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. He is considered by some to be one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was Poet Laureate in England from 1984 until his death. He was also famously married from 1956?63 to the American poetess Sylvia Plath and was believed by many feminists to have helped to cause Plath's suicide (and also his lover Assia Wevill's suicide). He explored his complex relationship with Plath in his last book of poems, Birthday Letters (1998).

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 and separated in the autumn of 1962. Hughes' role in Plath's suicide in 1963 has long been a subject of much speculation by feminist critics. 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 three years together.

Related Topics:
English - Anthropology - Archaeology - Pembroke College - Cambridge - Sylvia Plath - June 16 - 1956 - 1962 - 1963 - Feminist - Ariel - 1966

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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,

Related Topics:
March 25 - 1969 - March 3 - 1965

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In August 1970, Hughes married Carol Orchard, a nurse. They remained together until his death on October 28 1998.

Related Topics:
1970 - October 28 - 1998

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Hughes died after an 18-month-long battle with liver cancer.

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