In The Last of the Princes, A.K.Ramanujan presents a recurring pattern in the flux of history. He presents the glory of the princes’ past- their power, pomp in the past, and then contrasts them with their present wretched condition.
The element of pathos is brought out in the poem The Last of the Princes by presenting the plight of the last of the princes. He has none of the glory of his ancestors. He has lost everything the latter were proud of – titles, palaces, splendor privileges. What he is now left with is a nostalgia for past glory.
He is now in a sad plight physically and financially. He now lives on with the inheritance of long fingers, likeness in appearance, and belief in superstitions. He suffers from cough and cold and has alternating loose bowels and hard sheep’s pellets. He has sold all the heirlooms except the pearl in his wife’s nose-ring. He is worried that his wife is pregnant again because he cannot afford to bring up any more child. It is really a matter of pathos that his daughters Honey and Bunny read in school on half fees and he cannot send money to his eldest son taking training in telegraphy, though he has telegraphed thrice already for money. It is indeed sad to think that the children of former rulers who employed many people themselves are now forced to accept low-paid jobs in government service.