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Edward James Hughes from 1984 until his death. Ted Hughes was married from 1956-63 to the '' (1998), explored their complex relationship, and to many, put him in a significantly better light.Middlebrook, D. Her Husband: Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, A Marriage. London, Penguin: 2003. In 2003 he was portrayed by British actor Daniel Craig in ''Sylvia'' , a Biographical Film of Sylvia Plath. EARLY LIFE PERSONAL LIFE Hughes studied English , Anthropology and Archaeology at Pembroke College, Cambridge . At this time his first published poetry appeared in the journal he started with fellow students, St. Botolph's Review , and at a party to launch the magazine he met Sylvia Plath . He and Plath married on June 16 , 1956 , after just four months of knowing one another. A year later, the couple moved to the United States, settling in Western Massachusetts . Hughes and Plath worked as visiting writers at University Of Massachusetts Amherst and Smith College , respectively. After spending time in Boston , they returned to England in October 1959, moving first to London , then to Devon in 1961 ( Court Green , North Tawton ). Hughes and Plath had two children, but separated in the autumn of 1962. Ted continued to live at Court Green on and off, with his lover Assia Wevill , after Plath's death on February 11, 1963, but the relationship eventually lost its luster for him, and he became involved with other women. 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 claims to have destroyed the final volume of Plath’s journal, detailing their last few months together. In his foreword to ''The Journals of Sylvia Plath'', he defends his actions as a consideration for the couple's young children. Six years after Plath's suicide by gas stove, on March 25 , 1969 , Assia Wevill killed herself and Shura (her four-year old daughter by Hughes), in the same way; Alexandra Tatiana Elise, nicknamed Shura , had been born on March 3 , 1965 . In August 1970, Hughes married Carol Orchard, a nurse. They remained together (despite his continued affairs over the years), until his death. He received the Order Of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II just before his death. Ted Hughes continued to live at the house in Devon, until his death by heart attack on October 28, 1998, while undergoing treatment for colon cancer. His funeral was held at North Tawton church, and he was cremated at Exeter , with the ashes scattered on Dartmoor , near Cranmere Pool (by special Royal permission). Seamus Heaney , speaking at Ted Hughes' funeral, in North Tawton on November 3rd, 1998, said: "No death outside my immediate family has left me feeling more bereft. No death in my lifetime has hurt poets more. He was a tower of tenderness and strength, a great arch under which the least of poetry's children could enter and feel secure. His creative powers were, as Shakespeare said, still crescent. By his death, the veil of poetry is rent and the walls of learning broken." Centre for Ted Hughes Studies - Ted Hughes timeline A memorial walk from the Devon village of ' helicopter, an honour not afforded to any other Devon figure. BBC Devon - Ted Hughes memorial 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 Bard ic tradition, heavily inflected with a modernist, existential and satirical viewpoint. 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), which whilst it has been widely acclaimed also divided critics, combining an apocalyptic, bitter, cynical and surreal view of the universe with what appears to be simple, sometimes (superficially) badly constructed verse. ''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 Libretto s 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
Anthologies edited by Hughes
Prose
Books for Children
COMPOSITIONS WITH WORDS BY TED HUGHES
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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