Ozymandias Flashcards
(18 cards)
1
Q
Who is Ozymandias by?
A
Percy Byshee Shelley
2
Q
What is the structure?(5)
A
- Sonnet
- Enjambment & caesura
- Regular rhyme scheme
- Narrative
- Volta
3
Q
What does the sonnet signify?
A
- fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter
- Typically about love
- perhaps about Ozymandias love about himself
- love for nature as nature always wins
- instead of romantic love, it becomes a love of ego and dominance
4
Q
What does the Enjambment & caesura signify?
A
- Scattered throughout the poem
- these mirror the fragmented, broken statue — physically and symbolically
- reflecting the collapse of empire and ego
5
Q
What does the regular rhyme scheme signify?
A
- Mirrors the strict rule and tight power and control
6
Q
What does the narrative signify?
A
- The story is told by a traveller, adding distance between the reader and Ozymandias
- This emphasises his insignificance — he’s not even remembered firsthand
7
Q
What does the volta signify?
A
- Shift in tone
- Reflects how power shifts from Ozymandias’ command to the dominance of nature and time
8
Q
What themes are in Ozymandias? (5)
A
- Transient nature of power
- Passage of time
- Pride
- Power of nature
- Power of humans and its abuse
9
Q
What does the theme of transient nature of power show?
A
- Emphasizes the impermanence of human achievements
- Futility of power - nothing lasts no matter how mighty
- Prioritising nature and emotion over control and reason
10
Q
What does the theme of passage of time show?
A
- Idea of time as a powerful force capable of erasing even the most enduring legacies
- Impermanence of human power
11
Q
What does the theme of pride show?
A
- Ozymandias is presented as a tyran, full of hubris
- Shelley critiques how leaders abuse power - ultimately forgotten
12
Q
How is the theme of power of nature shown?
A
- Nature has reduced a once “colossal” statue to a “wreck”
- All human achievements eventually erode, time outlasts tyranny
13
Q
How is the theme of power of humans shown?
A
- Ozymandias represents man-made power, kingship and empire
- Belief in his own immortality is proven wrong
14
Q
“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”
A
- Metaphor - statue is broken and buried symbolising lost power and forgotten legacy
- “Shattered” suggests fall from greatness
- Power is fleeting - nature and time ultimate control
15
Q
“King of Kings”
A
- Biblical allusion used ironically - Ozymandias claims divine power
- Narcissistic tone - saw himself as greater than all other rulers
- Contrast with “colossal wreck” showing emptiness of pride
16
Q
“Sneer of cold command”
A
- Alliteration - harsh ‘c’, dictatorship, reflects his cruelty
- “sneer” shows he ruled through fear, not love
17
Q
“Of that colossal wreck”
A
- Oxymoron - something once powerful is now ruined
- Unidentifiable and insignificant
- Nature has truly won - links to Shelley’s belief that art and nature survive longer than political power
18
Q
What is the context?
A
- Written in 1818 during a time of political change and revolution
- Shelley was a romantic poet, critical of monarchs and empires
