ozymadias Flashcards
what is ozymandias about
Report from a stranger of a statue in a desert
● Statue is falling apart and decaying
● The sculptor has made it in a way that portrays the cruelty of the king
● King’s pedestal claims he was “king of kings” – shows his arrogance
● Irony of his claims when the statue is surrounded by endless featureless desert
context on percy shelley
- radical romantic poet
-strongly antimonarchy
-athiest
-supported social justice
-wanted the end of oppression for ordinary people(inspired by french revolution)
-expelled from oxford universty for publishing athiest pamplet which he sent to religious figures
-second generation romantic
explain significance of romantic era
-focus on the subjective and the emotional,contrasted with enlightenment values.
(enlightenment, writers center work on sublime, the overwhelming power and awe of the natural world. )
-Writers would protest the present/future of mankind by returning to the past,
-rejection of institutions of power, and poetry used to spread messages and political ideas which needed to be accessible to all.
what does the decay of the statue reflect
-The poem engages in issues of power and conflict through discussion of a huge statue in the desert, which is of Ozymandias.
-the statue is the only left remaining to be destroyed.
-decay reflects how exploits which are impressive but not morally good will be criticised and forgotten about after they end.
-explores conflict between man and time and memory, as Ozymandias was largely forgotten, even though he thought his memory would last forever.
-touches on the power of art and words, as people may not have remembered Ozymandias, but part of the statue remained, as well as the words placed on the inscription.
-the message of the poem could be considered to be a reminder that power will not last forever.
main idea 1
conflict between man time and memory
-‘The lone and level sands stretch far away’
sands represent the power of the sublime
1)
far away:” where it stands so insignificant and unrecognised that only travellers know it exists. Ozymandias had tried so hard to extend and empower.His pursuits are condemned to failure when the insignificance of Egypt allows it to be dismissively deemed “far away”
-sand:The literal sand has covered over Ozymandias’ statue; the figurative “sands of time” have covered over Ozymandias’ memory
- the statue no longer has meaning or inherit value, the desert is returning back to its natural state
-sand-associated with time. uses sand to show how time can erase the power of man. This shows the reader that regardless of how powerful man becomes nature will always prevail. It also shows that everything comes from the earth and everything will return to it.
main idea 2
power of art and words
-king of kings
on the pedestal
as people may not have remembered Ozymandias, but part of the statue remained, as well as the words placed on the inscription.
-‘king of kings’
-individuals given so much power that despite their abuse of it, the population are unable to remove them because there is no alternative.
-(ties in with shelley’s anti-religion and anti-monarchy views as he criticises all power being centred on a person who derives their importance from an image – a “visage” – and perceived divine right to power.
-It is his pride that gives him a sense of entitlement to power. he views himself as the “king of kings”.
-claim seems ironic to reader when they are known due to report of a traveller.
-Ozymandias’ pride and arrogance led to his perception of himself as the “king of kings”: criticizes leaders and their ideas of themselves and ability to rule- he views himself as omnipotent.
-in bible-a monarch having other monarchs under him: such as : an earthly sovereign, used to declare god’s authority over all,denotes sovereignty and authority; the name Lord of Lords signifies majesty and power= jesus is and will be the greatest of them all
main idea 3
- delusions that occurs with power and pride
‘cold command’
criticising power.=negative semantic field surrounding this theme, including the language: wrinkled / shattered / frown / sunk / sneer. = his aim was to make the reader more receptive to ideas about corruption of power when paired with a negative tone.
-criticising Ozymandias and all he represents, including his power and pride, suggesting that those with power are deluded in their belief of the supremacy of their power.
-The statue is personified and described as sneering, cold and mocking.
-‘shattered’ = eradicated power cannot be reinstated
-‘wrinked lip’- archaic way of command
-‘cold command’ - he is emotionally unfeeling .The repetition of the harsh “c” sound helps to reflect the callous lack of compassion the king had for his subjects, and how oppressive his rule was. The sound bleeds into the reader’s perception of the king, helping to portray him as aggressive and callous, and also connotes portrays cruelty and aggression. This shows Shelley’s disapproval of military campaigns
structure of ozymandias
-The poem begins with “I met a traveller” which Instantly passes any responsibility for the opinions within the poem onto a (probably fictional) stranger. Shelley opens his poem with the detached narrative of a traveller to distance himself from the political messages of his poem
-The irregular rhyme scheme contrasts with the single stanza as the former suggests a lack of power and control of the ruler, whereas the single stanza suggests order. These contrasts could reflect how different groups of people view war and conflict as either beneficial or detrimental to society
-The poem blends Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets, and Shelley does this in order to demonstrate that all power – even the power of literary conventions – is transient and subject to evolution.
-However, the irregular rhyme scheme breaks away from the sonnet form which enables Shelley to imply how poetry and literature can defy tradition and give way to new power. He is directly demonstrating that conventions can be changed, replaced and edited
