Ozymandias Flashcards
Form used in ozymandias and significance
Single stanza: done by shelley to show that power is transient and subject to changes
Rhyme scheme ABAB ~ ACDCEDEFEF : Irregular rhyme scheme contrasts with the single stanza. Rhyme scheme suggets a lack of power and control whereas the single stanza shows order
3rd voice in the poem: Ozymandias voice lives on in the statue (power) or he is seen to be forgotten only has 2 lines
4 sentences- represents the relevancy of Ozymandias (important then forgotten)
Structure used in Ozymandias and significance
Iambic metre breaks down at start of line 3 and 4: Iamic pentaneter broken -power of the pharaoh is broken by nature (sand of the desert)
Regular metre at end of line 4 and 5:Shows the power and control he has. His frown and sneer over everyone can speak a 1000 words or views highly of himself
‘Traveller from an antique land’ tells a story:Shows The I as the narrator and the traveller both have the same power but both are below ozymandias
‘Desert’ at the start and ‘sands’ at the end- shows his importance (relevant compared ro traveller) - nature is all powerful and begins snd ends things
Language used in Ozymandias stanza 1and significance
‘traveller ,from ‘an’ antique land’-Anomonity of the traveller and location shows the lack of importance of the Ozymandias.
Imagery of ‘sand’ - could represent an hourglass shows how Ozymandias time has ended (no longer important)
ambiguity of ‘lies’-Two meanings: Not telling the truth or Lying on the ground (Symbol of the power lying since he doesn’t have any )
‘Which yet survive’: Ozymandias’ legacy from sculptor shows the power of art and how it can never die.
‘king of kings’: Thinks highly of himself. Arrogant. Biblical reference to God.
‘Look on my works, ye mighty and despair’- ironic no one is listening . Our perspective to warn people of ‘ye mighty’ and the ‘despair’ that he has gone through. (Broken statue)
‘Collosal and ‘wreck’: Insignificance of tyrants who thought they were important
alliteration of ‘boundless and bare’, and ‘lone and level’: Highlights the insignificance and shows the stretching out of the desert
rhyme of ‘decay’ and ‘away’: highlights downfall of Ozymandias
Who created Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Comparisons Ozymandias and Tissue
Ozymandias: Misassignment of power to humans, not God
Tissue: Misassignment of power to leaders and individuals, not time/nature/art.
Both:
Shelly see loss of power as inevtiabke and natural suggesting art will prevail,whereas Dharker tries to offer solutions and a new way to treat power.
Both show a loss or undermining towards human power.
Similarities of MLD and Ozymandias
Both poems suggest overarchingly that humanity’s pride / power is unfounded.
• In both poems, the origin of pride is love for oneself and one’s power. This is expressed in Ozymandias through the form of the Sonnet, as it is a love poem to show the king’s love for himself. In MLD, the duke loves his “nine hundred year old name” and feels entitled to authority and control
Differences MLD and Ozymandias
Both poets overarchingly suggest that pride and power leads to oppression but the subjects of oppresion are different:
For MLD, the Duchess is shown as the symbol of oppression - “then all smiles stopped” - whereas in Ozymandias the statue is used as a symbol for all institutes or figures of power - “cold command” = cruel and harsh oppression.
Similarities of Ozymandias and The Prelude
• Both poems display nature as more powerful than mankind; in Ozymandias, human power is shown as intrinsically weak and transient and lost to time and nature. Meanwhile, in The Prelude, failed attempts of mankind to overpower and manipulate a force beyond its control are displayed
The theme of pride is key in both, it being the cause of the speaker’s eventual fall. They both link to Milton’s Paradise lost in this sense of the
“fall of man” and also to epic poetry in general. This links to the irony of the statue in the desert.
Differences of Ozymandias and The Prelude
Context of Ozymandias
Romantic era: Shelley focused on the subjective and emotion , which contrasted with enlightenment values. Writers would protest present/ future conventions (reject power and spread messages)
Historical influence: Ozymadias influenced from Ramesses II. His reign was tyranical
King George III: Reined during Shelley’s time . Engaged in many military conflicts. However Shelley was a pacifist
Ozymandias ideas
Critcism of power
Conflict between man and time
Power of art
Lack of significance of humans
