Ozymnadious

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

• Shelley was a poet of the “Romantic period” (lates 1700s and early 1800s). Romantic poets were interested in emotion and power of nature.
• Shelley also disliked the concept of monarchy and the oppression of ordinary people
• He had been inspired by the French revolution - when the French monarchy was overthrown

Question 2

Context, Meaning and Purpose

Answer 2

• The narrator meets a traveler who tells him about a decayed structure he saw in a desert
• The statue was a long forgotten ancient King: the arrogant Ozymandias, “king of kings.”
• The poem is ironic and one big metaphor: Human power is only temporary - the statue now lays crumbled in the sand, and even the most powerful human creations cannot resist the power of nature

Question 3

Language

Answer 3

• “sneer of cold command” : the king was arrogant, this has been recognized by the sculptor, the traveler and then the narrator
• “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair” : “Look” = imperative, stressed syllable highlights commanding tone;
  ironic - he is telling other “mighty” kings to admire the size of his statue and “despair”, however they should really despair because power is only temporary
• “The lone and level sands stretch far away” : the desert is vast, lonely, and lasts far longer than a statue

Question 4

Form and Structure

Answer 4

• A sonnet (14 lines) but with an unconventional structure… the structure is normal until a turning point (a Volta) at Line 9 (…these words appear). This reflects how human structures can be destroyed or decay
• The iambic pentameter rhyme scheme is also disrupted or decayed
• First eight lines (the octave) of the sonnet: the statue is described to emphasis the insignificance of human power and pride