Ozymandias Flashcards
Who was the poet that wrote Ozymandias and what is the one key fact about him ?
Percy Shelly
He was a romantic poet
What generate of romantic was Shelly ?what where the focuses of this generation ?
2nd generation
- focused on foreign lands
- against religion and political control
What where the conventions of romanticism’s and romantics ? The big three
Embrace of the natural word and nature
Love of the supernatural
Dislike of urban life
EXTRA
- use of colloquial/ ordinary language
What are some good contextual points for the poem ? (Think the power at the time and the poems focus)
King George 3rd
- involved in lots of campaigns
- Shelly disliked the monarchical government of England at the time
Ramses II
- Egyptian
- led many battles
- he is referenced as he resembles king George 3rd so it’s like a discrete criticism
What are the themes of the poem ?
POWER
- Shelly suggest that power does not last
- those in power believe they are all powerful and are therefore deluded
How can we analyze the form of the poem ?( type, convention, why, types used,
Sonnet
- conventionally used in the genre of love poetry
- Shelly used it to create a pseudo romantic relationship with nature and to ironically criticize Ozyamndiases self love
- uses Petrachen sonnet form then switches to shakespearian which mimics the power shift and change and is symbolic of how power does not last
How is the title reflective of the theme of power ?
It can be broken down into two different route words
‘Ozy’ which is green for breath
‘Mandias’ greek for rule
The theme of power is reflected in the kings very name and heads the poem mimicking how he lead and dominated Egypt
What are all the quotes for this poem ? CTSS+S+W,KoK,BaB, Sand
‘Colloidal wreck’
‘ I met a traveller’
‘ sneer of cold command’
‘Sunk’+’shattered’+’wrinkled’
‘King of kings’
‘Boundless and bare’
‘ the lone and level sands stretch far away ‘
What is a good quote showing the futility of his efforts to control nature ? Analyze the quote
Colossal wreck
- Perfect juxtaposition to immortality
- futility of man’s strife to control what they simply cannot
Analyze the starting line
‘I met a traveller’
- the poem is a thinly veiled attack on George III and a critique of his power
- he starts the pome by distancing himself for I’m the events and critiques of the story being told
What are the three words that are good to pair together if you want to argue the poem is an attack on power?
‘ sunk’ ‘shattered’ and ‘wrinkled’ Bonus is ‘sneer’
This plethora of deeply negative words mimics the deeply negative impact those in power can have on those below them
Analyze the quote that shows him trying to control nature ?
‘Sneer of cold command’
- command suggests he is trying to control and dominate nature itself
- alliteration if the resetting the harsh C sound
- reflects the harsh nature and rule of Ozymandias and therefore those in power
Pairs with the ‘hand that mocked’
- ironic metaphor implies his arrogance
Analyze the quote that compares Ozymandias with religion ?
‘King of kings’
- Ozyamndias equates himself with the Christian religious figure of Jesus
- it’s deeply statically and is another thinly veiled attack on George III
- king is gods representative on earth so by extent Shelly critiques the monarchy
- Ramses thinks he is god like
Analyze the quote that shows Ozyamndias as having nothing ? Give the quote that pairs with this point
Boundless and bare
- alliteration if the B sound emphasizes the emptiness and dutiful of his efforts to be remembered
- ‘the line and level sands stretch far away’ the desert itself is the last focus for the reader and symbolizes that nature shall outlive the king and the statue
