Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley

Question 1

“Ozymandias”

Answer 1

Naming poem after a person implies power or importance.
‘Ozy’ = to breathe
‘Mandias’ = to rule
Suggests that it is natural for Ozymandias to rule.

Question 2

“I met a traveller from an antique land”

Answer 2

‘Antique’ has connotations of being old, outdated and fragile. It suggests that Ozymandias’ land is no longer relevant , indicating he has no power.

Question 3

The “frown” and “wrinkled”, the “sneer of cold command”

Answer 3

Suggests that the leader’s proud, arrogant
and stern face is still “stamped” on the broken stone, even though he and the sculptor are both long dead.

Question 4

“king of kings”
“ye mighty”

Answer 4

Religious tone implies arrogance: Ozymandias thinks he is better than God.

Question 5

“Round the decay of that colossal wreck”

Answer 5

Despite Ozymandias’ arrogance, his empire has crumbled.

Question 6

“lone and level sands stretch far away”

Answer 6

Suggests how the broken statue is a monument to man’s hubris. The poem is a statement about insignificance of human beings to the passage of time.

Question 7

Structure

Answer 7

The atypical rhyme scheme could suggest everything fades in the end - even poetic tradition.