Ozymandias

Question 1

What is the
poem
about ?

Answer 1

The speaker meets an unknown ‘traveller’ who has journeyed from a land far away and tells the speaker his story. On his travels he came across a ruined and broken statue in the desert. The statue was once a huge monument to Ozymandias (Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses Il) who was a tyrannical and harsh ruler. The traveller implies that Ozymandias has the statue made of himself and the sculptor made it deliberately look cold and sneering. The traveller tells the speaker that, as well as there being not much left of the statue, there is also now nothing left surrounding it. The statue now stands alone as the ‘sands stretch far away.’

Question 2

When was it published ?

Answer 2

1818

Question 3

What is the structure of ozymandias ?

Answer 3

Sonnet form to replicate how much he loves himself :

However it mixes the two types
of
sonnets therefore symbolising the broken nature of the statue and Ozymandias’ rule

The majority of the poem is through the voice of the ‘traveller’. As it has no stanzas it is like a long story being told by travellers.

Shelly was inspired after the
announcement of the British Museum’s acquisition of a large
fragment of a statue of Ramesses II

Question 4

What is the context ?

Answer 4

Ozymandias is a Greek name for the Egyptian pharaoh
Ramesses II.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a Romantic poet and
wrote a lot about the power of nature.

The majority of the poem is through the voice of the ‘traveller’. As it has no stanzas it is like a long story being told by travellers.

Shelly was inspired after the
announcement of the British Museum’s acquisition of a large
fragment of a statue of Ramesses

Question 5

What are the possible links and themes ?

Answer 5

Power : Hawk roosting and London

Nature and Time : Mametz wood and To autum

Question 6

• The “frown” and “wrinkled”, the “sneer of cold command” suggests that the leader’sproud, arrogant and stern face is still “stamped” on the broken stone, even though he and the sculptor are both long
• The king’s proud boast, “Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!” has been ironically disproved.
• as theen eure to dus” yehe oner of histora n tisha ve crumbled, hisciation sgone and
• Final words - “The lone and level sands stretch far away,” suggests how the broken statue is a nonument to man’s hubris. The poem is a statement about insignificance of human beings to the passage of time.

Question 8

What does it mean when it says that the land is “antique”
?

Answer 8

That the land the “traveller” visited is rich in history. The adjective antique also shows that the even happened a long time ago yet the art is so significant it is still a memory today