Ozymandias

Question 1

“I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said -“

Answer 1

Shelley uses a detached speaker to distance himself from the political message of his sonnet to freely comment on the monarchy through an allegory.

Question 2

“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert … Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,”

Answer 2

The ruined statue creates irony, as all that remains of the powerful ruler is broken fragments, contrasting with his arrogance and desire for immortality.

Question 3

“And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,”

Answer 3

The facial features and use of textual language portray the ruler’s cruelty and contempt for his subjects, reflecting Shelley’s anti-monarchy stance.

Question 4

“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,”

Answer 4

The poet captures the ruler’s passionate rage and desire to impose his will on the world through the symbolism of the statue.

Question 5

“The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;”

Answer 5

The use of contrasting diction (“hand”/”heart”, “fed”/”mocked”) reveals the ruler’s cruelty and true nature.

Question 6

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

Answer 6

• The arrogant inscription ironically contrasts with the statue’s decay, showing the impermanence of power.
• The quote - ‘King of Kings’ - is a biblical reference to Jesus, Ironic as Shelly was a radical aetheist and despised religion.
• Thus, reinforcing the negative connotations as the statue of Ozymandias (a man referred to as the Son of God) is decaying and breaking apart.
• Hubris, Machiavellianism - shows eternal empires fading away and power deteriorating - restablishing that irony.

Question 7

“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare”

Answer 7

The isolated ruins symbolise the temporary nature of human constructions against the ultimate power of nature.

Question 8

“The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Answer 8

The alliteration and sibilance convey the sense of endless desert sands, which represent the passing of time and the impermanence of human achievements.