Warsaw, Old Town, / I never knew you” this immediately gives the inanimate city power over the persona and establishes a personal relationship between the two. Despite the destruction of Warsaw during the war “[Warsaw] survived / In the minds / Of a dying generation / Half a world away,” the people who lived in Warsaw for all those years still defend their home, Warsaw is still very much alive in their hearts.
The repetition of “I repeat, I never knew you” provides us with an insight into Skrzynecki’s feelings – he’s saying, ‘don’t drag me into this!’ He does not want to part of the heavy history, but he cannot fight the constant tug-o-war of tension inside him, between loving and admiring his parents and him not wanting the same life for himself. He is caught in his heritage and he cannot deny the visceral connection between himself and