Ozymandias

Question 1

“Shatterd visage”

Answer 1

Even a powerful human can’t control the damaging effects of time

Question 2

The form of ozymandias

Answer 2

Petrarchan sonnet because Ozymandias loves himself

Question 3

“King of kings”

Answer 3

Biblical reference to Timothy 6:15 so criticising the church
Power of the church will inevitably crumble just like the statue of Ozymandias

Question 4

“Look on my works, ye mighty and despair”

Answer 4

Ironic as Ozymandias tells others to despair his accomplishment expecting the statue to be immortal, Shelley uses this to show how even the greatest human Achievemnts are eroded by nature and time, especially tyrannical power

Question 5

“Boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away”

Answer 5

Alliteration of B shows how empty the surroundings of the Statue is

Question 6

What does the setting of ‘Ozymandias’ suggest?

Answer 6

An absence of life and vitality

This reflects the theme of decay and the passage of time.

Question 7

What dual meaning can the word ‘mock’ have in the context of the poem?

Answer 7

To ridicule or to create a likeness of something

This suggests the sculptor’s intention may have been to satirize Ozymandias.

Question 8

How does having a stressed syllable at the start of a line affect the poem’s tone?

Answer 8

It heightens Ozymandias’s tone of command.

Question 9

What does the ruined statue signify in relation to human achievements?

Answer 9

Human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.

Question 10

How does Shelley frame the poem to emphasize Ozymandias’s unimportance?

Answer 10

The narrator hasn’t seen the statue himself, only heard about it.

Question 11

What is the significance of the phrase ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone’?

Answer 11

It suggests the statue’s incomplete nature and the vast emptiness around it.

Question 12

What literary device is used in the line ‘The lone and level sands stretch far away’?

Answer 12

Alliteration

This emphasizes the feeling of empty space in the surrounding desert.

Question 13

What does the juxtaposition of ‘survive’ and ‘lifeless’ imply?

Answer 13

Art can outlast human power, but ultimately cannot immortalize it.

Question 14

What is ironic about Ozymandias’s challenge to other rulers?

Answer 14

He tells them to ‘despair’ at his greatness, but their power is also temporary.

Question 15

What does the vast desert symbolize in relation to Ozymandias?

Answer 15

The desert’s longevity emphasizes the insignificance of Ozymandias and his statue.

Question 16

What movement was Percy Bysshe Shelley associated with?

Answer 16

Romanticism

This movement emphasized emotion over reason and the power of nature.

Question 17

In what year was ‘Ozymandias’ published?

Answer 17

1818.

Question 18

Fill in the blank: The narrator meets a ______ from an antique land.

Answer 18

traveller.

Question 19

Fill in the blank: The statue is described as having a shatter’d ______.

Answer 19

visage.

Question 20

What key theme does the poem ‘Ozymandias’ convey regarding power?

Answer 20

The temporary nature of power.

Question 21

What does the phrase ‘king of kings’ in the poem suggest?

Answer 21

Ozymandias’s arrogance and self-importance.

Question 22

True or False: The poem suggests that human creations can withstand the test of time.

Answer 22

False.