Ozymandias By Percy Shelley

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

Romantic poet - celebrated nature and imaginartion
Radical thinker -Famous for attacks on monarchy and authorities
Wrote the poem as a competition with his friend Horace Smith

Question 2

Themes and tone

Answer 2

Theme: time, power of nature, decay, power
Tone: mocking, allegorical to george 3rd

Question 3

Form and structure

Answer 3

Sonnet loosely
Tonal change l2th line to describe nature and decay
Irregular rhyme scheme
Loosely iambic pentameter
ALL THIS BRINGS DISORDER TO THE LIMITATION OF RULES THAT HUMANS TRY TO IMPOSE

Question 4

‘I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert… near them, on the sand,’ (1-3)

Answer 4

DETACHED NARRATION: separates him from the criticism
ANTIQUE ADJ CHOICE: precious, ancient
VAST ADJ CHOICE: emphasises the power ozymandias had which juxtaposes his lack of power now
CAESURA: emphasises the broken off nature of the statue

Question 5

‘Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,’ (4-5)

Answer 5

SIBILANCE: hissing mockery of shelley and the sound of sand
WRINKLED LIP, SNEER OF COLD COMMAND: shows the legacy Ozymandias is leaving behind - he is serious dictatorial and feels disgust towards his people - this is what the Sculptor chose to immortalise (the way people saw him) - shows he has the real power
HARSH C ALLITERATION: mirrors his tone that is harsh and cruel
IRONIC: Ozymandias thought he had the power by immortalising himself but the artist had the real power by immortalising him how HE wanted

Question 6

‘Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:’ (6-8)

Answer 6

STAMPED VERB CHOICE: force and power of making the statue and immortalising the legacy - onomatopoeia of the action. Ozymandias is trying to avoid the power of nature, time and decay by trying to make his power eternal
The hand that mocked is the sculptor mocking ozymandias
The heart that fed is the sculptor finally taking power back

Question 7

‘And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my Works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay’

Answer 7

IMPERATIVE LOOK: orders and emphasises his power
CAPITALISATION: emphasises importance
CAESURA: highlights the nothing that is left. The nakedness left. AND tonal shift - now is describing what is left
Ozymandias is telling anyone who thought was powerful to despair under his power - presented as futile since nature will always have more power

Question 8

‘Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’

Answer 8

SOFT ALLITERATION: emphasises the peace of nature, which is juxtaposed with the harshness of ozymandias’ rule
CHOICE IN BOUNDLESS ADJ: emphasises the infinate power of nature and its presence
STRETCH VERB CHOICE: highlights how nature will eat away at any human attempt at power - nature is the most powerful force
Any human attempt at power is short lived while the power of nature is eternal