Ozymandias Flashcards
Ozymandias - I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Opening frames this as a story. Distance between us and Ozy. Connotations of old and fragile, “antique”. Land is irrelevant, was strong.
Ozymandias - Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things
Juxtaposition of life and death remind us Ozy is dead and his legacy is almost.
Ozymandias - ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my words, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Ozy thinks he’s above God. This quote contains connotations of power and authority. Imperative verb, commanding God. Capital M in “Mighty” is a reference to God. He feels superior and is arrogant.
Ozymandias - Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
“Colossal wreck” has a double meaning. His land used to be large and second is the wreck is massive. Triple alteration (b, l, s) emphasise emptiness.
