Ozymandias

Question 1

I met a traveller from an antique land

Answer 1

-Traveller implies this story has been passed around.
-Antique suggests the place is old and steeped in
history, but also it may be out of date and old
fashioned.

Question 2

Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Answer 2

• The statue is barely standing, the rest is ruined and missing. Suggesting that it is being eaten away by time and the desert, a futile struggle to survive where nobody is around to care.
• The words “vast” and “trunkless” are a dichotomy because their size makes us perceive them as powerful, but they are broken therefore you’d see them as the opposite.

Question 3

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

Answer 3

-Broken face, it is unrecognisable, a statue to someone
and we can no longer tell who, has no purpose anymore.
- “sunk” implies the statue has been brought down to earth. The reality of what happens to human power.

Question 4

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Answer 4

-“cold command” and “sneer” suggests Ozymandias’
character as powerful and arrogant, however it is ironic that there is now nothing left of his power, but a broken statue. This is an example of Synaesthesia.
- The alliteration of the harsh c sounds “cold command” helps emphasize the idea that he was a harsh leader.
- He clearly doesn’t want to be seen in a kind light as he feels that the more people who are terrified the more power he has over everyone.

Question 5

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

Answer 5

• The art has survived longer than his power as he is no longer remembered, only commendations go towards the artist and the power he thought he’d hold over people forever was clearly fickle. The only true apparent power belongs to nature that has destroyed his memory over time. Ironically power also only lies with the artist as they’re the ones who determine the finite detail of what they look like.
• ” stamped” shows a lack of care as it’s a quick action, but also implies a sense of ownership as it suggests the idea of putting your name on something.

Question 6

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed

Answer 6

“mock” has a double meaning, one is to make a model of, but the other is to make fun of. This could denote the artist disapproval of Ramses II.
- “the heart that fed” this is ambiguous as it hints at Ramses nature, implying he is a taker and not a giver so has no respect from his people.

Question 7

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”

Answer 7

For Shelly’s audience the king of kings would have been God so liking himself to God would emphasise how wrong his views are to the audience.

Question 8

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Answer 8

• The tone, indicated by the exclamation is strong and authoritative, irony is that nobody is listening.
• The capital M used makes it seem as though he’s calling himself the one and mighty aka God, something the religious audience would be set against.
• Shelly uses despair to show how we don’t like powerful people.

Question 9

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

Answer 9

• Colossal, meaning vast or huge, is a metaphor for his ego rather than the statue.
• the alliteration “ boundless and bare” emphasises the futility of his power.

Question 10

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Answer 10

• The lone and level sands outlast the statue, juxtaposed to the power and ego of the statue.
• Sands are also iconic of time.
• the vastness of nature.

Question 11

When was it written?

Answer 11

1818

Question 12

What did the poet dislike?

Answer 12

Shelley disliked the monarchy at the time and wanted change, he did not like inherited power. He was alive during the french revolution.

Question 13

What does the title mean?

Answer 13

• Ozy comes from the greek word ozlium which means to breathe air.
• Manias is derived from the word mandate which means to rule.
• Suggests they thought he controlled everything even the air they breathed which is ironic as nature ultimately destroys any memories of him.

Question 14

Who is the poem about and why?

Answer 14

• The poem was inspired by the recent unearthing of part of a large statue of the Egyptian Pharoah, Ramesses II.
• The Egyptian Pharaohs like Ramesses believed themselves to be gods in mortal form and that their legacy would last forever.
• Tyranny- cruel and oppressive ruler.
• The reference to the stone statue is likely a direct reference to the statues and sculptures like the one which was unearthed, which the ancient Egyptians made. Ramses sent statues out to his land that was far away as a reminder of his presence and the fact that his power was so great you could not escape it.

Question 15

What does the poem look at?

Answer 15

It looks about the inevitable downfall of all rulers and tyrants, and how nothing, not even power, lasts forever.

Question 16

What is the allegory?

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Answer 16

The statue in the poem, broken and falling apart in the desert with nobody to care is an allegory of Ozymandias and of every powerful man or woman, the idea that they will also drift away until they are just another grain of sand.

Question 17

Describe two features of the structure of the poem and why its like that.

Answer 17

• The poem is a sonnet (14 lines) which is typically known as a love poem this could link to the idea that Ramses loved himself and his power. By making it a love poem it also helps to capture the omantic and exotic tone of a lost legend.
• The Rhyme scheme is irregular, perhaps symbolic of the broken statue itself, no longer perfect

Question 18

Key points conveyed…

Answer 18

• The poem is a ironic memorial to the ego of a ancient Pharaoh
• The statue is an allegory for the eventual end of power that everyone must suffer, especially the proud
• Power, like the statue is lost to the sands which in turn rep-resent time

Question 19

Name some themes in the poem.

Answer 19

• The power of humans
• The power of nature
• Pride

Question 20

Name some key quotes…

Answer 20

"a shattered visage"
"cold command"
"king of kings"
"despair"
"colossal wreck"