''Rain-charm for the Duchy'' is a book of poems by

Ted Hughes Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He wa ...

. The book contains poems written by Hughes during his tenure as

Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom The British poet laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation ...

, from 1984. The poems in the book celebrate royal occasions. The book was first published by

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

in 1992.

Reception

In ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years b ...

'', in March 1995, Robert Nye reviewed what he jokingly called the "New Selected Spells by the Royal Witch Doctor". One of these 'spells' was "Rain-Charm for the Duchy", Hughes's 1984 hymn of praise to the rivers of the

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

, in celebration of

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

’s christening. Nye wrote, "

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

's old suit hardly fits a dour Yorkshireman with ambitions to be a sort of royal witch doctor. Only one of those Laureate effusions is included here, the one for HRH Prince Harry, which has some decent lines about salmon responding to a storm." In 2021 Yvonne Reddick, Research Fellow at the

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

, reviewing the book for the Ted Hughes Society wrote, "''Rain-Charm'' focuses more on storms and salmon than royal baptisms, more on the land of the Duchy than on the Royal Family itself. Its finished title was ''Rain-Charm for the Duchy: A Blessed, Devout Drench for the Christening of His Royal Highness Prince Harry''. Yet in early typescripts, it was entitled ''After the Five Month Drought'', ''Rain Charm for Bringing Back the Salmon'', or simply ''Rain-Charm''. ... Alongside his characteristic language of the sublime forces of nature, Hughes includes a realistic catalogue of the pollutants which human beings have poured into the Tavy. This is the work of a poet who was not just a royal witch-doctor, but also a passionate, high-profile environmental activist."

References

External links

Faber & Faber
{{Ted Hughes 1992 poetry books Poetry by Ted Hughes English poetry collections Faber & Faber books