Ozymandias Flashcards
Who is the author of the poem ‘Ozymandias’?
Percy Bysshe Shelley
What is the central theme of ‘Ozymandias’?
The transience of power and the inevitable decline of all leaders and empires.
True or False: ‘Ozymandias’ is a sonnet.
True
Fill in the blank: The inscription on Ozymandias’s pedestal reads: ‘Look on my _____, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Works
What does the shattered statue in the poem symbolize?
The decay of power and the impermanence of human achievement.
In which year was ‘Ozymandias’ published?
1818
Multiple choice: What is the setting of ‘Ozymandias’?
A vast desert
What literary devices are prominently used in ‘Ozymandias’?
Imagery and irony
True or False: The poem describes a powerful king who is still revered in his time.
False
What is the tone of ‘Ozymandias’?
Skeptical and reflective
Who narrates the story in ‘Ozymandias’?
A traveler from an ancient land
Fill in the blank: Ozymandias is a representation of the Egyptian Pharaoh _____ the Great.
Ramesses
What message does Shelley convey through the fate of Ozymandias?
That all leaders and empires will eventually fall into ruin.
What type of poem is ‘Ozymandias’ specifically classified as?
A Petrarchan sonnet
What does the ‘lone and level sands stretch far away’ line imply?
The vast emptiness and desolation that follows the fall of great civilizations.
“I met a traveller from an antique land”
What are the structure points from the quotes
And analysis
Structure: Framed narrative
(Speaker - traveller - statue)
By opening with the first- person “i” who then recounts a second hand tale, Shelley creates layers of distance. This framing empahsizes how Ozymandias once- mighty voice is already fated to become a faint, meditated whisper.
“Two vast trunkless legs of stones/ Stand in the desert”
What are the structure points from the quotes
And analysis
Structure: Enjambment across line 2-3
The break between “stone” and “Stand” slows the reader, mirroring the shattered ruins dislocation. It feels as though the statues pieces have been pulled apart- its power literally “broken” by the line break.
“…half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,/ and wrinkles lip, and sneer of cold command,”
What are the structure points from the quotes
And analysis
Structure: Sibilant listing and internal caesura
The repeated “s” and the comma after “visage lies” force you too pause and catalogue each cruel feature. The effect is a harsh, whispery scrutiny - just the kind of imperious sneer the sculpted face must once have borne.
“And on the pedestal, these words appear:”
What are the structure points from the quotes
And analysis
Structure: volta marking octave- sestet shift
Line 9 introduces the sonnets turn. We move from physical description (octave) to the inscription (sestet). The colon heightens anticipation- what proof message could outlast the ruin?
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;/ Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
What are the structure points from the quotes
And analysis
Structure: Dramatic monologue within the poem and bold caesura
The inscription pause after “Kings” gives weight on the boast. yet this voice-intended to awe- echoes emptily across the desert. The sonnets closing irony is all the more stinging because Shelly frames as the rulers own proud words.
