Delightful Inconsistent

I like Plath too. But I like Ted Hughes more, and because of the cult of Plath, Americans tend to view all his work through the filter of "he's so depressing and he killed Sylvia Plath" even in the poems where he is clearly making fun of death obsessions. (I'm not making a dig against Americans or pretending I'm not American; it's just that he was English poet laureate and his Iron Man is extremely beloved as a fundamental children's book over there, so it's a really different situation.) I get tired of hearing how flat and not great his work is and how it's a shame Plath had to die for that. Particularly given that she was suicidal well before she got involved with him. (I'm not saying he didn't behave badly or that I would ever have any interest in being married to him. I hate all that goddess worship stuff where all women are manifestations of the ur-woman or whatever the hell.)