Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Edward Field's poem "Hydra" blends historical myth and geographical imagery to capture a vivid portrayal of the island's rise and decline. The poem’s narrative is both literal and metaphorical, intertwining the history of Hydra Island in Greece with a mythic sense of fate and inevitability.

The poem begins by introducing the island’s etymology, “whose name means water,” but quickly diverges from conventional mythological narratives. Field tells us that Hydra “never had gods and temples as other Greek islands had,” nor was it home to mythical monsters. This deviation from tradition creates a unique backdrop for Field's storytelling, as the island becomes a blank slate where new myths can emerge.

Field employs a succinct historical timeline to describe Hydra’s relatively recent rise to prominence. A “few centuries ago,” Hydra emerged as if “just risen from the sea,” and the inhabitants built houses from stones and ships from pine trees. Field’s imagery emphasizes a connection between the island’s resources and the inhabitants’ livelihood, linking the natural landscape with human ingenuity and ambition. The repetition of "naturally" in “as naturally as fish swim” and “as naturally as the sun rises” underscores the ease and inevitability with which the islanders took to sailing and warfare.

The poem then pivots to a tragic portrayal of the island’s naval heroes, whose courage ultimately led to their demise. Described as “foolhardy as heroes are,” these young men accomplished heroic feats but eventually met their end at the bottom of the ocean. Field’s language here evokes a timeless tale of ambition and sacrifice, with the “handsome heroes” becoming casualties of their own bravery.

In the aftermath of the wars and the subsequent decline of the island’s naval power, Hydra settles into obscurity. Without the pine trees that provided the material for shipbuilding, “the soil blew away to sea,” leaving the island barren and “bleached in the sun to anonymity.” This imagery serves as a metaphor for how the island’s identity and prosperity eroded over time, paralleling the decline of its heroic legacy.

The final stanza poignantly reflects Hydra’s present state. Despite the island’s name meaning water, “even the wells are drying,” suggesting a grim irony in the loss of its natural resources. Field conveys a sense of resignation as the island “bleaches in the sun to anonymity,” reduced to a rocky, barren landscape. The poem ends with a haunting image of the sea, “waiting for the island to sink quietly back in the sea.” Here, the sea becomes a symbol of time and nature reclaiming what was once taken, a return to oblivion after a brief period of glory.

Structurally, "Hydra" is a single, continuous narrative that unfolds chronologically, blending history and myth in free verse. Field’s straightforward language and clear imagery convey a mythic tale grounded in real-world history. The simplicity of the poem's form allows the rich, evocative imagery to shine, while the narrative arc from rise to decline provides a poignant meditation on ambition, heroism, and the impermanence of human achievement.

In summary, "Hydra" is an elegiac reflection on the fleeting nature of glory and the inexorable passage of time. Edward Field creates a mythic yet deeply human narrative of an island and its people, ultimately reminding us of the cyclical nature of rise and fall and how even the grandest achievements are eventually reclaimed by the tides of history.

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