The misplaced Dedication shows the liberty that Tristram takes toward the organization of his book. Instead of coming at the beginning, it comes just where and when he wants it. He mocks the concept of dedicating books to great men, underlining the usual financial motive by offering it to anyone who will pay him 50 guineas. This irreverence toward the dignified occupation of novel-writing is characteristic of Tristram, who deliberately breaks whatever rules he can think of. As he discusses the matter, of course, we learn more and more about him — just as he says we would — and we add to what we know of "the life and opinions of Tristram Shandy."
The midwife whose story triggered all this will come back into the stream of events, but since the author wants to work in the fable of Yorick the Parson's descent from Yorick the Jester (together with the punch line of the epitaph), the midwife has to wait.
The completely black pages are the first of a series of typographical oddities that sometimes amuse, sometimes put off the reader. They may be considered as personal whims of Tristram, who after all ought to be able to do as he likes with his own book; he includes his doodles and his sketches, and he claims that they are important graphic aids.
