Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Edward Field’s poem "View of Jersey" is a multi-part exploration of personal and societal identity, freedom, and the tensions between aspiration and reality. Each section touches on different facets of these themes, creating a cohesive narrative about finding oneself amid societal constraints and familial expectations.

In the first section, “Notes from a Slave Ship,” Field likens corporate employment to enslavement. He advises, “It is necessary to wait until the boss’s eyes are on you, / Then simply put your work aside… / And start to write a poem.” The act of writing becomes a rebellion, a way of asserting one’s existence and independence in a system that demands conformity. This section establishes the primary metaphor of slavery, emphasizing the struggle for creative freedom. The image of “sailing down the river” and “jump[ing] overboard” evokes the Middle Passage and the journey toward liberation. However, this liberation is fraught with difficulty as “there is always a long swim to freedom,” leaving the swimmer “alone in the water in the darkness.” The exhaustion and uncertainty of direction mirror the emotional toll of seeking personal freedom within a system that tries to bind individuals to its rhythms.

The second section, “A Bill to My Father,” shifts the focus to familial relationships and their emotional debts. While working at a firm, the speaker realizes that “firms are sending bills to my father / Who has that way an identity I do not often realize.” The father, seen through a business lens, is no longer the affectionate “papa” but “a person who buys, owes, and pays.” The speaker notes that while creditors can demand payment from his father with certainty, his emotional debt remains unpaid. The speaker reveals the longing for paternal love, which has only been met with “disapproval,” lamenting, “He has a debt to me too, / Although I have long since ceased asking him to come across.” This section portrays the cold, transactional nature of familial relationships where emotions are often overshadowed by material obligations.

In “The Telephone,” the third section, Field explores the paradox of modern communication. The telephone provides joy and connection in an otherwise isolating urban environment: “Yes, my telephone is my joy / It tells me that I am in the world and wanted.” The act of answering the phone becomes transformative, “spring has come / I stretch and amble out into the sunshine / Hungry again as I pick up the receiver / For the human voice and the good news of friends.” However, beneath the surface lies the implicit fragility of such happiness, which hinges entirely on an “electric appliance.” Without it, the speaker compares himself to “a bear in a cave / Drowsing through a shadowy winter,” revealing the dependency on technology to feel alive and connected in a sprawling city.

The final section, “The Statue of Liberty,” critiques the irony of freedom represented by the statue. Field uses vivid imagery to portray the Statue of Liberty as “a prisoner in the harbor / On her star-shaped island of gray stones.” While the statue symbolizes freedom, she is paradoxically imprisoned, unable to join the departing ships. The statue “used to be excellent to welcome people with / But is better lately for departures,” reflecting the decline in the American Dream and the increasing desire to escape. The notion that the statue has “turned moldy looking and shapeless” mirrors the erosion of American ideals. The poem’s central cry, “Set Freedom Free,” echoes the desire for genuine liberty, untainted by commercial or political constraints. The statue’s “hand upraised and face into the wind / That no longer brings tears to my eyes” suggests a loss of emotional connection and idealism.

Structurally, “View of Jersey” unfolds in four distinct but interconnected parts, each revealing a different facet of personal and societal struggle. Field’s use of free verse allows for fluidity in narrative and tone, ranging from defiant to introspective to critical. The varying forms emphasize the poem's central themes of freedom, identity, and the tensions between societal expectations and personal desire.

In summary, "View of Jersey" is a rich exploration of the struggle for personal and societal freedom. Edward Field examines the constraints of corporate work, familial obligations, technology, and national ideals, ultimately calling for a liberation that transcends these confines. The poem resonates as a powerful critique of the systems that bind individuals, urging readers to recognize and pursue their paths toward true freedom.

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