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Poetry: Ozymandias

Poetry: Ozymandias Lore

  • Ozymandias is about a king from 1279-1239 B.
  • Ozymandias was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley
  • Ozymandias is a sonnet poem.
  • It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of The Examiner[2] of London
  • The poem was created as part of a friendly competition in which Shelley and fellow poet Horace Smith each created a poem on the subject of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II under the title of Ozymandias, the Greek name for the pharaoh

Poetry: Ozymandias Analysis

  • Shelley's "Ozymandias" is a sonnet, written in loose iambic pentameter, but with an atypical rhyme scheme.
  • Two themes of the "Ozymandias" poems are the inevitable decline of rulers and their hubris.
  • In the poem, despite Ozymandias' grandiose ambitions, the power turned out to be ephemeral.
  • The rhyme scheme reflects the interlocking stories of the poem's four narrative voices, which are its "I", the "traveller" (an exemplar of the sort of travel literature author whose works Shelley would have encountered), the statue's "architect", and the statue's subject himself. The "I met a traveller [who...]" framing of the poem is an instance of the "once upon a time" storytelling device.

Poetry: Ozymandias - 'Of that colossal wreck'

  • 'Of that colossal wreck' - The ruined statue shows how human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.
  • 'Of that colossal wreck' - The oxymoron here is used to emphasise that his work did not last and show the scale of destruction.
  • 'Of that colossal wreck' - Nothing is left and even if it is in a million pieces and a symbol of the consequences of power not his success.

Poetry: Ozymandias - 'Look on my Works, ye mighty and despair!'

  • 'Look on my Works, ye mighty and despair!' - These are the words of Ozymandias who would hope that when people see this statue around the amazing city that he built they would be in awe of his power but ironically it shows how nothing is left of his power and that human power doesn't last.
  • 'Look on my Works, ye mighty and despair!' - Secondly 'My works' refer the artwork/artist, even though it was made to be a celebration of Ozymandias, the actual words suggest that the artist should be celebrated meaning Ozymandias should be in 'despair'.

Poetry: Ozymandias - 'I met a traveller from an antique land'


Poetry: Ozymandias

Poetry: Ozymandias Lore

  • Ozymandias is about a king from 1279-1239 B.
  • Ozymandias was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley
  • Ozymandias is a sonnet poem.
  • It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of The Examiner[2] of London
  • The poem was created as part of a friendly competition in which Shelley and fellow poet Horace Smith each created a poem on the subject of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II under the title of Ozymandias, the Greek name for the pharaoh

Poetry: Ozymandias Analysis

  • Shelley's "Ozymandias" is a sonnet, written in loose iambic pentameter, but with an atypical rhyme scheme.
  • Two themes of the "Ozymandias" poems are the inevitable decline of rulers and their hubris.
  • In the poem, despite Ozymandias' grandiose ambitions, the power turned out to be ephemeral.
  • The rhyme scheme reflects the interlocking stories of the poem's four narrative voices, which are its "I", the "traveller" (an exemplar of the sort of travel literature author whose works Shelley would have encountered), the statue's "architect", and the statue's subject himself. The "I met a traveller [who...]" framing of the poem is an instance of the "once upon a time" storytelling device.

Poetry: Ozymandias - 'Of that colossal wreck'

  • 'Of that colossal wreck' - The ruined statue shows how human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.
  • 'Of that colossal wreck' - The oxymoron here is used to emphasise that his work did not last and show the scale of destruction.
  • 'Of that colossal wreck' - Nothing is left and even if it is in a million pieces and a symbol of the consequences of power not his success.

Poetry: Ozymandias - 'Look on my Works, ye mighty and despair!'

  • 'Look on my Works, ye mighty and despair!' - These are the words of Ozymandias who would hope that when people see this statue around the amazing city that he built they would be in awe of his power but ironically it shows how nothing is left of his power and that human power doesn't last.
  • 'Look on my Works, ye mighty and despair!' - Secondly 'My works' refer the artwork/artist, even though it was made to be a celebration of Ozymandias, the actual words suggest that the artist should be celebrated meaning Ozymandias should be in 'despair'.

Poetry: Ozymandias - 'I met a traveller from an antique land'