After much convincing from his first wife, Sylvia Plath, British poet Ted Hughes entered a poetry contest at Cambridge; he won first prize. The recognition launched his professional career in poetry, leading critics to recognize Hughes as one of the giants of Postmodernism. His poetry helped shape the twentieth-century’s Postmodern era, characterized by the employment of black humor and fragmentation. This era consisted of cynical sentiments and responses to World War II and poets had doubts that “new” ideas still existed and that every work would be a revision or different perspective on past writers’ pieces. Hughes pioneered in the Postmodern era due to his uniquely unrestricted style of writing, in which he utilized mythical themes and imitated Shakespearean style.
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One critic even compared Hughes to Emily Brontë, elucidating how Hughes’ poetry contained characteristics of the Romantic period. Both writers’ similar backgrounds of being raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire distinguished their shared love of wilderness and mysticism, which translated into their writings’ themes and tones (Moynahan 1-2). Hughes was not scared to metaphorically color outside or inside of the lines. Anything was fair game and available to be utilized. Hughes’ employment of both typical and unconventional themes, symbols and styles helped morph his poetry into original, transformative, effective and revered works.
Hughes began developing his inventive writing style while attending Cambridge. In 1956, Hughes met and married poet Sylvia Plath. She persuaded him to enter his manuscript, The Hawk in the Rain, in a poetry contest at Cambridge in 1957. He was awarded first prize by poets W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Pulitzer Prize winner Marianne Moore, which cemented Hughes as an important figure in the world of poetry and instigated his influence on the Postmodern
One critic even compared Hughes to Emily Brontë, elucidating how Hughes’ poetry contained characteristics of the Romantic period. Both writers’ similar backgrounds of being raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire distinguished their shared love of wilderness and mysticism, which translated into their writings’ themes and tones (Moynahan 1-2). Hughes was not scared to metaphorically color outside or inside of the lines. Anything was fair game and available to be utilized. Hughes’ employment of both typical and unconventional themes, symbols and styles helped morph his poetry into original, transformative, effective and revered works.
Hughes began developing his inventive writing style while attending Cambridge. In 1956, Hughes met and married poet Sylvia Plath. She persuaded him to enter his manuscript, The Hawk in the Rain, in a poetry contest at Cambridge in 1957. He was awarded first prize by poets W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Pulitzer Prize winner Marianne Moore, which cemented Hughes as an important figure in the world of poetry and instigated his influence on the Postmodern