© Keith Waddington 1997
 
 

Notes on the Text

Although your instructions ask for an explanation of why the poem is “brilliant,” modesty forbids. Instead, here are the stylistic elements I have attempted to incorporate:

Occasional internal rhymes.

Shift’s between high and low diction.

Silly rhymes like, able and rabble: for full comic effect the rhyming word in the second line of the couplet should be miss-pronounced.

Creative Capitalisation.

Occasional careless application of meter.

Slightly ironic and sarcastic narrative tone.

The general idea of some-one going off with his squire and meeting several adventures.

The Prince is similar in character to Hudibras, though perhaps more naive.

Many stylistic devices relative to diction, for example the prefix in “a-coloneling” I have used liberally.

Occasional narrative intrusions maintained in third person plural.

The moment when the Prince realises he speaks in rhyme is based upon the self-referential lines of Hudibras, for example when we learn the rhyme is the “rudder” or verse.

There are some lapses where my own style becomes evident. Most were deleted in various drafts and only those which I could not bare to part with have remained.

Alliteration--always!

Just for you, copious use of polyptoton.

Note: all episode and references were suggested by Prince Charle’s publicly known peccadilloes, escapades, and such matters.

Ready carefully: some jokes are cunningly crafted; and diction always (I hope) maintains the imagery of any given conceit, simile or metaphor--all of which are delightfully appropriate. See for example my introductory abstract where the tailoring/poetry conceit is most deftly crafted and maintains the larger idea of a modern prince ill fitting his future role as historical King.