Power and Conflict, Poetry

?
  • Created by: monicam15
  • Created on: 09-03-18 16:27

Ozymandias, Structure/Form

Structure

  • Only 1 stanza
  • Caesura/pauses
  • Is a sonnet, has 14 lines 
    • Shows Ozymandias' love for himself
  • Rhyming couplets
    • (e.g "near them on the sand...sneer of cold command")

Form

  • In the first person
  • In past tense
    • Makes the poem feel like a personal memory or a myth/legend/story
1 of 4

Ozymandias, Techniques

  • Rhyming couplets
    • "...lifeless things...king of kings"
  • Personification
    • "The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed"
  • Metaphor
    • "A shattered visage lies"
  • Alliteration
    • "...cold command"
  • Caesura
    • "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay"
2 of 4

Ozymandias, Opening & Ending

"I met a traveller from an antique land"

  • Sounds like the beginning of a myth/fairytale

"The lone and level sands stretch far away"

  • The poem has built up to this point to show that Ozymandias' narcissism and selfishness did not benefit him in the long run, as he died alone.
3 of 4

Ozymandias, Quotes

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

  • Arrogant, full of pride
  • Wanted people to be impressed, but also jealous, of him
  • Irony- He thought he was most powerful but nature proved him wrong

"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay"

  • Died alone, was insignificant
  • Nature destroyed the only remain of his life- his statue had been knocked down
  • Bad weather caused decay...signifies rotting/decomposition=he was ruined

"The lone and level sands stretch far away"

  • Life continues without him: he is unnecessary
  • The sand his statue lived on were as lonely as him 

"Tell that its sculptor well those passions read"

  • The sculptor had clear intentions & knew him well.
4 of 4

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar English Literature resources:

See all English Literature resources »See all AQA Anthology resources »