Ozymandias Flashcards
Ozymandias
Rameses II - criticism of undemocratic tyrants.
Context
Born in 1792, he was part of the radical anti-established generation of writers -> romantic poets. Much Shelley’s work was overtly political -> Ozymandias (poem) has its roots in the struggle for democracy and a range of nationalism across all continents.
Structure
Petrachan Sonnet:
Love poem (Romeo and Juliet) - Ozymandias’ love for himself, evoked from insecurity and delusion - use words: pompous and hubris.
Intertextuality with Romeo and Juliet
Art lasts forever - the Montagues and Capulets build a statue in light of R and J’s death in order to honour them forever - the feud will be forgotten about over the centuries, but Romeo and Juliet’s story will be remembered forever due to the power of art - the statue and (ironically the play itself, although the play is non-fiction so that won’t apply)
“I met a traveller from an antique land”
Second hand account - not everyone has seen this statue - removes the significance of the emperor - the narrator is annonymous in the poem so the insulting of the ruler and criticism of dictatorships cannot be traced back to him.
Antique = highlights how long ago and forgotten this empire is
“Half sunk and shattered visage lies”
semantic field of destruction:
power + legacy has been destroyed over time - wealth and power doesn’t last forever, and is unimportant in our transient lives.
“lies” - the visage that was meant to reflect his power, is now an indicator of his broken empire - lies dead?
“Wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command”
Cruel + harsh and arrogant - has no sense of leadership - it is in the sculptures hands to present him in this way and it may be showing that the sculptor is mocking Ozymandias by presenting him as full of himself and pompous.
VANITY PROJECT - antipathetic
“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive”
PUTS POWER IN THE SCULPTORS HANDS: ART SURVIVES
Nothing that Ozymandias has created has survived, the sculptor’s art has remained.
Romantic poet -> art is everlasting whereas political and corrupted power adds up to nothing.
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings”
“King of Kings” = biblical imagery
Mocking other rulers, saying he rules over them as well, but also insulting God himself - his arrogance increases as the poem goes on - gradual build up, almost like the rise of Ozymandias himself and the creation of his empire (before being reduced to nothing immediately after)
“Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Addressing his subjects, and perhaps even God (ye Mighty) -
imperative verbs -> Enjoys overpowering since he is insecure about his own significance.
Ozymandias clearly expects his empire and kingdom to survive which is dramatic irony - none of it has survived.
Could also be naming himself as “Mighty” which shows that he believes that he has divine-power.
Only the words on the pedestal remain, which once again shows that the only thing that lives on forever is art and literature… Illusion that Ozymandias is talking to us, and is alive, but is broken right after, showing that he is dead, along with his legacy which only live through the statue, not even memory - insignificant.
“Nothing beside remains”
Reduces it all to nothing, in a short sentence - highlights that Ozymandias’ power was also ephemeral. As the statue’s image is built in our mind and the ‘words’ of Ozymandias is spoken to the reader, the peak of his power and presence is felt through the poem, but within one short sentence it is destroyed again. Power = valueless and insignificant.
+ Remains = the ruins of the statue i.e. nothing is left behind of Ozymandias but remains of this statue - the statue outlived his legacy and empire, but even that is in remains showing how much time has passed OR, nothing beside the statue, so around it, remains - his kingdom is gone completely, the only proof of it’s existence is the statue.
The statue was built in our heads and it grew and grew, before drawing back to the damage and broken image - semantic field of destruction.
“Colossal Wreck”
-oxymoron/ juxtaposition
-to emphasise what it once was to the nothingness that remains
-his power has been diminished and stripped
-its in a bad state as no one cares about it/ him
It is huge and almost frightening, but completely broken - could be a metaphor for a corrupt government or dictatorship -> there is power but it is corrupt and broken and uneven.
“The lone and level sands stretch far away”
Monotonous and featureless - the start of the poem talks of this antique land that’s far away, then it gradually builds up the image of the statue and zooms in, before ending the poem by zooming away again - reminds us that it is only a story told by a traveller, almost like a legend that may or may not exist.
