Ted Hughes, 1930-1998, is a renowned British poet who was named Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1984 to his death in 1998. Among his most memorable collections include The Hawk in the Rain, Crow, and Birthday Letters.

Sylvia Plath, 1932-1963, was an American writer and poet. Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and was educated at Smith College (MA) and Newnham College (Cambridge), the latter on a Fulbright Fellowship. Plath's poetry, short stories, and articles were published by various newspapers and magazines, including The Christian Science Monitor, Harper's, Mademoiselle, The New Yorker, Poetry, and Seventeen. Before her death, one book of poetry, The Colossus, appeared in both Great Britain and the United States and her novel, The Bell Jar, was published in Great Britain under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. Another book of poetry, Ariel, appeared posthumously in 1965 and other poetry has since been published.

While at Cambridge, Plath met and married Ted Hughes in 1956. Plath returned to the United States in 1957 to teach at Smith College with Hughes, who taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Plath and Hughes returned to England in 1959 where they remained until Plath's suicide in 1963. They had two children together.