Oyzmandias Flashcards
(19 cards)
“i met a traveller…”
“from an antique land”
“two vast…”
“and trunkless legs of stone”
“half sunk,…”
“a shattered visage lies, whose frown and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command”
“the hand that…”
“mocked them, and the heart that fed”
“my name is Ozymandias,…”
“king of kings: look on my works ye mighty and ye despair!”
“nothing beside remains. round the decay…”
“of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare”
“the lone and…”
“level sands stretch far away”
Title of Ozymandias
‘Ozy’ comes from ‘Osium’ meaning to breathe.
“mandias” comes from “mondate” meaning the rule.
This suggests power and control
Who is Ozymandias?
Ramesses II
Context of Shelley
• Wrote Ozymandias during the reign of King George III
• He was one of the romantics
• He hated the oppressive, monarchical government
“I met a traveller”
Immediately starts the poem by detaching himself from the story
“two vast and trunkless legs of stone”
evokes a sense of decay and loss of power after nature had broken down the statue
“half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whos frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command”
Negative language is used to make it clear that the poem is an attack, and not praising up of the powerful.
Repition of ‘c’ sound reflects the harsh nature of Ozymandias.
“the hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed”
implies how the king had mocked and ridiculed those below him during his reign. His heart is the source of the passions, fueling his pride and ambitions. People suffered under his reign.
“king of kings”
Religious reference, as Jesus is referred to as ‘king or kings’ and ‘lord of lords’ in the bible. Hints that he thinks of himself as God-like.
“nothing beside remains”
Demonstrates the irony, as the shortness of the sentence could illustrate how quickly history had moved on from him after he died.
“round the decay of that colossal wreck”
use of enjambment may highlight how the statue is broken apart.
emphasises the physical disintegration of the statue.
‘colossal’ evokes awe at the statue, but ‘wreck’ dismisses this as it signifies it’s eventual destruction.
“boundless and bare”
alliteration used to emphasise the emptiness
“the lone and level sands stretch far away”
tells us that the desert outlives the statue
