1. Hughes introducing and reading poems from Season Songs, BBC Radio 3 and 4, 6 and 13 September 1977.
2. T. Gifford and N.Roberts, Ted Hughes: A Critical Study, Faber, 1981, p.59.
3. K.Cushman, ‘Hughes’ Poetry for Children’, in Sagar, The Achievement of Ted Hughes, pp.247–251.
4. Faas, p.123.
5. Faas, p.116.
6. O. Lyne, ‘The Lecherous Reverend Lumb’, Times Literary Supplement, 1 July 1977, p.800.
7. J. Symonds, ‘The Case of the Lecherous Cleric’, The Sunday Times, 29 May 1977.
8. E. Brock, ‘Brock Reviews Hughes’, Ambit 71, 1977.
9. S. Toulson, ‘Gaudete’, British Book News, August1977.
10. D. Dunn, ‘For the Love of Lumb’, Encounter, January 1978, pp.78–9.
11. J. Bayley, ‘Smash and Bash’, The Listener, 2 June 1977, p.726.
12. Faas, p.123.
13. Faas p.140.
14. J.M. Newton, pp.342–5.
15. Hughes, ‘The Hanged Man and the Dragonfly’, pp.14–5.WP.89–92.
16. Hughes, tape recorded discussion of his poetry, The Critical Forum Series, Norwich Tapes Ltd. 1978. Transcript
17. Hughes, Programme notes for the Ilkley Festival performance of Cave Birds, May 1975.
18. Neitzsche, p.226.
19. Paul Radin, The Trickster, Greenwood Press, pp.ix,x.
20. Smith, p.94. Smith paraphrases Hughes’ outline of the Orghast mythology, where the Prometheus is represented by ‘Pramanath’,
21. Keith Sagar, ‘Prometheus on His Crag’, The Art of Ted Hughes, Faber, 1978, pp.146–158.
22. Heipern, Conference of the Birds, p.12.
23. Heilpern, p.29.
24. Hughes’ review of Shamanism by Eliade.
25. Farud ud–Din Attar, The Conference of the Birds, C.S.Nott (trans.) Shambhala, 1954, p.7.
26. Attar, p.4
27. Attar, p.7.
28. Attar, p.11.
29. Attar, p.131–2.
30. T.S.Eliot, ‘Little Gidding V’, lines 240–242, Four Quartets.
31. Attar, p.3.
32. Attar, p.5–6.
33. R. Grossinger (ed.), Alchemy: pre–Egyptian Legacy, Millenial Promise, North Altantic Books, 1979, back cover.
34. T. Burckhardt, Alchemy, W. Stoddart (trans.) Penguin, 1967, p.19.
35. R. Graves, ‘Introduction’ to The Sufis by Idris Shah, Doubleday, 1971, p.x.
36. Hughes, Souvenir Programme, The Ilkley Festival, 24–31 May 1975.
37. This commentary appears on the Cave Birds drafts held at Exeter University (referenced in this text as ED.
38. Gifford and Roberts, p.260.
39. Hughes: letter to the author, 3 November 1984. Now held at the British Library.
40. Hughes, ‘Note’, A Choice of Shakespeare’s Verse, Faber, 1971, p.192. WP.89. Hughes substantially rewrote this ‘Note’ for the Faber 1991 reprint.
41. Blake, Jerusalem, 1:Pl.9:7–14.
42. N.Frye, Fearful Symmetry, Princeton University Press, 1973, p.227.
43. Frye, p.136.
44 Frye, p.222.
45. Frye, Chapters 7 and 8.
46. J.B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East, Princeton UP, 1973.
47. Burckhardt, p.18.
48. Blake, The Song of Los, ‘Africa’, lines 18–9.
49. Blake, Milton, ‘Preface’.
50. Blake, The Everlasting Gospel, lines 15–24.
51. S. Hirschberg, The Poetry of Ted Hughes, Wolfhound Press, 1981, p.173.
52. Hughes, Letter to the author, 3 November 1984.
53. F. Fremantle and C. Trungpa (trans.), The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Shambahla, 1975, p.65.
54. Blake, Urizen, I:3
55. Blake, ‘A Memorable Fancy 2’, Marriage of Heaven and Hell, final paragraph.
56. P. Gorman, Pythagoras, A Life, Toutledge & Kegan Paul, 1979, pp.26–7.
57. K.Jung, Mysterium Conjunctionis, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974, p.532.
58. Blake, The Book of Job Illustrated by William Blake, Paddington Press, 1976.
59. T. Gifford and N. Roberts, p.200. Reference is made to the allusion to Alchemy in the title of the sequece but no further examination or explanation of this aspect is offered.