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This text provides a lucid and accessible introduction to the poetry of Ted Hughes, a major figure in twentieth- century poetry whose work is concerned with the forces of nature and their interaction with the human mind. It is also the first full length study to place Hughes's poetry in the context of significant developments in literary theory that have occured during his life, drawing in particular on the 'French theorists': Jacques Lacan, Julia Kristeva, and Roland Barthes. The study sheds new light on Hughes's prosody, and on such matters as Hughes's relation to the 'Movement' poets, the influence of Sylvia Plath, his relation to Romanticism, his interest in myth and shamanism, and the implications of the Laureateship for his work. The poems are presented in chronological order, tracing the development of Hughes's highly distinctive style. The study also discusses Hughes's recently published non-fiction: Winter Pollen (1994) and Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being (1992). ... Read more

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magic and meaning and nature
This book deals with the depth and power of Ted Hughes writing in a way which is readable, yet sufficiently technical to highlight the mechanisms being used. It draws on French theorists, notable Lacan and Kristeva, toexpose the poems as being ultimately a search for meaning amongst anostensibly wild and natural universe. The themes of myth and magic run deepthrough the book in a manner which matches Hughes' style very closely. Iwould recommend this book to all who are interested in looking more deeplyat this poet's work. ... Read more

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George Orwell as an imperialist patriot, Virginia Woolf making fun of feminism and T.S.Eliot as the author of an adventure story set in the South Seas are among the prize items to be found in this collection of 20th-century juvenilia. The age limit has been set at 16. The author has been collecting material for this book for the past 30 years, encouraging friends like Francis King, David Gascoyne and Elizabeth Jennings to search through their old papers. Other items he tracked down in school magazines - such as John Betjeman's attempt to find words to rhyme with "summer", which first appeared in the Dragon School magazine in 1918, when he was only 13. The collection should appeal to those interested in 20th-century literature, poetry and writers, as well as collectors of anthologies and miscellanies. ... Read more

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The difficulty of Hughes' later poetry often lies in its extreme simplicity, stripped of the surface 'poetry' the conventional critic is trained to respond to. Many of these poems are sources of great psychic or spiritual power if we can tap them, but on standard critical equipment seems obsolete. The contributors, some established critics, some bringing fresh and varied approaches, analyze many individual poems and sequences, but also offer, jointly, a new, comprehensive, and unusually integrated reading of our greatest living writer. ... Read more

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This casebook seeks to put in critical perspective the aims and achievements of three leading British poets of the Post-1950 period: Thom Gunn, Ted Hughes and R.S.Thomas. It does not attempt a "definitive" assessment - which would manifestly be a disingenuous approach to poets whose work is continuing to develop in range and technique. By providing a retrospective survey of the critical response to each during the last 30 years or so, it enables the reader to gain a sharper understading of the intrinsic qualities of their poetic art and their relevance to the literary ethos of our own day. ... Read more

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ACADEMICA PRESS, LLCAdvanced Book Information TED HUGHES' ART OF HEALING : Into Time and Other People Author: Daniel XerriCredentials:,Lecturer, D/English,University Of Malta Description: The late Ted Hughes felt that healing was the most fundamental characteristic of all poetry yet until now there has been no monograph on Hughes conception of poetry as a healing device. This study discuss and interprets the healing quality in Hughes' poetic works and evaluates the poet's notion of its significance for human civilization. Research includes Hughes and the immediate post-war generation of poets in Britain and Ireland, The Movement poets and Hughes' relations with them, Hughes as a cultural critic who perceives himself and his poetic talent as possessing redemptive function.Five chapters are devoted to Hughes' published works starting with HAWK IN THE RAIN and LUPERCAL ; the collections are discussed focusing on violence as a manifestation of energy lacking in human affairs. CAVE BIRDS is analyzed in terms of the poet's adoption of alchemical motifs as a mens of showing the quester's journey to redemption. MOORTOWN is made up of four parts and the healing cycle present in each of those parts is adumbrated along with analysis of arcana, use of symbolism and literary allusions. RIVER is discussed with a view to clarifying Hughes' interest in light,healing and the redemptive elements of the end of the quest. Xerri also discusses Hughes as a skeptic and as a poet willing to explore the healing quest itself with an eye on spiritual discipline in the face of existential voids. ...An excellent study that belongs in any serious collection of Hughes work,British 20th c poetry and the art of poetics. Ray Hanna, North American Literary Review,GeorgetownMarket: Ted Hughes, British Poetry 20th c, poetics, British Literature 1945 2000Cultural StudiesRelease Date: 12/2009Copyright: 2010ISBN/Price: Cloth: 978-1-93314678-2 /1933146-78-8; $79.95Trim Size: 6 x 9Pages: 264Index: YesBibliography: YesIllustrations: None ... Read more