Ozymandias - Percy Shelley

Question 1

“sneer of cold command”

Answer 1

• harsh alliteration symbolises the cruelty of Ozymandias
• “sneer” → mocking, scorn, disgust
  mocking reinforced by “the hand that mocked”

Question 2

“The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed”

Answer 2

hand represents physical mocking and heart feeds the mocking → Ozymandias has the power to influence/control people’s lives (can make them suffer to feed his satisfaction)

Question 3

“Which yet survive”

Answer 3

• inevitability of nature → Shelley celebrated nature (Romantic)
• power is mortal

Question 4

“Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! / Nothing beside remains”

Answer 4

• juxtaposition of both lines highlights the mortality of human power → reinforcing the power of nature as a force
• capitalisation of “Mighty” is almost blasphemous
• hubris → fatal pride

Question 5

“king of kings”

Answer 5

• adds to idea of blasphemy in “Mighty”
• presents him as a sort of god

Question 6

“The lone and level sands stretch far away”

Answer 6

• futility of power
• redundancy of the statue → statue is an example of hubris

Question 7

Context

Answer 7

• Shelley was a romantic → celebrated nature
• against the monarchy