Ozymandias Flashcards
Who was Percy Shelley? What were his political views?
Shelley was a romantic poet who wrote Ozymandias in 1817 after hearing Italian explorer who found a statue of Ramsese II.
He was an anti-aristocrat. He wrote Ozymandias as an attack against autocrats. He was an athiest and inspired by the french revolution.
What does the name ‘Ozymandias’ mean?
It was the greek name for Ramsese II. “Ozy” means air and “mandius” means ruler.
Analyse line 1: ‘I met a traveller from an antique land’
- The story is written from the perspective of the “traveller” gives the story a more mystical, legend-like atmosphere.
- However the fact that we are gatting a second hand account from the traveller distances us from Ozymandias and undermines his power
- the phrase “antique land” shows how this is a forgotten civilisation, indirectly undermining Ozymandias
Analyse line 2 and 3:
‘Who said: two vast and trunkless legs if stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand’
- “vast” implies a grand scale and magnitude
- “trunkless” implies how it has broken appart and decayed over time
- “desert” a lifeless setting - reflects how Ozymandias’ influence has not lived on.
Analyse line 4 and 5:
‘Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command’
- the phrases “Half sunk” and “shattered visage” show how Ozymandias’ legacy is in the pitifully slow process of decaying.
- meanwhile the phrase “wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command” imply how confudent and powerful Ozymandias once was.
Analyse lines 6 and 7:
‘Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,’
- here the sculptor is praised instead of Ramsese, only the sculptors’ work survives and not Ozymandias’.
- the word “survive” implies a harsh and pitiful existance. Ironicly and somewhat tragically, in his attempt to be immortalised Ozymandias has doomed his legacy to a slow, undignified decay.
- the phrase “stamped on these lifeless things” shows that the statue is just an sad, imitation of life, Ozymandias has failed at making himself immortal.
Analyse lines 8 and 9:
‘The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:’
- “these word appear:” - words can survive while the stone breaks down. The colon makes a short pause to create suspence.
Analyse lines 10 and 11:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty and dispair’
- “My name is Ozymandias”- narcasistic need to be remembered
- “king of kings” - this self apointed title shows just how hubristic Ozymandias is viewing himself as a god.
- “look on my works”- uses the imperative, need of control.
- “and dispair” - sees himself as superior to others. Ironically none of his ‘works’ remain - shows how overconfident he was. This makes him look foolish not, powerful.
Analyse lines 12-14
‘Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colosal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’
- “nothing beside remains.” Short, simple sentance, nothing remains of Ozymandias’ legacy
- “decay” and “collosal wreck” semantic field of rotting and fading power
- “boundless and bare” repeated bilabial plosive, shows how empty everything is
- “lone and level” alliteration shows how lifeless and boring the surroundings are
- “stretch far away” implies the overwhelming scale and power of the natural world, this emphisises how little power Ozymandias ultimately had.
What form and structural features are shown in Ozymandias
- 14 lines, so it is a sonnet. Sonnets are usually used for love poems, this could reflect Ozymandias’ narcasistic love of himself
- Volta on line 9, atmosphere increases in intensity
- Doesn’t follow a regular rhyme scheme to show the broken power of Ozymandias
- Written in iambic pentameter however this is broken is some places
- the story is a second hand account, this shows how little is known about Ozymandias and how tiny his influence is now.
- Narrator focuses on the statue first but then zooms out to the desert, showing how insignificat it really was.
What feeling and attitudes are conveyed in the poem
- Pride/hubris/arrogance - Ozymandias thinks he is the greatest person to ever live equal to the Gods themselves
- Power of Man - fleeting and feable
- Power of Nature - constant and immortal
What other poems can you compare ‘Ozymandias’ to
- My Last Duchess - similar ideas to power and nature
- The Prelude - similar ideas of scale and magnitude of nature
- Exposure
- Storm on the island
