King's Gallant: King Henry III and His Court Book

This week I finally got round to checking out Peer Gynt
A celebrated rhymed drama by Henrik Ibsen, inn't?
To get the full effect, you need to read it in Norwegian
Or possibly translated to other languages of that region

Earlier epics in verse, I can think the author built on
But I'd be willing to bet a krona that none of them was Milton
(As a neighboring country might perhaps say, fy fan,
A work that's a good deal closer is Byron's Don Juan.)

Gynt is a liar, a blackguard, a general cad
Somehow we're left feeling that he's really not so bad
When he treats women like dirt, he always does it with a smile
Like Flashman, we forgive him, since he has a sense of style

Is it existentialist philosophy? We're led a merry dance
Some parts are, you'll have gathered, unsuitable for maiden aunts
Others may be based on ancient tales of troll and elf
All the same it resembles nothing quite so much as itself

Does it sound like this review? No, honestly, not at at all!
Since I can't write like Ibsen, I've copied McGonagall
Well perhaps a tiny bit. He can't resist a terrible rhyme
And like the Scot, he'll be remembered for a very long time.