Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley Flashcards
(21 cards)
when was this poem written?
1817
themes?
- power - the power Ozymandias thinks and the power of time and nature which is superior to him
- nature - the natural world has outlasted Ozymandias
- love - Ozymandias loves himself
- time - time that has taken power away from Ozymandias
- man
- religion - Ozymandias thinks he is superior to God
poet context
- lived between 1792 and 1822
- he was well-educated; he went to Eton, where he was bullied which led to him ‘retreating into his imagination’ and the University of Oxford
- was expelled from Oxford within a year for promoting atheist views
- had a troubled relationship with his parents, particularly his father, who was a member of parliament
- his parents rejected his beliefs, which included vegetarianism, political radicalism and sexual freedom
- his political views were said to be partly inspired by the French Revolution
- he had a complicated love life, and had children with two women - the second woman, Mary Shelley, wrote Frankenstein
- was friends with many other writers, including Lord Byron
- is considered to be one of the most influential Romantic poets of all time
Ozymandias context
- was also known as Rameses II of Egypt
- the Egyptian pharaoh (a God on Earth), head of the government, leader of the army
- ruled Egypt from his teens into his 90s - one of the greatest pharaohs ever
- had many statues and structures built in his honour
- part of the statue was acquired by the British museum in the 1800s, and Shelley wrote the poem in anticipation of it
what is the meaning of the poem?
- in the middle of a barren desert is a broken statue
- the statue is of Ozymandias, an Egyptian pharaoh
- Ozymandias was an unpleasant ‘sneer of cold command’ and strong leader ‘vast’
- on the statues pedestal are Ozymandias’ words, which show him to be incredibly arrogant: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings’
- despite this, ‘nothing beside remains’, showing that his power is faded, and he has been consigned to the history books
what is the mood for this poem?
- when focusing on the setting, there is a sense of desolation in this poem - ‘sands stretch far away’
- however, when the poem focuses on Ozymandias, it depicts him in a negative way, such as ‘frown’, and when his words are read there is an arrogant tone: ‘look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair’
what is the motivation for the poet to write this poem?
- known to dislike monarchs, rules, and oppression, Shelley presents Ozymandias as an arrogant fool in order to criticise those in power
- building on this, Shelley ridicules Ozymandias, and by extension, those with power more generally, by showing that ‘nothing’ of his ‘works’ is left, highlighting the idea that with time, nothing and nobody will last
title: ‘Ozymandias’
LANGUAGE:
- naming a poem after a person implies power or importance
- ‘Ozy’ comes from the Greek ‘Ozium’ which means ‘to breathe’ and ‘mandius’ comes from the Greek ‘mandate’ which means ‘to rule’
- his name suggests that it is natural for Ozymandias to rule
‘I met a traveller from an antique land Who said:’
LANGUAGE:
- ‘antique’ has connotations of being old, outdated, and fragile - it suggests that Ozymandias’ land is no longer relevant indicating he has no power
- by framing the poem as a story, a sense of distance is created between the reader and Ozymandias - this conveys a passage of time
- he is not as powerful or famous as he thought he would have been
‘vast and trunkless legs of stone’
IMAGERY:
- Ozymandias was originally powerless and sturdy, but is now weak and broken
‘shattered visage’
IMAGERY:
- the statue’s broken face suggests that no person, not even Ozymandias, has long-lasting power
- time and nature will eventually over power man
‘frown’
‘sneer’
‘mocked’
LANGUAGE:
- Ozymandias is presented in a negative way
- Shelley may have wanted to show that authority can corrupt people, perhaps inspired by his own political beliefs or family relationships
‘cold command’
STRUCTURE:
- consonance amplifies Ozymandias’ harshness
- he is arrogant and tyrannical
‘yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things’
LANGUAGE:
- the contrast between ‘survive’ and ‘lifeless’ reminds the reader that Ozymandias is dead, and is legacy almost is too
- this acts as a reminder that time will always catch up with us
‘pedestal’
LANGUAGE:
- connotations of power and authority: Ozymandias once has this
‘king of kings’
‘ye Mighty’
LANGUAGE:
- religious tone implies arrogance: Ozymandias thinks he is better than God
- this is a direct address to God and could be seen as blasphemous
‘Look’
‘Nothing beside remains’
LANGUAGE:
- the imperative ‘Look’ implies that Ozymandias is arrogant, as he is commanding God
- the juxtaposition of ‘Look’ and ‘Nothing’ reduces Ozymandias’s arrogance
- this is ironic as his statue is falling apart
‘despair!’
LANGUAGE:
- Ozymandias feels superior, further highlighting his pride and arrogance
‘Round the decay Of that colossal wreck’
IMAGERY:
- despite Ozymandias’ arrogance, his empire has crumbled
- ‘Colossus’ is the greatest statue in the world destroyed by a natural disaster - could symbolise how nature always has power over man
‘boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away’
STRUCTURE:
- the alliteration emphasises the sense of vast emptiness
- the assonance used also symbolises the expanding lengths of the desert with the elongated sounds
- the statue is so far away from civilisation to show his loss of power
form
- Petrarchan sonnet which is malapropic and ironic as a sonnet is usually about love or respect - this is a subversion of expectations
- 10th line is a clear exception to the iambic pentameter - Ozymandias is talking about himself, so perhaps this reflects his arrogance
- the atypical rhyme scheme could be Shelley acknowledging that everything fades in the end, even poetic tradition
