BRITISH poet Sir Geoffrey Hill has died aged 84, his wife has confirmed.
Alice Goodman said her husband died "suddenly, and without pain or dread" on Thursday evening.
Sir Geoffrey was the Professor of Poetry at Oxford University until last year, and best known for Mercian Hymns, his 1971 collection of prose poems.
Jacqueline Norton, senior commissioning Editor for Literature at Oxford University Press said: "We're very saddened by the news of Geoffrey Hill's death, but also grateful to have worked with him.
"His fierce intelligence will be much missed."
Sir Geoffrey Hill was born on June 18 1932.
He studied English literature at Oxford University and graduated with first class honours.
He released his first collection of poems, For the Unfallen, in 1959 - and went on to publish more than 20 volumes of poetry over his career.
He became Oxford University's Professor of Poetry in 2010 - a position he held for five years.
His accolades include the Faber Memorial award and the Whitbread Award for Poetry.
He was knighted in 2012 for services to literature.
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