Birthday Letters, telling the truth

Birthday Letters, telling the truth

Through the study of “Birthday Letters” by Ted Hughes, my thoughts have been challenged about the concept of truth, and the way in which it is told. I have come to understand and recognize the tribulations of defining or categorizing the meaning of truth, and the implications that the idea of truth entails. Perspectives on the significance of truth are largely reliant on our understanding of its appearance in the real world. “Birthday Letters” represents a perspective on the tempestuous relationship between Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, and whether the accounts in the anthology of poems are true or untrue, the concept of fluidity and pluralism of the truth has been clearly highlighted. Particularly through the poems Fulbright Scholars, The Shot and The Minotaur, have I come to consider the multi-dimensional nature of truth.
The dictionary defines truth as ‘consistent with fact or reality’. This definition implies something which is true always has been true, and always will be true. But is that really true?
Whole truth is an extremely valuable concept, and through poems such as Fulbright Scholars, I have been challenged to comprehend that we may never explicitly judge the truth of a statement with much confidence.
This particular poem explores the realm of pre-marital experience between Plath and Hughes and chronicles Hughes’ first sighting of Plath in a photograph. The simple truths of an unremarkable event foreshadow greater metaphysical truths; truths that reach far into the well of their subsequent relationship. The vague, casual and half amused tone of the poem in an ironic way represents the total loss of innocence this situation symbolizes. The dismissive attitude of Hughes is incongruous in the fact that unknowingly Plath will be the most overpowering influence on his future life. The use of antithesis also highlights the minimalist nature of his recollections in the phrase “then I forgot, yet I remember”. Hughes is presenting the poem...