Ted Hughes

Edward James Hughes, OM, referred to normally as Ted Hughes, (August 17, 1930 – October 28, 1998) was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. [1] Hughes was Poet Laureate in England from 1984 until his death. He was also famously married from 1956-1963 to the American poet Sylvia Plath. Plath was very depressed, and attempted suicide several times before finally succeeding in 1963 at the age of 30. Hughes explored his complex relationship with Plath in his last book of poems, Birthday Letters (1998).

In 2003 he was portrayed by British actor Daniel Craig in Sylvia, a biographical film of Sylvia Plath.

Early life

Hughes was born on August 17, 1930 in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire and raised among the farms in the area. According to Hughes, "My first six years shaped everything".^[1] When Hughes was seven, his family moved to Mexborough, South Yorkshire, where they ran a newspaper and tobacco shop. He also had a brother, Gerald, who was ten years older than him as well as a sister, Olwyn, who was two years older than him.

Personal life

Hughes studied English, anthropology and archaeology at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he met fellow poet Sylvia Plath. They married on June 16, 1956. After a short time in London, they moved to Devon in 1961 (Court Green, North Tawton) and separated in the autumn of 1962. Ted continued to live at Court Green on and off, with Assia Wevill, after Plath's death. As Plath's widower, Hughes became the executor of Plath’s personal and literary estates. He oversaw the publication of her manuscripts, including Ariel (1966). He also destroyed the final volume of Plath’s journal, detailing their last few months together.

Six years after Plath's death, on March 25, 1969, Assia Wevill (Hughes's lover) killed herself and their daughter, Alexandra Tatiana Eloise Wevill, nicknamed Shura, who had been born on March 3, 1965. In August 1970, Hughes married Carol Orchard, a nurse. They remained together until his death on October 28 1998. He received the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom just before his death. Ted continued to live at the house, until his death there.

Hughes died of cancer in 1998. His funeral was held at North Tawton church, and he was cremated at Exeter, with the ashes scattered on Dartmoor, near Cranmoor Pool (by special Royal permission).

His affairs with women, especially Emma Tennant, are revealed in her diaries.

Writings

Hughes' earlier poetic work is rooted in nature and, in particular, the innocent savagery of animals (Tennyson's phrase "nature, red in tooth and claw" could have been written for Hughes). His later work is deeply reliant upon myth and the bardic tradition. Hughes' first collection, Hawk in the Rain (1957) attracted considerable critical acclaim. In 1959 he won the Galbraith prize which brought $5000. His most significant work is perhaps Crow (1970). Tales from Ovid (1997) contains a selection of free verse translations from Ovid's Metamorphoses. In Birthday Letters, Hughes broke his silence on Plath, detailing aspects of their life together and his own behaviour at the time. The cover artwork was by their daughter Frieda.

In addition to poetry, Hughes wrote classical opera librettos and children's books. One of these, The Iron Man, was written to comfort his children after Sylvia Plath's suicide. It later became the basis of Pete Townshend's rock opera of the same name, and the animated film The Iron Giant. Hughes was appointed as Poet Laureate in 1984 following the death of John Betjeman. It was later known that Hughes was second choice for the appointment after Philip Larkin, the preferred nominee, declined, because of ill health and writer's block. Hughes served in this position until his death in 1998. His definitive 1333-page Collected Poems (Faber & Faber) appeared in 2003.

Bibliography

Poetry

(1957) The Hawk in the Rain
(1960) Lupercal
(1967) Wodwo
(1968) The Iron Man
(1970) Crow
(1977) Gaudete
(1979) Moortown Diary
(1979) Remains of Elmet (with photographs by Fay Godwin)
(1986) Flowers and Insects
(1989) Wolfwatching
(1992) Rain-charm for the Duchy
(1994) New Selected Poems 1957-1994
(1997) Tales from Ovid
(1998) Birthday Letters — winner of the 1998 Forward Poetry Prize for best collection.
(2003) Collected Poems

Anthologies edited by Hughes

Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson
Selected Verse of Shakespeare
A Choice of Coleridge's Verse
Seneca's Oedipus
Spring Awakening by Wedekind (translation)
Phedre by Racine (translation)
The Rattle Bag (edited with Seamus Heaney)
The School Bag (edited with Seamus Heaney)
By Heart: 101 Poems to Remember
The Mays

Prose

A Dancer to God
Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being
Winter Pollen: Occasional Prose
Difficulties of a Bridegroom
Poetry in the Making

Books for Children

How the Whale Became
Meet my Folks!
The Earth Owl and Other Moon-people
Nessie the Mannerless Monster
The Coming of the Kings
The Iron Man
Moon Whales
Season Songs
Under the North Star
Ffangs the Vampire Bat and the Kiss of Truth
Tales of the Early World
The Iron Woman
The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales
Collected Animal Poems: Vols. 1-4
Shaggy and Spotty

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

↑ Ted Hughes: Timeline. Retrieved 2006-08-22.

External links

Preceded by:
John Betjeman

British Poet Laureate
1984–1998

Succeeded by:
Andrew Motion

Credits

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[1] Ted Hughes: Timeline. Retrieved 2006-08-22.

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