Ozymandias-Percy Byshee Shelly Flashcards
“I met a traveller from an antique land”
Method:metaphor/imagery
-Shelly poses the poem as a story to make it clear that the narrator hasn’t even seen the statue himself,he’s only heard about it.This emphasises how unimportant Ozymandias is now
-the use of the adjective “antique” shows how his power as faded and how vague and distant the land is making it clear that Ozymandias’ achievements belong to the past
“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone”
Method:imagery/alliteration of ‘s’
-“vast and trunkless” emphasises the size and stature but also shows that the statue is incomplete,shows how his power has slowly decreased over time
-“trunkless” alludes to the theme of decay that is shown throughout the poem and supports the idea of a once powerful leader being powerless-nothing can stop the power of nature
“on the sand,Half sunk a shatter’d visage lies”
Method:imagery/personification of visage
-ironic,even a powerful human can’t control the damaging effects of time (unescapable)
-the sand could represent how power has slipped through his fingers and how things no matter how great,decay over time
-“sunk” shows the statue has depleted and could show metaphorically the desert has become his grave wiping all traces of his existance
-“shatter’d visage” presents a loss of identity.He tired to immortalise himself by building out of stone,but nature will always be more powerful”
“Sneer of cold command”
Method:alliteration
-the sculptor,even though the statue isn’t fully visible,is still able to understand the arrogance of the ruler and who he was as a person
-the verb “sneer” has unpleasant connotations showing him to be a cruel and unfair ruler and that he abused his power
-the alliterative consonance of “cold” and “command” communicates that he was cold and blunt as well as arrogant
-the oxymoron of him being contrasted in a warm climate and being described as “cold” shows how he doesn’t belong there with his cruelty and power and now getting what he deserves
-both “cold” and “command” show a representation of power.”cold”=dismissive,cruel and uncaring where “command”=condescending and overbearing power
“My name is Ozymandias,king of kings”
-his arrogance “king of kings” and how he potentially took on and challenged other rulers,it is also an Old Testament biblical reference-as the Pharaoh is setting him self up as God (above all)
-this is also the only line that departs from the iambic pentameter which draws more attention to it
-Egyptian rulers often believed that they were descendants of God,so it shows how not only he believes he is supreme but also could be a warning to the readers that even the most powerful people are victims of the relentless passage of time
-also quite ironic Shelly uses a biblical reference as he was expelled from Oxford University from writing a book about Atheism,showing the sheer power Ozymandias believed he was in (AO3)
“Look on my works,ye mighty,and despair”
-“look” is an imperative and a stressed syllable,heightens the tone of command
-“ye mighty” how he is arrogant and he challenged other rulers in his lifetime
-“and despair” patronizing as he sees everyone as worthless compared to him
-ironically during Ozymandias lifetime he was a feared and respected leader but now he is seen as a faint memory,as a romantic poet Shelly emphasises the incredible power of nature and fragility of mankind (AO3)
What is the importance of the line structure?
-a petrachan sonnet (14 lines long),which means its an irregular sonnet with a regular rhyme scheme (ABABCDCD):which takes steps away from the traditional sonnet structure which isn’t too dissimilar from his personality due to being expelled from Oxford University for writing about atheistic things (radical thinker)
-this could also show the way that human power and structures can be destroyed,and the use of iambic pentameter,but it is often disrupted,again further emphasises the ruin of his power
What is the importance of Shelly hinting on how empires never will last?
-this is at the time when the British empire is not at full force but still quite powerful,and hes talking about how empires don’t really last
-could be hinting as an anti-royalist sentiment,anti-colonialism sentiment,anti-imperialism sentiment
-shows Shelly’s bravery in talking about maybe very controversial topics
Key feelings and attitudes in the poem:
-PRIDE:the ruler was proud of what he achieved,he called on other rulers to admire what he did
-ARROGANCE:how the ruler believed that he was the most powerful ruler in the land-nobody else could compete with him
-POWER:human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time
