Ozymandias Flashcards
I met a traveller from an antique land
The noun traveller - has a sense of exoticism which emphasises how unusual and strange the land seems
Adjective antique - could suggest how ancient the land seems but also antiques are very precious and high value and once had importance but are easily broken so is symbolic of Ozymandias’ reign
Who said:
Caesura - creates a sense of excitement and intrigue as they are building up to the story
Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Vast - adjective- suggests how immense the legs are which shows how rich and powerful the kingdom once was
Trunkless - adjective- however the emphasis on what is missing suggests how even if there was a great empire once barely any of it withstood the test if time
Half sunk a shattered visage lies
Imagery - suggests how most of the works have been destroyed or lost and only a small fragment remains from its former glory, this shows how power never lasts
Adjective - shattered- suggests how what remains is completely shattered and broken which could be symbolic of the destruction of the empire
Wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Wrinkled lip - imagery suggests a cruel and condescending look which shows how he appears to be above everyone else
Cold command - alliteration creates a harsh and sudden sound which could be symbolic of his reign and his control
Well those passions read
Metaphor - suggests that these characteristics were very clear to see could also suggest that he lead with respect and that the sculptor wanted to represent that
Stamped on these lifeless things
Stamped - verb suggests how even though material things don’t last stories do because stamped suggests permanence
The hand that mocked them
Could be Ozymandias mocking those beneath him but could also be the sculptor mocking him for his cruelty
King of kings
Repetition- suggests how he thinks he was the greatest and above everyone else as it potentially has biblical references as this is often how god is referred to
Nothing besides remains
Imagery - creates a deep sense of irony because he wanted us to fear him and his power however none of this is left
Round the decay of that colossal wreck
Semantic field of destruction as the verb decay suggests a slow but inevitable loss which shows how you will always lose at some point no matter how rich or powerful you are
Boundless and bare
Plosive alliteration creates a soft and rounded sound which emphasises the lack of infrastructure or any features in the landscape which shows how little remains
Sands stretch far away
Sibilance emphasises the ongoing sand and suggests that it doesn’t seem to end which shows how the only thing that remains is his legacy
Sonnet
No regular rhyme scheme or metre
- no order just like what remains of Ozymandias’ reign
- only rhymes in the beginning and at the end so could be symbolic of the statue of which only the head and feet remains
