Text 110

THE QUIET GLADES OF EDEN

All such proclivities are tabulated −

By trained psychologists, in detail too −

The obscener parts of speech compulsively

Shrouded in Classic Latin.

But thought my pleasure in your feet and hair

Is ungainsayably, let me protest

(Dear love) I am no trichomaniac

And no foot-fetishist.

If it should please you, for your own best reasons,

To take and whip me with a rawhide whip,

I might (who knows?) surprisingly accept

This earnest of affection.

Nothing, agreed, is alien to love

When pure desire has overflowed its baulks;

But why must private sportiveness be viewed

Through public spectacles?

Enough, I will not claim a heart unfluttered

By these case-histories of aberrancy;

Nevertheless a long cool draught of water,

Or a long swim in the bay,

Serves to restore my wholesome appetite

For you and what we do at night together:

Which is no more than what Adam did to Eve

In the quiet glades of Eden.

Ted Hughes (1930—1998) writes energetic verse; it's less restrained and more consciously virile than of his contemporaries. His poems are frequently set in a mythological. He is concerned with strong and sometimes violent forces of nature and of the social world.

7.6 Women's voices

Maybe it is an illusion but the presence of important women poets seems to be diminishing in British poetry. On the contrary, the picture is different overseas. American women contributed steadily to the treasure house of love poetry in the 20^th century. Edna St.Vincent Millay wrote her beautiful sonnets in the Jazz Age of the 1920-30s; her view on the relationships between men and women is free from illusion. She somehow manages to 'go to the basics' and yet remain very profound and convincing.

Another important author is Sylvia Plath (1932-1963), whose work is known for its savage imagery and themes of self-destruction. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Plath was educated at Smith College and at the University of Cambridge, where she was a Fulbright scholar. Ariel (1965), written during the year before her suicide, is considered to contain Plath's finest poems. As with all her poetry published after she died, this volume reflects increasing self-absorption and an obsession with death. Her poems were edited by her one-time husband, English poet Ted Hughes.

They married in 1956 and lived in both England and the United States, teaching and writing poetry. Hughes left his wife in 1963, and Plath committed suicide that same year. For the rest of his life, Hughes was heavily criticized by Plath scholars and fans, many of whom blamed him for her death. Hughes refused to speak about Plath or publish his writing about her until 1998, the year he died, when he released Birthday Letters. The book collects 88 poems written by Hughes over 25 years, almost all directed to Plath or focusing on their relationship. The collection was widely praised for its searing honesty.

Poetry written by American poet Nikki Giovanni (1943-) is lighter in tone, more witty and ironic sometimes. It is clear that the author stands by the modern woman, self-assured, independent, understanding, whose role in this world − and, consequently, whose philosophy − is generally more balanced and optimistic. She craves many different things in life, this modern woman, but she desperately seeks love, love, love alone and nothing but love!