Difficulties of a Bridegroom - Softcover

Hughes, Ted

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571174825 ISBN 13: 9780571174829

Publisher: Ted Hughes, 1996

Synopsis

A collection of short fiction by the Poet Laureate, taken from 40 years of occasional story-writing. The nine pieces, some of which appeared among the poems in "Wodwo", incorporate themes of violence, estrangement and arduous testing.

About this title

Review

Ted Hughes is Britain's reigning poet laureate, and he confesses that most of his short fiction is merely "an accompaniment to my poems." But there are many gems here, including the affecting trilogy portraying the poet's South Yorkshire childhood. The finest tale in this collection may be "The Wound," actually a radio play about a dying soldier trekking across a pitiless desert. The death-march transforms itself into an allegory of the Buddhist path from death to rebirth. Most of these short stories date from the 1950s and 60s, before Hughes became a famous poet.

About the Author

Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was born in Yorkshire. His first book, The Hawk in the Rain, was published in 1957 by Faber & Faber and was followed by many volumes of poetry and prose for adults and children. He received the Whitbread Book of the Year for two consecutive years for his last published collections of poetry, Tales from Ovid and Birthday Letters. He was Poet Laureate from 1984, and in 1998 he was appointed to the Order of Merit.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ted Hughes
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571174825
• ISBN 13: 9780571174829
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176