ozymandias

Question 1

ozymandias:
who is the statue mentioned in the poem of and who was he?

Answer 1

Ramesses II (known as Ozymandias) was one of the greatest Pharoahs in ancient Egypt. he was thought to be a good leader by some, by others a dictator.

Question 2

ozymandias:
who is the author of this poem and what were his political views

Answer 2

Percy Bysshe Shelley
Anti- monarchist and beloved in equality

Question 3

ozymandias:
in what document in 1811 were Shelley’s anti monarchist views presented?

Answer 3

his 1811 pamphlet titled Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things
which contained anti-monarchist stanzas

Question 4

ozymandias:
what does the sonnet form of the poem tell us about the poet?

Answer 4

sonnet poems were usually about love. shelley showed his revolutionary side in breaking the rules of a sonnet and instead using it to criticise monarchy.

Question 5

ozymandias:
what themes are covered in this poem

Answer 5

-power of nature
-power of humans
-negative emotions (pride)

Question 6

‘and wrinkled lip’. what language techniques are used here?

Answer 6

-consonance
-verb

Question 7

‘and wrinkled lip’. what does this whole phrase suggest about the poem

Answer 7

that Ozymadias’ words no longer have power
‘i’ sound- stammering, struggling to hold onto his power through his commands

Question 8

‘and wrinkled lip’ what does the verb wrinkled suggest about the king?

Answer 8

his views on reign are outdated
this reflects shelley’s personal anti monarchist views
or
that his statue is fading away showing eternal power of nature

Question 9

‘antique land’ what technique is being used here?

Answer 9

cyclical nature imagery

Question 10

‘antique land’ what does this suggest about the poem

Answer 10

the land may still hold the same ‘antique’ values of long ago, which shelley disagrees with, ‘antique’ - outdated

Question 11

what could ‘antique land’ reflect about the romantics

Answer 11

their interest in the ancient world but also, contrastingly, how their views differ so much

Question 12

what may be shelley’s overall message from this poem (human/natural power)

Answer 12

that nothing anyone will ever do or any human power will matter eventually, no matter how seeemingly great is was at the time, and they will eventually be forgotten and lost to the power of nature anyways.