Ozymandias Flashcards
What is the main theme of the poem? (Ozymandias)
This poem is rom the perspective of the poet recounting the story that he was told by a traveller about an old and broken statue in the desert that once depicted the Egyptian leader, Ramesses the Great, who was also known as Ozymandias
Paragraph 1? (Ozymandias)
Percy Bysshe Shelley shows the power that Ozymandias once possessed using images of his harsh rule
Quotes for paragraph 1? (Ozymandias)
‘sneer of cold command’
‘the hand that mocked them’
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
‘sneer of cold command’
harsh alliteration (cacophonic?) emphasises his harshness and cruelty as a leader
‘the hand that mocked them’
mocked –> double meaning: the artist’s hand copying and Ozymandias making fun of people
Creates a conflict between the power of Ozymandias and the power of art. The art is what lasted (as we’ll see in paragraph 2 about loss of power)
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
‘look’ –> imperative shows his power to command
Breaks the iambic pentameter which shows his power to disrupt
Paragraph 2? (Ozymandias)
Shelley contrasts these images of power with interspersed references to his loss of power over time.
Quotes for paragraph 2? (Ozymandias)
‘half sunk, a shattered visage lies’
‘nothing beside remains.’
‘stamped on these lifeless things’
‘half sunk, a shattered visage lies’
caesura breaks the line to show the decay of structure (and hierarchy?)
‘shattered visage’ –> the visage is his legacy but now it’s shattered and useless
‘nothing beside remains.’
Marks the volta in the poem
Follows the hyperbolic and powerful speech of Ozymandias, undercutting his power and showing that it didn’t last
The full stop (caesura) forces a pause which leaves the reader to think about the decay. Hits harder.
‘stamped on these lifeless things’
‘lifeless things’ –> just dead things that mean nothing anymore. the only thing that actually ended up meaning anything was the ‘passions read which yet survive’ which are the art
Paragraph 3? (Ozymandias)
Shelley then tells us that power has now been given to the dessert and the artist, once again undermining the power of Ozymandias
Quotes for paragraph 3? (Ozymandias)
‘boundless and bare’
‘its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive’
‘the lone and level sands stretch far away’
‘boundless and bare’
alliteration emphasises the sand’s nature of being unstoppable
shows that power goes to the desert which is now ‘boundless’
this section slows down the line, drawing extra emphasis to the power of the desert
‘its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive’
literally states that the only thing that survives is the talent of the artist/sculptor even when Ozymandias’s power has been undermined by the passing of time
‘the lone and level sands stretch far away’
‘lone and level’ –> liquid alliteration draws attention, the levelling out represents the fact that the power has been taken away from Ozymandias and the hierarchy has been collapsed by time and the desert
‘sands’ could also represent the sand in a timer, showing the power of time
Conclusion? (Ozymandias)
