Ozymandias Flashcards
1
Q
Ozymandias: Brief summary
A
Ozymandias tells the tale of a statue in the desert that is now decrepit and dilapidated but once was a statue of the great “Ozymandias”. The statue is in the middle of the barren desert, with nothing around it for miles but boasts of it’s great empire, might and power. Ozymandias’ statue serves a stark reminder to all that power is ephemeral and that all empires must fall. It criticises those who lust for power by portraying the memory of a once mighty king as now encapsulated by a broken monument.
2
Q
Ozymandias: Context (6)
A
- Shelley was a radical, Romantic poet. They believed in the power of nature to inspire but also to invoke fear. This spiritual connection was known as the sublime.
- Shelley was also anti-monarchy and a pacifist. “Ozymandias” can be seen as aimed at those in power, seeking to exposes those who desire greatness and empires by showing the fickle nature of these things.
- Shelley was also an atheist, and strongly against religion.
- Ozymandias was the Greek name for the Pharaoh Ramses II, believed to be the pharaoh of Moses’ Exodus.
- Ozymandias’ statue had just been discovered at the time of writing, making it a topical piece of work.
- King George III may be seen as being the inspiration for Ozymandias due to the excessive military conflicts and tyranny during his reign.
3
Q
“Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair” “nothing beside remains”
A
- Ozymandias communicates a sense of inevitability towards the breakdown of power, with judicious use of dramatic irony throughout the poem in order to convey this message. “Look on my works” encapsulates this sentiment as the statue is situated in a barren and featureless desert.
- The sense of irony is further reiterated in the second part of the line where it tells the “mighty” to “despair”.
- The use of the imperative verb “despair” serves to show how even after death Ozymandias still sees himself as worthy of commanding people, but also to communicate the irony that it is Ozymandias who would despair upon the realisation that his works have not withstood the test of time.
- Shelley also uses bathos (anti-climax) to criticise the fickle nature of power, shown in the lines “look on my works, ye mighty, and despair” to “nothing beside remains”. The stark contrast between the “works” of Ozymandias to the desolate desert serves to show how regardless of the magnitude of power one holds, particularly tyrannical power, it is not sempiternal.
4
Q
“shattered visage lies”
A
- Shelley also presents the irony that the king had so much pride and vanity in his appearance and “visage” that he ordered it to be encapsulated in a statue which instead captured his cruelty and indifference.
- The irony is further reiterated when we see that this “visage” of his has been broken and battered by time and nature. Thus, Shelley may be suggesting that the image of power he exuded during his reign was little more than a cover for the true vulnerability of his authority.
- This links to Shelley’s atheist and anti-monarchist views as he derides all those that rely on their power being centred on a “visage” or a divine right to power.
5
Q
“lifeless” “sneer[ing]” “cold”
A
- Ozymandias’ hubris could be seen as the reason for his eventual downfall, with the only remainder of his lust for power being the “lifeless” statues left behind after his reign.
- This description of the statue is contrasted however when the statue is personified and described as being “sneer[ing]” and “cold”.
- The personification may be suggesting that despite all of Ozymandias’ opulence (great wealth) and might, the only sentiments that survive from his reign are damaging and destructive. Shelley thusly berates (criticises) those in power for their beliefs that power would last forever.
- Shelley’s poem also contains shades of the saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely” by showing how an intense amount of power is synonymous with an intense amount of corruption - Ozymandias exhibits this.
- Shelley contrasts human emotions in Ozymandias with nature. Human notions of pride and omnipotence (all-powerful) are pale in comparison to nature’s transcendence - exacerbating this ego that he believed his tyrannical power could withstand nature, when in reality it was never destined to last.
6
Q
“boundless and bare”
A
- Shelley contrasts his portrayal of human power, particularly tyrannical power, as insignificant and temporary with his portrayal of nature’s power as endless and transcendent.
- The dichotomy between manpower and nature’s power serves to mock and ridicule the ignorantly indestructible mindset mankind possesses.
- “boundless and bare”: the usage of alliteration serves to emphasise the vast and mighty extent of nature. Whereas the human sees his power eroded and chipped away by time, nature enjoys transcendent power, serving only to show the futility of human power.
- Shelley’s setting of the poem in the desert is also significant as it is a wasteland that is culturally bankrupt and empty. This serves to show how human power pales in comparison to the power of nature and time. Alternatively, the desert setting may also be a reference to how sand is linked with time and the passage of it. The statue is literally covered up by the desert sand and Ozymandias’ memory is figuratively covered up by the sands of time.
- Nature’s everlasting power is contrasted within the poem with the fickleness and short-life of human power. The fact that the desert remains when all else beside it has fallen is indicative of this sentiment.
- “Boundless and bare” also echoes the sentiment that everything has come from the earth and as such must return to it; Ozymandias’ power has returned to the barren and endless desert from where it derived from.
7
Q
Ozymandias: Sonnet
A
- The poem is set as a sonnet, traditionally a way of writing love poems. Therefore, by making the statue the focus of the poem, Shelley could be making it an object of love and respect. This sentiment contrasts with the content of the poem, which in actuality ridicules the statue.
- The sonnet form allows Shelley to simultaneously mock Ozymandias’ lack of love and respect, but to ridicule his excessive hubris that resulted in this infatuation and love with barbaric power.
- The poem uses a blend of the Petrarchan (14 lines) and Shakespearean (irregular rhyme scheme) sonnet, perhaps as a way of showing how even old ideas, such as everlasting power, can be changed and evolved.
8
Q
Ozymandias: Iambic pentameter
A
- Each line has ten syllables
- It is used as a motif of control. Iambic pentameter is used throughout the poem in order to demonstrate the frightful regularity of the oppression by those in power on those they rule. It’s use so regularly may also suggest that there is no way to break free - they are constrained by the oppressive tyrant that rules them.
9
Q
Ozymandias: Rhyme scheme/One stanza
A
Shelley contrasts the fact that the poem is in one stanza with its irregular rhyme scheme; the irregular rhyme scheme suggests freedom and lack of oppression whereas the single stanza connotes tight control coupled with a lack of individual expression.
10
Q
Ozymandias: Enjambment
A
- Shelley uses enjambment freely throughout the poem, in lines such as “antique land/Who said” in order to contrast with the tight one stanza that the poem is structured in.
- This may be Shelley commenting on the illusion of freedom under a tyrant’s reign as all the enjambment in the poem is still constrained.
- Alternatively, it may also be Shelley commenting on the human desire to be free despite the constraints placed on them by oppressive rulers.
11
Q
Ozymandias: End stops
A
- Despite the frequent use of enjambment, suggestive of the illusion of freedom, Shelley uses end stops more frequently towards the second half of the poem: “bare.”
- The end stops could symbolise how human power is transient and semi-permanent - it is easily curtailed by nature’s omnipotence.
- The last line adheres to this idea as it creates a sense of finality with the full stop after “away”. Shelley reaffirms how the only element of certainty there is regarding power, is that of nature. The “lone and level sands” are the only elements that will eternally “stretch away”
