Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Flashcards
The poem in a nutshell….
The narrator of Shelley’s poem says he met a traveller from an “antique” (ancient) land and then tells us the story the traveller told him. The man had seen the remains of a huge statue in the desert. There were two enormous legs without a trunk and next to them lay a
damaged “visage” (face). At the foot of the statue were words which reflected the arrogance and pride of Ozymandias. Those words seem very hollow now as the magnificent statue is destroyed and none of the pharaoh’s works have lasted.
Context
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) is one of the most famous poets in all of English literature. He was one of
a group of poets who became known as The Romantics. He came from a wealthy family, but was expelled
from university for writing about atheism (not believing in God) which led to him to fall out with his father
who disinherited him.
Shelley was well known as a ‘radical’ during his lifetime and some people think Ozymandias reflects this side
of his character. Although it is about the remains of a statue of Ozymandias (another name for the Egyptian
pharaoh Rameses II) it can be read as a criticism of people or systems that become huge and believe
themselves to be invincible.
‘king of kings’
The repetition of ‘kings’ shows how arrogant Ozymandias was, yet when compared to the crumbling ruins of his statue, the poem undermines him and shows that he did not last forever as he thought he would
‘boundless and bare / The lone and level sands
stretch far away.’
Alliteration is used three times in this quote, drawing
attention to the words that show the ruin and destruction of time, and how even the mightiest of civilisations will eventually be forgotten and decay into dust.
Nothing beside remains.’
The caesura highlights to the reader how Ozymandias is no longer known and feared, despite his arrogance. The clear and blunt language perhaps also reveals how the narrator is unsympathetic towards the now long-gone ruler.
Aspects of Power or Conflict
Even the mightiest will fall:
Ozymandias thought his works would last forever and would be
above everyone else’s. Not true. Nothing is left intact and his own statue is in ruins.
Aspects of Power or Conflict
You can’t beat time.
Even a king dies and so will all the things he has built.
Aspects of Power or Conflict
Pride comes before a fall.
Ozymandias’ boasts about his own greatness seem very hollow now.
Aspects of Power or Conflict
The power of art and words.
The only thing that does last is part of the statue and the
powerful words on the inscription
Poems that can be linked
My Last Duchess
Tissue
