The Secret Rites of Nature in “River” by Ted Hughes

• Authors: Małgorzata Grzegorzewska

Title variants

PL

[Tajemne obrzędy natury w cyklu Teda Hughesa „Rzeka”]

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The text discusses Ted Hughes’ poetic sequence River from the perspective of eco-criticism. The poems included in this sequence illustrate the poet’s life-long interest in alternative forms of spirituality. The reader may recognise in them traces of hermetic philosophy, alchemy and shamanic healing practices. Hughes can also be called a meditative poet, if meditation is understood as a practice of attentively observing the surrounding reality. His treatment of nature is reflected in his original poetic idiom, where the sound and meaning of the human language frequently give way to the infra- and ultrasounds of the “unheard melodies” sung by plants and animals.

Keywords

EN

Ted Hughes; River; Eco-criticism; meditative poetry; logos; nature

PL

Ted Hughes; Rzeka; eko-krytyka; poezja medytacyjna; logos; natura

• Publisher: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
• Journal: Prace Filologiczne. Literaturoznawstwo
• Year: 2015
• Issue: 5(8)
• Pages: 427-439

Dates

published

2015-06-01

Contributors

author

Małgorzata Grzegorzewska

• Uniwersytet Warszawski