Power and Conflict Anthology

- Narrator meets a traveller who tells him about a statue standing in middle of dessert.

- Statue of king, ruled over past civilisation. His face is proud and he arrogntly boasts about how powerful he is in an inscription on the statue's base. 

- Statue has fallen down and crumbled away so only the ruins remain.

Themes: - PRIDE; Ruler was proud of what he'd achieved. Called on other rulers to admire what he did. 

ARROGANCE; Inscription shows ruler believed he was most powerful ruler in land. 

POWER; Human civilisations and achievements are insignificant compared to passing of time. Art has power to preserve elements of human existence. Only temporary.

Structure - Narrator builds image of statue by focusing on different parts. Poem ends by describing enormous desert; helps to sum up significance of statue. Language - Focuses on power of Ozymandias; represnting human power. Has been lost; only visible to power of art. Nature has ruined statue - showing nature and time have more power than anything else.

Narrator is describing a walk round the city of London. Says that everywhere he goes, people he meets are affeceted by misery and despair. 

- Misery seems relentless. No one can escape it - not even the young and innocent. People in power (church, monarchy and wealthy landowners) seem to be behind the problems, and do nothing to help the people in need. 

Themes; ANGER - Emotive language and repition show's narrator's anger at the situation. He mentions "every black'ning church" and "palace walls" , suggesting he's especially angry at the people in power who could do something to change things but don't. 

HOPELESSNESS -