Ozymandias! Flashcards
Context of Ozymandias
Inspired by a large statue of the Egyptian Pharaohs. They believed themselves to be God in mortal form and their legacy would last forever
Themes of Ozymandias
Next card: Quotes
Ozymandias as a powerful ruler, who see himself as ‘king of kings’, but his power won’t last forever
Analyse word in Bold
“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone, stand in the dessert”
- vast and trunkless (juxtaposition)
- vast (adjective) = statue is impressive
- trunkless (adjective) =statue is incomplete
“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone, stand in the desert…”
The Technique
Enjambement to suggest the statue is marooned in the middle of nowhere
“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”
sunk(verb) =verb of weaknesses
“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”
shattered (violent verb) = destruction
“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”
lies (verb) =passivity and weakness
“Look on my works, ye mighty and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay”
Look(imperative verb) = to suggest the arrogance of king
“Look on my works, ye mighty and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay”
Nothing beside remains (caesura) = emptiness of Ozymandias boastfulness
Structure of it
Written in a sonnet with loose iambic pentameter. Rhyme Scheme is irregular, perhaps symbolic of the broken statue itself not perfect
3 Quotations!
- Two vast and trunkless legs of stone, stand in the dessert
- “Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”
- “Look on my works, ye mighty and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay”
