10_Mary_Street_Essay

How does Peter Skrzynecki use language and structural techniques to communicate the sense of belonging in ’10 Mary Street’ (700 words plus) Through various language and structural techniques, poet Peter Skrzynecki in his poem‘10 Mary Street’ explores the idea of acceptance in the home through place. Despite Skrzynecki’s previous poems, ’10 Mary Street’ is centred on positive reminiscence of the family home and the relationships which he forged within it. This sense of belonging through location is challenged through industrialisation successively in the poem, arousing negative emotions such as anxiety. The poem ’10 Mary Street’ captures the typical idea of family life through concepts such as daily routine, the garden and the house. It is evident from the beginning of the poem that the ‘nineteen years’ he and his family spent in 10 Mary Street was quite prosperous in the sense of work, family devotion and happiness. The poet’s use of similes, affectionate tones and inclusion in the first stanza, suggests to the audience a daily routine related to family life and security within the home, immediately crafting the idea of belonging through place. The lines ‘Hid the key / under a rusty bucket’ implies the belief that Mary Street is a safe and secure neighbourhood where residents feel confident enough to hide objects in noticeable locations. This in itself is a perception of covert belonging as to belonging is established through the belief of security among the members of Mary street. ‘Each morning, shut the house / Like a well-oiled lock,’ alludes to the idea of nineteen years of normality and order – a smooth and trouble-free existence. The locking of the house and going to school or work is a daily ritual which adds to the sense of connectedness to the home, and family. Stability is created in the second stanza through the concept of daily routine and culture. The poet mentions various plants which are of European descent such as roses, camellias, potatoes and sweet corn. These various plants insinuate the idea that the Skrzynecki family hopes to keep their European culture, more specifically Polish culture close to home through planting them in the family garden. This too plays on the cultural idea that the family will provide for itself. While the poet’s parents worked, he attended St. Patricks College, a school, we know from previous poems, he despised. Upon arrival at home after school the poet would ‘ravage the backyard garden/ like a hungry bird’ this expresses the poet’s contentment with life through the practice of poetic techniques, more accurately, similes. The fact his parents ‘tended roses and camellias’ is an affectionate tone, leading to the idea of kinship through the next line ‘like adopted children’. Stability is created through the images of gardening Skrzynecki creates to depict a positive aspect of his home life. It is in the third stanza the poet indicates negativity through the idea of the whole block being ‘gazetted for industry’. Despite this negative tone, the poet continues to imply the importance his ‘china-blue’ coated house has on his family life and their sense of belonging to each other and place. The poet uses personification in the line ‘the house stands’ to reinforce the significance the house has for him. He attempts to lighten the mood through subtle humour, although when the concept of industrialisation is introduced, it is made clear to the audience that he is evidently concerned about the well-being of his house which holds so many flourishing memories. The idea of preservation of culture and family security is further developed in the fourth stanza. The repetition of the lines ‘for nineteen years’ continuing onto the next line ‘we lived together – ‘ implies the time spent was in a secure enriching environment. Culture as a catalyst for belonging is reinforced through various lines such as ‘kept pre-war Europe alive / with photographs and letters’, which is reflective of their Polish culture. The Skrzynecki family were very hospitable, preserving their culture and keeping the faith alive through Polish cuisine. They offered ‘Kielbasa’ and drank ‘raw vodka or cherry brandy’ whilst smoking like ‘Puffing Billies’. Through poetic devices such as imagery, repetition and similes, the poet is able to create a positive image of the Polish history the Skrzynecki family re-created in their Australia home. Despite the fact the poet at the time, been too young to participate in smoking and drinking alcohol beverages, he was able to listen on in the ‘heated discussions’ and even possibly receive ‘embracing gestures’ from visitors. The anxiety in relation to industrialisation and his china-blue house being pulled down is reinforced in the final stanza. The Skrzynecki family was given citizenship to become ‘citizens of the soil/ that was feeding us’, the beholders of a key which will ‘open no house’. The key is in fact paper, paper being the citizenship the Skrzynecki family was bestowed. Apprehension is created in the final line ‘When this one is pulled down’ as the poet acknowledges that despite the fact the house may in reality be destroyed, in his heart and his mind, the strong sense of belonging he experienced in 10 Mary Street with his family will never disappear. In conclusion, through numerous structural techniques, poetic devices and tones, poet Peter Skrzynecki has exhibited the strong sense of belonging to place and family through his house at 10 Mary Street. He in addition portrays his sadness at the fact the one positive thing he loved and could reminisce about would be destroyed for industry. But with his he learns that the memories he experienced in his house at Mary Street will always be held close to his heart, and the intense belonging to family through place would never vanish. Word Count: 929