Who was Ted Hughes, when did he marry Sylvia Plath and what are his most famous poems?

The writer was married to fellow poet Sylvia Plath when she passed away in 1963

Anna Duff

Published: 15:30, 27 Mar 2019
Updated: 16:54, 27 Mar 2019

TED Hughes was one of the most famous writers of the 20th century, partly due to his marriage to fellow poet Sylvia Plath.

Here is everything you need to know about the much-discussed author.

Ted Hughes was born in 1930Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd

Who was Ted Hughes?

Ted Hughes was born Edward James Hughes in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, on August 17, 1930.

A poet and author, critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. He's also been dubbed "one of the 20th century's greatest writers".

In 1951, Hughes began studying English at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

He later transferred to anthropology and archaeology, both of which would later influence his poetry.

His earlier work is rooted in nature and he frequently wrote of the mixture of beauty and violence in the natural world.

Hughes served as Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.

He was married twice, first to American Sylvia Plath from 1956-1963 and then to Carol Orchard from 1970 to his death.

He passed away on October 28, 1998, after suffering a heart attack. He was 68.

Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath married four months after meetingCredit: Handout

When did he marry Sylvia Plath?

Hughes met American poet Sylvia Plath in 1956, at a party he and his friends held to launch a review containing four of his poems.

At the time, Plath was studying at Cambridge on a Fulbright Scholarship.

She'd already been published extensively and had come especially to meet Hughes and his fellow poet Lucas Myers.

The couple began dating and married in London on June 16, 1956, four months after first meeting.

They had two children, Frieda Rebecca (b. 1960) and Nicholas Farrar (1962-2009) and in 1961 bought the house Court Green in North Tawton, Devon.

In 1962, Hughes began an affair with Assia Wevill.

She'd been subletting Hughes and Plath's Primrose Hill flat with her husband.

Sylvia Plath died in 1963, aged 30Credit: Alamy

Hughes and Plath separated in the autumn of 1962.

Plath died on February 11, 1963, aged 30.

It was determined that she'd suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after putting her head in the oven.

An inquest later confirmed her cause of death was suicide and that Plath had sealed the kitchen door with towels and cloths to prevent gas leaking into the room where her children slept.

As Hughes and Plath were legally married at the time of her death, he inherited her estate, including all her written work.

He's been criticised for claiming to have destroyed her last journal, saying he "did not want her children to have to read it".

He was accused of attempting to control the estate for his own ends, although royalties from Plath's poetry were placed into a trust account for their children.