Shelley Flashcards
What did Shelley say about the French Revolution
‘the master theme of the epoch in which we live’
How did Shelley come to write Ozymandias
it was the result of a sonnet competition with his friend Horace smith in 1817
What meter is Ozymandias written in and what effect does this have
Written in Iambic pentameter, gives poem a regular sound
What form does Shelley use in Ozymandias
A sonnet
Both a mixture of Petrarchan and Shakespearian sonnet
How does Shelley use both the Petrarchan and Shakespearian sonnet in Ozymandias
It is Petrarchan in that the poem is structured as a group of eight lines (octave) and a group of six lines (the sestet)
Initially Shakesperian rhyme scheme
What langauge does Shelley use to describe the dilapidated state of the statue
’ colossal wreck’
‘decay’
‘boundless and bare’
What is the single metaphor Ozymandias is devoted to
A ruined statue in a dessert wasteland
How is Ozymandias a veiled condemnation of the English government under King George III
Shelley focus on decay as the ultimate destiny of an authoritanian rule was an oblique warning that Britain could expect the same if it did not change its ways
What did Shelley think about monarchy
Abhored oppressive monarchical rule and favoured revolution to overthrow it
Why is the power of words and art a key theme in Ozymandias
The only thing that remains in the end is part of the statue and the powerful words upon its inscription
Why does Shelleys theme of the tranicince of power ironically not apply to Ozymandias
Ozymandias/Ramases II remains perhaps the most famous of Eygpitian Pharos
After thousands of years he continues to intrigue historians, archeologists and plenty of other scholars alike.
What is the setting of Ozymandias
begins with a strange encounter between the speaker and a traveler from an “antique land”
then set in Egypt
Name some Key themes of Ozymandias
Transcience
Pride
Art and Culture
Man and the natural world
What was the result of Shelley’s political commitment
Series of angry political poems comdeming the arrogance of power
What is line 8 an allusion to
The Peterloo Masscre
a people starved and stabbed in the untilled field”
vividly alliterative line - seems to mirror the sound of the troops swords taking human life in the infamous massacre
How is George III described in England in 1819
“old, mad, blind, despised, and dying.”
despised – something considered worthless;
hapless
What form is employed in England in 1819
A sonnet
first 6 lines deal with England rulers, remaining 8 with everyone else
Petrachan form disregarded by rhyme scheme
Where does the volta occur In England in 1819
end of line 12/ start of line 13 when speaks of a ‘ glorious phantom’
What is the effect of the vivid and passionate language in 1819
Shows how deeply Shelleys feelings are involved
What is the tone of 1819
bitter and distainful
What is the effects of describing the ruling classes as blood sucking leeches who are mainly paricites on the people in 1819
furious metaphor leaves no doubt about Shelleys feelings on the state of his nation
indulges in hyperbole
What is the effect of using an unconventionally structured sonnet in 1819
sonnets structure is out of joint- just as poet proclaims england to be
What is intresting about the form of Ode to the West Wind
an ode
a sonnet
each canto 14 lines suspiciously like english sonnet
form creates unity between prestigious Italian rhyme scheme and famous style of english sonnet writing
What happens in Ode to West Wind
Lyrical poem that addresses the west wind as a powerful force and asks it to scatter the poets words throughout the world.
