Ozymandias Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is the meaning of lines 1-2
“ i met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said-“
The poem begins in first person but the passes any responsibilities for the opinions within the poem to a stranger .
The narrrator meets an unnamed traveller and the poem is recounted from the perspective of this stranger
What was Shelley intention with line 1-2
Shelley was anti monarchy and felt that the king at the time king George III had it stayed his welcome.
Shelley probably wanted to distance herself from the political message of the poem so he opened his pen with the detached narrative of a traveller .
What is an allegory
A story or poem that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meanings, typically a moral or political one
Shelley used ozymandias as …
An allegory for king George III. The detached narrator means that Shelley was free to comment on the monarchy as she wished because the views were being presented as someone else’s
What are the lines 2 to 5
two vast trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the dessert… Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,”
What is the translation of lines 2 to 5
- the traveller tells us about a ruined statue standing in the dessert
-the statue is of a king, Rameses II, also known as ozymandias, who ruled over a once-great Egyptian civilisation
-only the legs and the enormous face (the visage) remain
-the traveller only describes the mouth with a “frown”, “wrinkled lip” and “sneeer of cod command”
What are Shelley’s intentions with lines 2 to 5
Shelley is commenting that al that remains of this great and powerful ruler are legs and a “shattered” visage, which creates a sense of irony
This is iron is because ozymandiass power and pride were based on his image of being a great and powerful ruler but all that remains are broken parts of a statue
What does the poem potty in lines 2 to 5
A king who believed strongly in his own power and superiority and who tried to immortalise his power through the statue
What parts in lines 2 to 5 suggest cruelty of the ruler who was arrogant and how does this reflect Shelley
Frown
Wrinkled lip
Sneer of cold command
This reflects Shelley’s own anti-military and anti-monarchy stance
What are lines 6 to 8
“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.”
What is the translations of lines 6 to 8
The reader that learns of the sculptor , who “well those passions read” , meaning he could see beneath ozymandias cold commanding exterior to his passionate rage to “stamp” himself on the world
The hand that mocked them
He is implying that the sculpture knew ozymandias is true and ultimately futile nature
What way did the sculpture create the statue?
The sculptor created the statue away that betrayed the cruelty of the king
What were Shelley’s intentions with lines in lines 6 to 8
The poem presents negative views about the power used to impose will
It also comments on the arrogance and pride that can come from they type of tyrannical power in which the ruler wishes only to be known for his percieved greatness
What are lines 9-11
“And on the pedestal, these words appea:
My name is ozymandias, king of kings;
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair
Translation of lines 9-11
There is an inscription on the base of the statue, with the arrogant claim that he is “King of Kings”
The inscription invites everyone, especially his “Mighty” enemies, to look at what he has achieved as a ruler, and to know that he believes that he is all-powerful and cannot be defeated
Shelleysintention in lines 9-11
The irony here is that the statue is falling apart and decaying so that only the ruins remain
The poet is showing how power deteriorates and does not last forever:
Even great empires which seem to be eternal can fade to nothingness
Lines 12 -14
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Translation of lines 12-14
The ruins of the enormous statue lie alon in an endless featureless desert
Shelley intention in lines 12 -14
The power of the natural world is also evident in this poem
Sand and the desert are used as a metaphor for the passing of time:
They also suggest the impermanence of human constructions against the ultimate power of nature
Form of the poem ozymandias
14line sonnet which blends both Petrarchan and Shakespearean forms in order to comment on human power and pride
