Ozymandias Flashcards
Who wrote Ozymandias
Percy Shelley
What is Ozymandias about
narrator meets a traveller who tells him about a statue standing in the middle of a desert and is it of a king who ruled over a past civilisation, his face is proud and he arrogantly boats about how powerful he is in an inscription on the base, however the statue has fallen down and crumbled away so only the ruins remain
What is the form of Ozymandias
sonnet with a turning point (volta), it doesn’t follow a regular sonnet rhyme scheme which could reflect the way that human power and structures can be destroyed, it uses iambic pentameter but it is also often disrupted - ‘I met a traveller’ = the poem is framed as a story and it is clear that the narrator hasn’t even seen the statue but only heard about it, emphasising how unimportant Ozymandias is now
What is the structure of Ozymandias
the narrator builds up an image of the statue by focusing on different parts of it in turn, the poem ends by describing the enormous desert which helps to sum up the insignificance of the statue
What is the irony of Ozymandias
there is nothing left to show of the ruler’s arrogance boating or his great civilisation, the ruined statue can be seen as a symbol for the temporary nature of political power or human achievement, Shelley’s use of irony reflects his hatred or oppression and his belief that it is possible to overturn the social and political order, ‘shatter’d visage’ = even a powerful human cannot control the damaging effects of time, ‘the decay of that colossal wreck’ = ruined statue shows how human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time, ‘vast’ ‘trunkless’ = emphasis size and stature but also shows how it is incomplete
What is the language of power of Ozymandias
it mainly focuses on the power of Ozymandias representing human power however the power has been lost and it is only visible due the power of art, showing nature has ruined the statue and nature and time have more power than anything else, ‘survive’ ‘lifeless’ = these on the same line hint how art can outlast human power but the ruined statue shows that ultimately art cannot immortalise power, ‘boundless and bare’ = alliteration emphasises the feeling of empty space in the surrounding desert, ‘stretch far away’ = the desert is vast and survives far longer than the broken statue
What is the language of anger of Ozymandias
the tyranny of the ruler is suggests through aggressive language, ‘king of kings’ = arrogant and powerful he even challenged other rulers, ‘sneer of cold command’ = the sculptor understood the arrogance of the ruler
What are the feelings and attitudes of Ozymandias
pride - ruler was proud of what he had achieved and he called on other rulers to admire what he did, arrogance - the inscription shows that the ruler believed that he was the most powerful ruler in the land and was better than the people he ruled, power - human civilisations and achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time and art has the power to preserve elements of human existence but it is also temporary
What are the themes of Ozymandias
power of humans, power of nature, negative emotions - Pride
What language/techniques does Ozymandias have
irony, language of power, angry lanuage
