Ozymandias Flashcards
Outline the story of the poem.
The narrator meets a traveller who tells him about a statue of a king that he found in the desert. The narrator is proud and boasts about the fact that he has been inscribed into the statue’s base. However, the statue began to crumble and so only the ruins remain.
Pick out 3 key quotes from the poem.
- Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
- Sneer of cold command
- My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!
How is the title of the poem significant?
Ozymandias is the Greek name for an Egyptian pharaoh which suggests great importance.
How is the poem structured?
Written in sonnet form but does not follow a regular rhyme scheme which shows how easy power can be lost.
Shift in perspective after the first few lines as Shelley no longer speaks but the poem is told by the traveller.
What is the main message of the poem?
it aimed to show how easily power can be lost as Shelley disliked the monarchy and people in power.
How does the poem end?
The traveller describes the size of the desert by ‘boundless and bare’ which suggests that Ozymandias looks insignificant compared to the surroundings.
