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EVERY lesson has a reflection in the last 5 minutes. WHAT - SO WHAT - NOW WHAT?
by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
What does this statue make you think of?
Introduction
Introduction
"Ozymandias" is a sonnet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and was first published in 1818. The poem explores the fleeting nature of power and serves as a critique on the inevitable decline of even the most powerful rulers and civilizations .The poem is also about the ephemeral nature of human power. The idea behind the poem is that this “Ozymandias” was once a great monarch who ruled a mighty empire. He built this Colossus in the desert and gave it this inscription, but now he is long dead, his cities are long gone, his statue is in ruins, and he has been totally forgotten.
It is a dark, powerful message about our human frailty and insignificance. It is a poem that was written to remind us that even those who seem mightiest right now will eventually return to dust and be forgotten and there is nothing anyone can do to avert this fate.
Summary
Summary
"Ozymandias" tells the story of a traveler who encounters a vast, shattered statue in the desert. The statue once depicted the mighty Ozymandias, a powerful ruler who believed that he would be remembered forever. However, time and the forces of nature have reduced the statue to ruins. The traveler reflects on the irony of the inscription on the pedestal, which proudly declares, "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Despite the grandiosity of Ozymandias' claim, there is nothing left of his empire but sand and decay.
Critical Analysis
Critical Analysis
Ozymandias" is a highly regarded poem that highlights several key themes. One of the central themes is the assertion of the impermanence of power and the eventual downfall of even the most formidable rulers. Shelley uses vivid imagery to portray the ruins of the statue as a representation of human arrogance and the transient nature of material possessions and achievements.
The colossal statue's ironic inscription serves as a commentary on the folly of excessive pride and the ineffectiveness of power in the face of time. The once powerful Ozymandias is now forgotten and his legacy reduced to rubble. This critique of pride and power reflects Shelley's own political and philosophical views, and his skepticism towards the permanence of authority.
The poem also explores the power of art and literature to transcend time and preserve the memory of past civilisations. Although the statue may have crumbled, the poem itself immortalizes the story of Ozymandias. This emphasis on the endurance of art emphasises the importance of creativity and the ability to capture the essence of human existence.
Furthermore, the poem provides a deeper commentary on the cycles of history, suggesting that civilisations rise and fall, leaving only fragments behind. The use of the desert setting creates a sense of desolation and serves as a metaphor for the vastness of time that erodes the grandest monuments of power.
Overall, "Ozymandias" offers a profound reflection on the impermanence of power, the folly of pride, the significance of art, and the cycles of history. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its universal exploration of human nature and its ability to resonate with readers across different time periods.
Comprehension Questions (Do In Your Book)
Comprehension Questions (Do In Your Book)
1. Based on the information in the poem, who was Ozymandias?
A) a writer
B) a king
C) a sculptor
D) a traveler
2. Which words and phrases from the poem best contribute to a sense of setting?
A) boundless, bare, and lone and level sands
B) shattered, decay, and wreck
C) half sunk, lifeless things, and colossal
D) legs of stone, cold command, and despair
3. The person who created the sculpture did not think highly of Ozymandias.
What evidence from the text supports this conclusion?
A) "Round the decay/ Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare/ The lone and level sands stretch far away."
B) "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/ Stand in the desert ... Near them, on the sand,/ Half sunk, a shattered visage lies"
C) "its sculptor well those passions read/ Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, / The hand that mocked them"
D) "And on the pedestal these words appear:/ 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings"'
4. Based on the information in the poem, what was Ozymandias's kingdom probably like at the time the sculpture was created?
A) bare
B) small
C) powerful
D) happy
5. What is this poem mostly about?
A) A powerful king poses for a sculptor to create a statue of him out of stone.
B) A traveler journeys through antique lands and faraway deserts.
C) A traveler finds a vast sculpture of a king lying shattered in a bare desert.
D) A king is found dead in the bare desert by a traveler passing through.
6. Read these lines from the poem:
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed
In these lines, what does the word "survive" most nearly mean?
A) coexist
B) live
C) outlast
D) display
Based on the poem as a whole, whom does "the heart that fed" refer to?
A) the traveler
B) Ozymandias
C) the sculptor
D) the speaker
8. What words appear on the pedestal of the sculpture?
9. Based on the poem, how might Ozymandias be described? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
10. What message might the poet be trying to express with this poem? Be sure to consider where the sculpture of Ozymandias was found, and what kind of condition the sculpture was in when the traveler found it. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
11. Do you recognise anything about this poem that strikes you as Gothic?
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