Ted Hughes Papers (MSS146), 1957-1979 | MSS Manuscripts

Hughes, Ted (1930-1998)
Plath, Sylvia

Edward James "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. Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until her death by suicide in 1963. His most significant work is perhaps Crow (1970). Despite being widely praised, Crow also divided critics, combining an apocalyptic, bitter, cynical and surreal view of the universe with what sometimes appeared simple, childlike verse. In addition to his own poetry, Hughes wrote a number of translations of European plays, mainly classical ones. His Tales from Ovid (1997) contains a selection of free verse translations from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Hughes also wrote both poetry and prose for children, one of his most successful books being The Iron Man, written to comfort his children after Sylvia Plath's suicide. In his last collection, Birthday Letters, Hughes broke his silence on Plath, detailing aspects of their life together and his own behavior at the time. Hughes' definitive 1,333-page Collected Poems appeared (posthumously) in 2003.