Ozymandias: Quote Analysis
- Created by: DylanMorris1
- Created on: 16-01-18 15:47
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- Ozymandias: Quote Analysis
- "colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away."
- metaphor: "colossal wreck"
- The phrase is not only a reference to the forgotten statue, it is also a metaphor for Ozymandias' ego.
- alliteration: "boundless and bare"
- Used to emphasise how forgotten the statue is.
- alliteration: "lone and level"
- Used to emphasise how not even a great King can outlast the sands of time.
- sibilance: "sands stretch"
- Sands are iconic of time which suggests that the writer was trying to suggest that that nothing can outlast time.
- Used to emphasise how not even a great King can outlast the sands of time.
- Sands are iconic of time which suggests that the writer was trying to suggest that that nothing can outlast time.
- metaphor: "colossal wreck"
- "vast and trunkless legs of stone ... a shattered visage lies"
- "vast and trunkless"
- The statue is barely standing - suggests that it is being eaten by the desert and time.
- "shattered visage"
- Suggests that the statue is no longer recognisable, which suggests it no longer has a purpose.
- "vast and trunkless"
- "cold command ... 'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'"
- alliteration: "cold command"
- Suggests Ozymandias was powerful and arrogant which is ironic because nothing is left.
- tone: exclamatory sentence
- The tone is strong and authorative - ironic because nobody is listening.
- alliteration: "cold command"
- Themes and Context
- One of the main themes of the poem is irony. The writer suggests throughout how not even the memory of a powerful ruler can outlast time.
- Inspired by the recent unearthing of Ramesses II (an Egyptian Pharaoh).
- Egyptian Pharaohs saw themselves as Gods in mortal form.
- The reference to the stone statue in the poem is likely to be a direct reference to the recently unearthed statue.
- The reference to the stone statue in the poem is likely to be a direct reference to the recently unearthed statue.
- Egyptian Pharaohs saw themselves as Gods in mortal form.
- "colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away."
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