Savage Nature: The Life of Ted Hughes | Writing And Speaking Article

"Writing And Speaking" Article
Article Directory Home

Savage Nature: The Life of Ted Hughes
Expert Author: Santos Kumar \| Submitted: 2008-03-27 \| Word Count: 877 words \| Views: 110 view(s) [View Summary]

One of the most important poets of the post-war period, Edward James Hughes (1930-1998), was drawn towards the primitive. He was enchanted by the beauty of the natural world, frequently portraying its cruel and savage temperament in his work as a reflection of his own personal suffering and mystical beliefs - convinced that modern man had lost touch with the primordial side of his nature.

Born in Mytholmroyd, a remote mill town in West Yorkshire, Ted (as he was known to his friends and family) was enormously affected by the desolate moorland landscape of his childhood, and also by his father's vivid recollections of the brutality of trench warfare. Indeed, his father, who was then a carpenter, was one of only seventeen men from his regiment to have survived at Gallipoli during the First World War.

At the age of seven his family moved to Mexborough (also in Yorkshire), where his parents opened a stationery and tobacco shop. Here he attended the local grammar school, where he first began to write poetry - usually bloodcurdling verses about Zulus and cowboys - before doing two years' national service in the Royal Air Force. He later won a scholarship to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he started reading English Literature but switched to archaeology and anthropology, subjects that were a major influence on the development of his poetic awareness. Here he immersed himself in the works of Shakespeare, W.B. Yeats and read Robert Graves's “The White Goddess” (1948).

Following his graduation in 1954, he moved to London, where he had a number of interesting jobs, including zoo keeping, gardening and script reading for J. Arthur Rank. He also had several of his poems published in university magazines. In 1956 he and some Cambridge friends started up a literary journal called St. Botolph's Review. It lasted for only one issue but at the inaugural party Ted met his future wife, the then unknown American poet, Sylvia Plath.

Much has been written about the Hughes/Plath relationship since that first portentous meeting, but few can doubt that these two brilliantly creative people were enormously attracted to one another, almost from the moment they were first introduced. Within just a few short months they were married and living in the USA, where Hughes taught English and creative writing at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. And before the year was out, he had won an American poetry competition, judged by W.H. Auden, Sir Stephen Spender and Marianne Moore. Hughes once said of this contented period:
"We would write poetry every day. It was all we were interested in, all we ever did." – Ted Hughes

Plath assisted him with the preparation of his first collection, The Hawk in the Rain (1957), a work that was quite extraordinary in its treatment of natural subjects. He continued to live in America for the next few years, being partly supported by a Guggenheim Foundation grant, before returning to England in 1959. He then went on to win the Somerset Maugham award and the Hawthornden prize for his second book, “Luperca”l (1960); confirming his reputation as one of the most important poets of the post-war period.

The next few years of Ted's life have since become the subject of much biographical speculation. However, the simple facts are that he and Plath had two children and moved to Devon in 1961. Their marriage began to disintegrate shortly thereafter and Hughes started an affair with Assia Wevill. He split from Plath and she committed suicide in her London flat in 1963. In 1969 Wevill also killed herself and their child. He married Carol Orchard in 1970 and spent the rest of his life trying to protect his and Plath's children from the media. Hughes published only children's poetry and prose in the years following the death of his first wife.

His next major work was “Wodwo” (1967), which took its title from a character in the medieval romance “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, and highlighted his increasing interest in mythology. He travelled to Iran in 1971, where he wrote the verse/drama “Orghast” in an invented language. Some of his other collections include “Crow” (1970), “Cave Birds” (1975), “Season Songs” (1976), “Gaudete” (a long poem on fertility rites, 1977), “Moortown” (1979), “Remains of Elmet” (1979) and “River” (1983).

Hughes was also one of the originators of the Arvon Foundation and was awarded an OBE in 1977. In 1984 he was appointed Poet Laureate and went on to publish “Rain-Charm for the Duchy and other Laureate Poems” (1992). Then in 1995 he composed a poem about Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, for her 95th birthday, likening her to a six-rooted tree. He also wrote many reviews and essays, some of which were collected in “Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being” (1992), “A Dancer to God: Tribute to T.S. Eliot” (1992) and “Winter Pollen: Occasional Prose” (1994). In addition to all this he also wrote many wonderful plays and books for children, including his remarkable fantasy “The Iron Man”. And when, just months before his death, Hughes released “Birthday Letters”, a collection of poems about his life with Sylvia Plath, it became an immediate bestseller throughout the English speaking world and was widely praised for its searing honesty.

Ted Hughes died of cancer on 28th October 1998, having just been appointed to the Order of Merit. Andrew Motion followed him as Britain's Poet Laureate.

About the Author

For More Free Resources visit www.allfreereports.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Savage-Nature--The-Life-of-Ted-Hughes/132970

Article Tags: writing and speaking, reports, survey, email survey, customer report, business reports, writing, creative writing, writing tips.

This article has been viewed 110 times.

More "Writing And Speaking" Related Articles

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Writing And Speaking" article category.

People interested in the above article "Savage Nature: The Life of Ted Hughes" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

Components Of The Writing Process: Simple Tips For Writing Fantastic Content

Expert Author: Michael Lee | Submitted: 2008-07-09 | Word Count: 367 | Views: 15

There are different components of the writing process that can be used by many individuals to improve their output. In fact, not all writers today can brag of high-quality results all the time. This all depends on the creativity of our minds, as well as the determination we have in getting it done. The components of the writing process can help aspiring writers improve their writing skills. How? By addressing specific factors that can affect their state of mind and how they proceed with relaying the message to their readers.

Persuasive Essay Topics - How To Come Up With Persuasive Topics For Your Readers

Expert Author: Michael Lee | Submitted: 2008-07-08 | Word Count: 409 | Views: 19

You need to come up with persuasive essay topics to effectively drive your point home. In fact, these literary texts, as the name implies, are created to persuade readers to your way of thinking. In more ways than none, persuasive essay topics should convey the meaning of your reasoning. In fact, the topic should be constructed in a direct and concise manner, leaving no room for error and purely debatable.

Freelance Writing Jobs: Friendly Tips to Be A Successful Freelance Writer

Expert Author: Michael Lee | Submitted: 2008-07-04 | Word Count: 418 | Views: 23

With the amount of freelance writing jobs available over the Internet, you don’t even have to set a foot out of your house to earn some extra cash. And if you’re hardworking and skillful enough, you’ll probably earn more than many day job workers.

How To Write An Obituary In 4 Easy Steps

Expert Author: Michael Lee | Submitted: 2008-07-03 | Word Count: 539 | Views: 33

We see a lot of obituaries on the newspaper or on the programs that accompany funeral rites. They look pretty easy to make; but in truth, we never realize the fact that writing one might be tricky. This article discusses 4 easy steps in writing one.

Pithy Prose: The Wit and Wisdom of People Named 'H'

Expert Author: Philip Yaffe | Submitted: 2008-07-03 | Word Count: 1764 | Views: 33

"Pithy prose" are quotations that say more in one or two sentences than could be expressed in a thousand-word treatise. They are like pouring a liter of liquid into a half-liter bottle. A few people (e.g. Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde) produced pithy prose, in their hundreds. Others only a handful, but these too are well worth preserving. This article is dedicated to the wit and wisdom of people with surnames beginning with "H".

Freelance Writing Jobs: Helpful Tips to Become A Successful Freelance Writer

Expert Author: Michael Lee | Submitted: 2008-06-30 | Word Count: 451 | Views: 45

Many individuals fail to understand the factors involved in freelance writing jobs; thus, they only get mediocre success that is not enough to achieve the goal of making a sizeable income. When the Internet was first introduced, its use was commonly focused on spreading information to the rest of the world. But now, the Internet is capable of providing a steady income at the convenience of your own home. It was then that the concept of freelance writing jobs was born.

Effective Speech Writing and Delivery

Expert Author: Jennie Gandhi | Submitted: 2008-06-28 | Word Count: 403 | Views: 52

The success of one’s speech depends on how closely one’s intent matches with that of the audience. Read this article to learn the Effective Speech Writing and Delivery methods. For one’s speech to be effective, one should ensure to answer the following questions...

Print Article

Comment on Article

Favorite Article

Email to Friend

Republish Article

Article Directory Home

Writing And Speaking

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!

(Search in 23 languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, German,
Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Greek,
Swedish, Romanian, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Czech, Croatian, Bulgarian)

(We serve worldwide - Locations updated as at Sunday, 20 July 2008 09:59 am , Singapore)

United States of America, USA . United Kingdom, UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) . Canada . Afghanistan . Albania . Algeria . American Samoa . Andorra . Angola . Anguilla . Antarctica . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Armenia . Aruba . Australia . Austria . Azerbaijan . Bahamas . Bahrain . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belarus . Belgium . Belize . Benin . Bermuda . Bhutan . Bolivia . Bonaire . Bosnia-Herzegovina . Botswana . Brazil . British Virgin Islands . Brunei Darrusalam . Bulgaria . Burkina Faso . Burundi . Cambodia . Cameroon . Cape Verde . Cayman Islands . Central African Republic . Chad . Channel Islands . Chile . China . Christmas Island . Colombia . Comoros . Congo . Congo (Dem. Rep.) . Cook Islands . Costa Rica . Côte d'Ivoire . Croatia . Cuba . Curacao . Cyprus . Czech Republic . Denmark . Djibouti . Dominica . Dominican Republic . East Timor . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . Equatorial Guinea . Eritrea . Estonia . Ethiopia . Falkland Islands and Dependencies . Faroe Islands . Fiji . Finland . France . French Guiana . French Polynesia . Gabon . Gambia . Gaza . Georgia . Germany . Ghana . Gibraltar . Greece . Greenland . Grenada . Guadeloupe . Guam . Guatemala . Guinea . Guinea-Bissau . Guyana . Haiti . Hawaiian Islands . Honduras . Hong Kong . Hungary . Iceland . India . Indonesia . Iran . Iraq . Isle Of Man . Israel . Italy . Ivory Coast . Jamaica . Japan . Johnston Atoll . Jordan . Kazakhstan . Kenya . Kiribati . Korea (North) . Korea (South) . Kuwait . Kyrgyzstan . Laos . Latvia . Lebanon . Leeward Islands . Lesotho . Liberia . Libya . Liechtenstein . Lithuania . Luxembourg . Macau . Macedonia . Madagascar . Malawi . Malaysia . Maldives . Mali . Malta . Marshall Islands . Martinique . Mauritania . Mauritius . Mexico . Micronesia (Federated States) . Midway Islands . Moldova . Monaco . Mongolia . Montserrat . Morocco . Mosquito Coast . Mozambique . Myanmar (Burma) . Namibia . Nauru . Navassa Island . Nepal . Netherlands . Netherlands Antilles . New Caledonia . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Niger . Nigeria . Niue . Norfolk Island . Northern Mariana Islands . Norway . Oman . Pakistan . Palau . Palestine . Panama . Papua New Guinea . Paracel Islands . Paraguay . Peru . Philippines . Pitcairn Islands . Poland . Portugal . Puerto Rico . Qatar . Reunion . Romania . Russia . Rwanda . Ryukyu Islands . Saint Helena . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . Saint Pierre & Miquelon . Saint Vincent & The Grenadines . Samoa . San Marino . São Tom?& Príncipe . Saudi Arabia . Senegal . Serbia . Seychelles . Sierra Leone . Singapore . Slovakia . Slovenia . Solomon Islands . Somalia . South Africa . Spain . Sri Lanka . Sudan . Suriname . Swaziland . Sweden . Switzerland . Syria . Taiwan . Tajikistan . Tanzania . Thailand . Togo . Tonga . Transkei . Trinidad & Tobago . Tunisia . Turkey . Turkmenistan . Turks and Caicos Islands . Tuvalu . US Virgin Islands . Uganda . Ukraine . United Arab Emirates . Upper Volta . Uruguay . Uzbekistan . Vanuatu . Vatican City (Holy See) . Venezuela . Vietnam . Wake Island . Windward Islands . Yemen . Yugoslavia . Zaire . Zambia . Zimbabwe

Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Template Design by Larry Lim | Internet Marketing