Ozymandias
- Created by: Gabriella
- Created on: 24-08-19 14:37
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- Ozymandias: Percy Byshee Shelley: 1818
- CONTEXT
- Shelley was a revolutionary (anarchist). Shelley wanted a reform in society.
- Shelley wanted to get rid of the government, Church and monarchy as he hated them all. He thought they were to blame for the class system in society.
- Shelley was massively critical of King George III.
- Written about a king named Rameses II
- At the time, England sent lots of explorers to exotic locations, and Shelley chose this statue to write about because people were interested in ancient figures.
- Written just after Napoleonicwars, where Napoleon was defeated.
- STRUCTURE
- Broken sonnet- this helps to show fragility of power.
- Begins with first person unknown narrator.
- Written in iambic pentameter: this helps to show authority of Ozymandias.
- Echoism in the poem shows the rise and fall of Ozymandias.
- THEMES, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES
- Power is pointless and in the end it will be lost (broken statue of Ozymandias)
- Caesura shows the crack in the statue that makes it fall- this represents the rise and fall of Rameses II
- LANGUAGE
- "King of kings"
- Allusion to Jesus: sets up a juxtaposition between Jesus and dictators.
- Dictators exploit their people, but Jesus came came to love and save them.
- Illustrates Ozymandias' corruption.
- Bibilic references
- Arrogance and power of Rameses
- Allusion to Jesus: sets up a juxtaposition between Jesus and dictators.
- "The hand that mocked them"
- Is this Ozymandias' hand or could be artists' hand that is mocking Ozymandias.
- Ambiguous personification
- Artist has power over Ozymandias: Shelley's rejection of God?; God is the ultimate artist- is he 'controlling'and therefore Shelley rejects it?
- Is this Ozymandias' hand or could be artists' hand that is mocking Ozymandias.
- "Boundlessand bare"
- Alliterate tone emphasiseRameses' insignificance in comparisonthe desert
- "Shattered visage"
- Shows how time has taken away Ozymandias' power even though he thought he would never be forgotten.
- 'Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair"
- Emphasises Ozymandias' pride and arrogance.
- Ironic because Rameses is challenging other leaders, and yet time has taken his power.
- "The heart that fed"
- Personification
- Ozymandias vs Jesus: Ozymadias'heart fed on his people and Jesus' people feed on his heart
- Ozy vs Jesus; People are sacrificed for Ozymandias, but Jesus was sacrificed for his people.
- Ozymandias sacrifices his people's freedom in order to preserve his own power, Jesus was sacrificed to give freedom to his people.
- Ozymandias sacrifices his people's freedom in order to preserve his own power, Jesus was sacrificed to give freedom to his people.
- Artists heart fed on the dictator: by exploiting him through the art; this gothic/supernatural feature was prominent in romanticism.
- "Collossal wreck"
- Written just after napoleonic war- where Napoleon was defeated: many will see this poem as an attack on dictatorship and a celebration of democracy.
- Symbolic of how Ozymandias thought his power would last forever ('wreck') and how he wanted to be remembered as all powerful ('collossal')
- "Which yet survive, stamped on those lifeless things"
- Sculpture has worked to outline the work of dictators in society.
- Perhaps Shelley wondered if his poem would outline the statue that the poem is about?
- This adds some suspense to the poem as it questions the fact that everyone has 'dictational qualities' and everyone wants to have power and for it to last,
- "Trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert"
- Personification- this shows Rameses' legacy and what he has built has eroded away and forgotten- possibly reflecting that this is what Shelley things will happen to all dictators?
- "King of kings"
- CONTEXT
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