Ted Hughes's Shamanic Journey Into The Heart of The River

Abstract

Ted Hughes's shamanic exploration of aquatic landscapes is addressed from the perspective of man's hubristic crimes against nature that reflect the damage inside man's own nature. Hughes's poetic interest in the aquatic landscapes is an attempt to bridge the gap between man and nature, in the belief that nature is a divine spirit to which man belongs, and from which modern man has been estranged. He poetically examines destruction in the place and the means of regeneration, and consequently comprehends the oneness of God's creation. Hughes believes that the natural energy constitutes the essence of man's prehistoric, uncivilised self, which stands for his instincts and nourishes his emotions and imagination. Hughes is of the opinion that acknowledging this wild natural energy helps to balance against man's other, rational self, while suppressing it renders man weak, enslaved by his rational civilisation, and disconnected from the healing energy of the Nature Goddess. Therefore, the basic thread that runs throughout Hughes's River is the mythical quest of the wounded hero in search of the source of the purgative and restorative power of the natural world.