Keith M. Sagar

A literary figure often overshadowed by his famed wife, Sylvia Plath, and their troubled marriage, Ted Hughes was a brilliant poet in his own right who wrote some of the most important British poetry of the twentieth century. The first in-depth study of Hughes’s personal papers published after his death, The Laughter of Foxes, is here offered in a newly revised second edition. An intimate yet critical survey of Hughes’s work, The Laughter of Foxes is penned by an acclaimed scholar and one of Hughes’ closest friends. Keith Sagar probes all aspects of the poet's life and work, delving into the specifics of his life as revealed by his writings and correspondence. A wide array of topics—including the mythic imagination, the poetic relationship between Plath and Hughes, and a detailed analysis of Hughes’s poem “A Dove Came” through its evolving drafts—reveals fascinating new avenues of literary and biographical analysis in Hughes’s work. Augmenting the rich text in this edition are excerpts of letters from Hughes to Sagar, a detailed chronology of Hughes’s life by Ann Skea, and the first publication of the story "Crow." Sagar also revisits his original introduction in this new edition, expanding it with additional insights into Hughes’s poetry as well as a detailed account of Hughes’s version of Euripedes’ Alcestis. A compelling study that the Daily Telegraph called “invaluable for anyone interested in Hughes’ work,” The Laughter of Foxes unearths the man behind the myth who struggled to transform his imaginative life from pain into hope.

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