Ted Hughes is widely regarded as a major figure in twentieth-century poetry, but the impact of Hughes's class background on his work has received little attention. This is the first full length study to take the measure of the importance of class in Hughes. It presents a radically new version of Hughes that challenges the image of Hughes as primarily a nature poet, as well as the image of the Tory Laureate. The controversy over 'natural' violence in Hughes's early poems, Hughes's relationship with Seamus Heaney, the Laureateship, and Hughes's revisiting of his relationship with Sylvia Plath in Birthday Letters "(1998), are reconsidered in terms of Hughes's class background. Drawing on the thinking of cultural theorists such as Slavoj i ek, Terry Eagleton, and Julia Kristeva, the book presents new political readings of familiar Hughes poems, alongside consideration of posthumously collected poems and letters, to reveal a surprising picture of a profoundly class-conscious poet.

This book takes a unique approach to 'learning medicine' in a manner that places primary emphasis on recall. Drawing upon well-established psychological principles, it uses a broad range of strategies to maximize the ability of the reader to recollect large swathes of information at a later date. The result is an original and refreshing book in which no two pages are quite alike, and where facts are presented in a hierarchical fashion so that essential features of each condition or symptom can be grasped immediately, while finer points are given in more detailed reading.

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). The Poetry of Ted Hughes is indispensable for all students and academics interested in contemporary poetry and culture.

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). The Poetry of Ted Hughes is indispensable for all students and academics interested in contemporary poetry and culture.

Paul Bentley was born in Rotherham, and now lives in Cornwall with his wife and two children. He teaches English Literature in Plymouth. Paul's poems have appeared in Poetry Review, The Rialto, The Manhattan Review, and other magazines. 'Barnsley Abu (a postcard to Paul Mundoon)' was a joint runner-up for the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize. He is currently working on a book for Continuum, Ted Hughes, Class and Violence.

This book takes a unique approach to 'learning medicine' in a manner that places primary emphasis on recall. Drawing upon well-established psychological principles, it uses a broad range of strategies to maximize the ability of the reader to recollect large swathes of information at a later date. The result is an original and refreshing book in which no two pages are quite alike, and where facts are presented in a hierarchical fashion so that essential features of each condition or symptom can be grasped immediately, while finer points are given in more detailed reading.