Ozymandias Flashcards
What type of poet is Percy Shelley?
Romantic
Ozymandias is about the remains of a statue, but what could it also be read as?
As a criticism of people or systems that become huge and believe themselves to be invincible
What is Ozymandias’ structure?
- iambic pentameter but often disrupted
- doesn’t follow regular rhyme scheme
- structure changes when the king is replaced by nature
Analyse “shattered visage”
Nature is more powerful than the king and so shatters his face - his identity which implies that he as a “greater leader” is now a forgotten identity
Ozymandias is made up of three different types of sonnet, what are these and what does it suggest?
- The Petrarchan, the Shakespearean and a new sonnet with a new rhyme scheme
- the form of sonnets give way to new sonnets, this reflects the way the power gives way to new forms of power. Nothing remains forever
The poem is using structure and form to reflect the key idea of the poem that power doesn’t last
What does, “I met a traveller” suggest
He is distancing himself from the poem he’s saying this isn’t my story. It is a thinly veiled attack on the British monarchy.
What do the adjectives ‘ sunk’, “shattered” and “frown” suggest?
The poem is an attack of the powerful and not a praise
“Cold command”
The alliterative repetition of the hard sound ‘c’ reflects the harsh nature of Ozymandias. It sounds aggressive.
“ boundless and bare”
Alliteration used to emphasise the emptiness
“The hand that mocked them”
Double meaning
1. Mockup like to create.
2. The artist is mocking Ozymandias set the artist above the pharaoh as Ozymandias didn’t notice it seems the artist is satirically attacking his subject. This could be a symbol for Shelly satirically mocking the British monarchy he is saying art and poetry outlives the powerful
- he is saying my poetry will go on but your power won’t that’s why he must distance himself from the poem
“King of Kings”
The title given to Jesus, thinks of himself as almost Godlike could be a criticism of religion as he is comparing Ozymandias to Jesus
What about the poem is ironic?
The power the statue once held is gone but the artist skill in capturing the sneer of cold command is still visible
