Ozymandias

Question 1

Context (3)

Answer 1

• Inspired by the recent unearthing of part of a large statue of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramesses II
• Egyptian Pharaoh’s believed that they were like gods - and that their legacy would last forever
• The reference to the stone statue is a direct link to the statues and sculptures like the one which was unearthed

Question 2

Themes (4)

Answer 2

• Powerful leader in Ozymandias
• Inevitable downfall of all rulers and tyrants
• How nothing lasts forever
• Irony - pointing out that now all that remains is an arrogant boast on a ruined statue - perhaps the poet feels sorry for him or is laughing at his expense

Question 3

Allegory (hidden meaning)

Answer 3

The statue being broken and falling apart in the desert with nobody to care - symbolises that every powerful man and woman will eventually drift to just another grain of sand

Question 4

Structure (2)

Answer 4

• Written in a sonnet - to potentially joke about the rulers ego Or dimply to capture the romantic and exotic tone of a lost legend
• Iambic pentameter - the rhyme scheme is irregular, perhaps symbolic of the broken statue itself

Question 5

“Antique Land” (2)

Answer 5

• Suggests the place is old and steeped in history

* Also it may be out of date and old fashioned

Question 6

“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert” (3)

Answer 6

• statue is barely standing - the rest is ruined and missing
• Suggests that that it has been eaten away at for a long time by the desert
• Suggests this futile (pointless) struggle to survive where nobody is around to care

Question 7

“A shattered visage lies”

Answer 7

• Broken face
• It’s unrecognisable - irony
• Serves no purpose - irony

Question 8

“Sneer of cold command”

Answer 8

• suggests Ozymandias’ character as powerful and arrogant - the irony that there is nothing left - Synaesthesia
• Shows the power of humans

Question 9

“The hand that mocked them” (2)

Answer 9

• this suggests that Ozymandias was not respected and not looked up to
• “mocked” - to make fun of or to make a model of - Technique of a pun due to the double meaning

Question 10

“Ye mighty and despair” (2)

Answer 10

• Ozymandias thinks he is better than God

* Strong and authoritative tone shown through the exclamation mark - irony as nobody is listening

Question 11

“King of kings”

Answer 11

• shows Ozymandias’ arrogance because he says that about himself and he thinks he is better than everyone else

Question 12

“Colossal wreck” (2)

Answer 12

• Colossal - meaning vast or huge

* Colossal - metaphor for his ego rather than statue

Question 13

“The lone and level sands” (4)

Answer 13

• The lone and level sands have outlasted the statue
• Juxtaposed to the power and ego of the statue
• “Sand” is iconic of time
• Shows the power of nature