Explores the life, work and literary significance of the late Poet Laureate.

Chronology; Introduction Terry Gifford; 1. The problem of biography Joanny Moulin; 2. The debates about Hughes Paul Bentley; 3. Hughes and animals Chen Hong; 4. Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath Jo Gill; 5. The anthropologist's uses of myth Rand Brandes; 6. Hughes's social ecology Terry Gifford; 7. Hughes and feminism Tracy Brain; 8. Hughes and the Classics Vanda Zajko; 9. Hughes as prose writer Neil Corcoran; 10. Hughes on Shakespeare Jonathan Bate; 11. Class, war and the Laureateship Neil Roberts; 12. Hughes and his critics Alex Davis; Guide to further reading; Index.