Ozymandias Flashcards
Who wrote the poem Ozymandias?
Percy Shelley
Summary of Ozymandias
concerns the discovery of a semi-destroyed and decaying statue of Ramesses II and shows how power deteriorates
Ozymandias:
“I met a . . . ”
“I met a traveler”
“I met a traveler”
- passes on responsibility for the opinions
- detached narrative
- communicated by reported speech
Ozymandias:
“. . . wreck”
“colossal wreck”
“colossal wreck”
- belittle the limited powers of man
- representation of human power
Ozymandias:
“. . . and . . . ” & “lone and . . . ”
“boundless and bare” & “lone and level”
“boundless and bare” & “lone and level”
- alliteration
- vast powerful extent of nature
- forms are insignificant in comparison
Ozymandias:
“. . . visage” & “King of . . . ”
“shattered visage” & “King of Kings”
“shattered visage” & “King of Kings”
- sense of irony
- mask for the vulnerability of his authority
- criticism
Ozymandias:
“The . . . that . . . them”
“The hand that mocked them”
“The hand that mocked them”
- mocking the King
- glory in a statue that is criticising
What is the poem Ozymandias?
A sonnet - convention should never be accepted without a challenge his legacy is subject to evolution of art
What are the key images of Ozymandias?
- human power is transient but art will survive
- transient compared to nature and time
- warnings to institutions of power that they will not last (treatment and artist portrayal will)
What other poems link to Ozymandias?
- My last Duchess
- The prelude
- Tissue
