Ozymandias Flashcards
Finish the quote off .
“ Two vast and …
trunkless legs of stone “
Finish off the sentence .
“ sneer of …
of cold command”
Finish of the sentence .
“The hand that mocked them and ..
the heart that fed “ .
Finish the sentence .
“King of …
Kings”.
Finish the sentence .
“Look on my works …
ye mighty, and despair!”
Finish the sentence .
“ colossal wreck …
boundless and bare”
Who is Ozymandias ?
It was the greek name for Ramses II
Who was Ramses II ?
He was a pharaoh in Egypt
What does Ozymandias mean ?
Means heir to rule and to breathe
What do the words ‘ survive ‘ and ‘ lifeless ‘ suggest on the same sentence in the poem ?
Having survive and lifeless shows that art lives on , but also shows that nature has a way of destroying it
What does the quote ‘ half sunk , a shattered visage lies ‘ show ?
Shows irony , even this God like figure could not stop the passage of time
What does ‘ stand in the desert ‘ create ?
Creates a silent atmosphere
What does the phrase ‘ cold command ‘ suggest ?
The sculptor undermines the power of Ramses . The ‘c’ sounds highlight his hubris nature .
What does ‘ nothing beside remains’ suggest ?
Its a short simple sentence and emphasises the absence of anything left of Ramses
What does ‘ antique land ‘ suggest ?
Shelley frames the poem as a story and reiterates that its old and broken
Who wrote Ozymandias ?
Shelley
What kind of poet was Shelley ?
A romantic poet
When did Shelley write Ozymandias ?
1817
Why did he write ozymandias ?
He wrote it because he heard an Italian traveller who retrieved Ramses II statue
The poem was an attack against who ?
The monarchy and king James
What does ‘king of kings suggest ?
Suggests a link to Jesus , highlights Ramses hubris nature
What does ‘boundless and bare’ show ?
The bilabial ‘b’ sounds highlights the vastness of the desert
What does ‘ sands stretch away ‘ suggest ?
The desert will survive longer than his name will live . The sibilance highlights the desert stretching away .
What are four things about form and structure from ozymandias ?
- The poem is a sonnet which shows ozymandias’s love of power
- The poem does not follow a normal rhyme scheme which highlights the broken nature of Ozymandias
- Story in second account ,further distances of undermines the power of Ozymandias
- Iambic pentameter
What are the feelings and attitudes toward the poem ?
Pride
Arrogance/hubris
Power of man
Power of time and words
What are some poems to compare to ?
My last duchess / pride and arrogance
The prelude / power of nature
Exposure
Storm on the island
What do the words ‘ frown ‘ , ‘ wrinkled lip ‘ and ‘sneer ‘ suggest ?
Suggests the cruelty and heartlessness of the ruler
What does ‘ the hand that mocked them ‘ suggest ?
Suggesting that the sculptor knew Ozymandias’s true and futile nature
Does Shelley use a Petrarchan sonnet
Yes
What is a petrarchan sonnet ?
A 14 line sonnet
In line 3 of the poem , Shelley uses caesura , what does this suggest ?
The sonnet comes to a halt to show the breaking up of the statue .
What technique is used in ‘ lone and level ‘ ?
Alliteration
What techniques are used in the phrase ‘ sand stretch far away ‘ ?
Metaphor and sibilance
Why did King James influence Shelley to write this poem ?
He engaged in military conflicts and was remembered for his oppression and tyranny .
