ozymandias Flashcards
what type of word is ‘frown’ and what does it suggest
pejorative, negative word, makes him seem hostile
what does repetition of ‘and’ mean
it’s a polysyndeton, conveying a prolonged negative effect on people and the ongoing nature of his abuse
what does his ‘sneer’ show
he enjoys mocking people
what is the effect of ‘cold command’
guttural alliteration, sounds like choking, he suffocated people under his reign, abused those he has control over
what does ‘command’ connote?
sense of authority, like a dictator, believes everyone should follow his instructions, obsessed with power, megalomaniac
what does repetition of ‘my’ show
possessive pronoun, selfish and greedy
what does ‘is’ show in “is ozymandias”
present tense, his power will lest forever, ironic cause it doesn’t
what does the person of “ozymandias” suggest
third person, declares his name, narcissistic, arrogant, believes his name holds power and value
what does the repetition of “king of kings” show
he has an elevated status, like god, and is a biblical reference of jesus
what does the command “look” show
it is a command, wants people to see the empire he has built and feel inferior
what does the punctuation in ‘despair!’ emphasise
image of aggression, as if he was frightening
what does “nothing beside remains” mean
power is temporary, sudden contrast and change in tone to previous line
what writing technique is “colossal wreck” and the effect
oxymoron, colossal means huge and wreck means destroyed, emphasises how powerful he was yet how fast he lost it
what effect does “lone and level” have
alliteration, echo effect, desert is empty and his statue is not looked after, he abused his power
what does “sands stretch” show
syblance, peaceful tone, reflects how peaceful it was since he died, juxtaposition between his arrogance and demise of his empire
