Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes was born on August 17, 1930 in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, England. His parents were William Henry and Edith Hughes. His father was a carpenter and had fought in Dardanelles Campaign. He had two siblings, a sister Olwyn and an elder brother, Gerald. Hughes’s early childhood days shaped his artistic bend of mind. When he was seven, his family moved to Mexborough, South Yorkshire. As a kid, Hughes had fascination over animals and had the habit of collecting and drawing toy lead creatures. He attended the Mexborough Grammar School, where he received encouragement from his teachers to write. This helped him to develop his poetic skills. One of his earliest poems, "Wild West" and a short story was published in the grammar school magazine, The Don and Dearne in 1946. The magazine also published his further poems in 1948. The same year, he won an open exhibition in English at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Hughes decided to do National Service and was posted to an isolated three-man station in east Yorkshire as a ground wireless mechanic in the RAF. During this time, he had ample amount of free time to read books.

 

In 1951, Hughes enrolled at Pembroke College to study English. He was mentored by M. J. C. Hodhart, who encouraged and supported him. But Hughes attended very few lectures during this period and wrote no more poetry. He transferred to anthropology and archaeology in the third year but didn’t excel as a scholar. During this time, Hughes published a poem in Chequer. Another poem, “The Little Boys and the Seasons” was published in Granta, under the pseudonym Daniel Hearing. After graduating from the university, Hughes worked a variety of jobs including working as a rose gardener, a night watchman and a reader for the British film company J. Arthur Rank. He also worked in a local zoo which gave him ample opportunities to watch animals closely, fulfilling his childhood fascinations for animals. Hughes and his friends held a party to launch St. Botolph's Review on February 26, 1956. This student-made poetry journal had Hughes’s four poems in it. At the party, he met for the first time American poet Sylvia Plath, who was studying at Cambridge on a Fulbright scholarship. Sylvia Plath had already published several poems and had won numerous awards. The two started dating and after duration of four months, they married at St George the Martyr Holborn, on June 16, 1956. When the couple spent their honeymoon to Benidorm on the Spanish coast, Plath’s mother accompanied them. The first few years of their married life went happily. They supported each other along with avidly pursuing their writing careers. Their poems were published in The Nation, Poetry and The Atlantic.

 

Plath typed the manuscript of Hughes’s collection, collection “Hawk in the Rain” which won the poetry competition run by the Poetry centre of the young men and young women's Hebrew association of New York. The book was published by Harper in September 1957 and Hughes received critical acclaim for his work. Then the couple moved to America where they taught at the University of Massachusetts. After spending couple of years in America, they returned to England and found a small flat in Primrose Hill, London. Hughes got a job of writing programmes for the BBC as well as producing essays, articles, reviews and talks. Plath had her first child, Frieda Rebecca in 1960. In 1961, they bought the house Court Green, in North Tawton, Devon. The next year, 1962, Sylvia gave birth to their second child, Nicholas Farrar. Hughes began his affair with Assia Wevill in the summer of 1962 which led to his separation from Plath in the autumn of 1962. Plath moved to a new flat with her children. Following a state of depression and constant regular suicide attempts, Plath finally committed suicide on 11 February 1963. Hughes was devastated on her death but was heavily accused by the feminists of forcing Plath to commit suicide. Many feminists accused him of the murder of Plath and some even threatened to kill him. As her widower, Hughes was the legal executor of Plath’s personal and literary estates. In his supervision, Plath’s manuscripts were published. Many feminists questioned his authority over Plath’s literary legacy on grounds of being responsible for her suicide.

 

Six years after the suicide of Sylvia Plath, Assia Wevill also committed suicide on March 25, 1969. The next year in August 1970, Hughes married Carol Orchard, a nurse. They remained together for the rest of his life. They bought the house Lumb Bank near Hebden Bridge and also maintained the property at Court Green. The same year in October 1970, his book “Crow” was published. In 1984, he was made the Poet Laureate following the death of Sir John Betjeman. In later years, he wrote many children books and also collaborated with Peter Brook and the National Theatre Company. He also tutored at the Arvon Foundation which promotes writing education. He also wrote a number of translations of European plays, especially the classical ones. In 1997, he published Tales from Ovid which had a selection of free verse translations from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Just before his death, Hughes was appointed a member of the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II.

 

Ted Hughes breathed his last on October 28, 1998 while he was undergoing treatment for colon cancer. His funeral was held on 3^rd November 1998, at North Tawton church, and was cremated in Exeter.

1930: Was born in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, England.

1937: His family moved to Mexborough, South Yorkshire.

1946: One of his earliest poems, "Wild West" and a short story was published in the grammar school magazine, The Don and Dearne.

1948: Won an open exhibition in English at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

1951: He enrolled at Pembroke College to study English.

1956: Met and married Sylvia Plath.

1957: His book, “Hawk in the rain” was published.

1960: His first child, Frieda Rebecca was born.

1961: Bought the house Court Green, in North Tawton, Devon.

1962: Had their second child, Nicholas Farrar. Separated from Plath.

1963: Sylvia Plath committed suicide.

1970: Married Carol Orchard, his book “Crow” was published.

1984: Was appointed the Poet Laureate of England.

1997: Published “Tales from Ovid”.

1998: Died in London at the age of 68.