Ozymandias

Question 1

Point 1 - Ozymandias was a powerful ruler

Answer 1

• ‘Vast and trunkless legs of stone’ - creates a grand sense of power
• ‘My name is Ozymandias, King of kings’ - He views himself as the most powerful ruler there is and ever will be
• ‘Look on my works’ - suggesting there once was a great city
• ‘Ye mighty and despair’ - showing that other powerful ruler would be jealous of him

Question 2

Point 2 - Ozymandias was a frightening ruler

Answer 2

• ‘Frown’, ‘wrinkled lip’ - showing he was unpleasant
• ‘Sneer of cold command’ - This shows that he was a harsh and unpleasant ruler
• ‘The hand that mocked them’ - He has a sense of superiority

Question 3

Point 3 - Nature overcame his power and his hubris

Answer 3

-‘Nothing besides remains’ - suggesting nature has destroyed everything
- ‘Of that colossal wreck’ - suggesting the sublime has destroyed everything Ozymandias created
- ‘Half sunk, a scattered visage lies’ - sense of destruction
- ‘Level sands stretch far away’ - nature is more powerful that rulers

Question 4

Context

Answer 4

• Shelley was a romantic poet meaning they valued nature and believed in it’s power over humans
• This poem explores ideas surrounding the hubris of kings believing they have power over the sublime
• Shelley had radical political views and believed society was deeply unfair and allowed those in power to enslave people
• Ozymandias is about the Pharoah Ramesses the second

Question 5

Techniques

Answer 5

End-stopping to show change in tone, Zooms out to show the bigger picture, It is told like a story