Ozymandias Flashcards
Who wrote ‘Ozymandias’?
Percy Bysshe Shelley
When was ‘Ozymandias’ written?
1818
Who is ‘Ozymandias’ about?
Rameses II
Why was Rameses II called ‘Ozymandias’?
name in ancient Greek sources
derived from Egyptian-language regnal name
What was Rameses II Egyptian regnal name?
Usermaatre Setepenre
What is the form of ‘Ozymandias’?
sonnet
Why is the form of ‘Ozymandias’ ironic?
sonnet ; love/respect
no love/respect in poem
What is the structure of ‘Ozymandias’ like?
framed narrative
What type of poet was Percy Bysshe Shelley?
romantic poet
What is relevant about the adjective ‘colossal’?
- undermines what it says on plinth ‘look at my satue’ ; its destroyed
- Colossus destroyed by nature like how statue of Rameses II has been
What is the name for the technique using elongated vowel sounds that is used in ‘Ozymandias’?
assonance
finish the quote : ‘I met a…
…traveller’
finish the quote : ‘from an…
…antique land’
finish the quote : ‘two vast and…
…trunkless legs of stone’
finish the quote : ‘sand in the…
…desert…’
finish the quote : ‘on the sand…
…half sunk’
finish the quote : ‘a shattered…
…visage’
finish the quote : ‘whose frown…
…and wrinkled lip’
finish the quote : ‘sneer of…
…cold command’
finish the quote : ‘its sculptor…
…well those passions read’
finish the quote : ‘which yet…
…survive’
finish the quote : ‘stamped on…
…these lifeless things’
finish the quote : ‘the hand that…
…mocked them’
finish the quote : ‘the heart that…
…fed’
finish the quote : ‘on the…
…pedestal’
finish the quote : ‘my name is…
…ozymandias’
finish the quote : ‘king of…
…kings’
What is interesting about the line ‘king of kings’?
usually refers to God
blasphemy
finish the quote : ‘look on my…
…works’
finish the quote : ‘ye…
…Mighty and despair’
finish the quote : ‘nothing beside…
…remains’
finish the quote : ‘round the…
…decay’
finish the quote : ‘that colossal…
..wreck’
finish the quote : ‘boundless and…
…bare’
finish the quote : ‘lone…
…and level sands’
finish the quote : ‘stretch…
..far away’
What does the use of assonance at the end of ‘Ozymandias’?
desert stretches for as far as eye can see
-> nature is mighty
What is the significance of the title?
alternate name
identity lost - not recognised
What type of poetry did Shelley write?
political poetry criticising authority and tyranny
What did Shelley want?
rebellion
What is Shelley commenting on in Ozymandias?
Western cultural superiority - acquisition of Egyptian artefacts
What was Shelley inspired by?
French Revolution
Give a quote from Shelley
‘man must assert is native rights, must say : we take from Monarch’s hand the granted way’
