Ozymandias

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  • 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
      • "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?
      • "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?

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