🗿 ozymandias

Question 1

Who is the poet of ozymandias?

Answer 1

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Question 2

Summary of Ozymandias

Answer 2

A narrator meets a traveler from an antique land and sees a statue of a king but it is destroyed and only two vast legs of stone remain

Question 3

5 key quotes in Ozymandias

Answer 3

1) ‘stamped on these lifeless things’
- stamped: thinks he’s the most powerful and lowers others status
- lifeless: Egyptians considered that the Pharoah was like God. But Ozymandias did die, meaning he is not God-like.

2) ‘The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed’
- The might and power of the king cannot last long but the artists’ skill of capturing the sneer is still visible
- mocked: double meaning. the create and make or the artist is mocking Ozymandias ridiculing him and satirically attacking his subject

3) ‘‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:’’
- king of kings: A title given to Jesus (Lord of Lords). He thinks himself as God-like.
- Only 11-syllable line. Thinks he is so important

4) ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ / ‘Nothing beside remains.’
- works: Irony. His works were all gone and no one knows of them.
- Mighty: Capitalised. Everyone was afraid of him
- Juxtaposition. Short sentences. Finally, death, and decay

5) ‘The lone and level sands stretch far away.’
- The desert outlines the statue
- He thought that he was all-powerful and amazing but actually nature outlives him

Question 4

Context for Ozymandias

Answer 4

RAMESSES
- Egyptian pharaoh
- Involved in Moses’ exodus
- Was later defeated by 12 tribes of Israel and used the throne name ‘Ozymandias’
- His statue was recently discovered at Shelley’s time of writing
- Ramesses is remembered for his tyranny and military exploits

KING GEORGE III
- Poem written during his reign
- Engaged in many military conflicts and was remembered for oppression and tyranny

Question 5

Form and structure for Ozymandias

Answer 5

• Rhyme scheme is irregular: suggests lack of power and control of the ruler
• Sonnet form: Love poems -> the statue is his object of love and respect. may be used to disguise political messages while still focusing on the power of nature

Question 6

Key themes in Ozymandias

Answer 6

• Human power is transient but art will survive
• A warning to all institutions of power that they will not last forever, but their treatment of others and how artists portray them will
• Reflects the oppression of powerful leaders and the transcience of mankind’s power

Question 7

Poems to compare with Ozymandias

Answer 7

MY LAST DUCHESS
- S: Loss of power, the origin of pride is love for oneself and one’s power
- D: Subjects of oppression are diff

THE PRELUDE
- S: Nature more powerful than mankind, human power is intrinsically weak, pride
- D: Ozy power is conveyed through the symbolism of the desert and time, Prelude is the overwhelming power of nature leads to the speaker’s loss of eloquence and how he becomes unable to define his world

TISSUE
- S: Both show a loss or undermining towards human power
- D: Ozy sees loss of power as inevitable and natural, suggesting art with prevail, but Tissue tries to offer solutions and a new way to treat power