About the poem:
‘Ozymandias’ is a sonnet
(A fourteen line poem) by P.B. Shelly. In this poem, P.B. Shelly focuses on the
uselessness of power and materialistic things in the world. It gives us a
message that time is the real ruler. No king or emperor can rule time.
Background information:
Once, P.B. Shelly
and his friend visited a museum. There they saw the statue of Ramsesse II (the
king of Egypt). The statue was headless
and trunk less. It only had legs, and the face was lying down. They both bet to
write a poem on the statue, and come up with the same name poem ‘Ozymandias’.
‘Ozy’ means air, and
‘mandias’ means ruler. Thus, Ozymandias means ruler of air, the one who rules
everything.
Summary:
Once a traveller
from an ancient land comes and tells the narrator that there in the desert, two
trunkless legs are standing. The head of the statue was half-sunk in the sand.
The expressions on the face are still visible and clear. From the expression,
one can guess that he was a tyrant. Also, the expressions are so real; one can
say that the sculptor has studied a lot about Ozymandias. On the pedestal of
the statue, there was written the following words:
I
am Ozymandias; King of Kings
Look
at my works; ye might but despair.
The poem ends with a
conclusion that nothing leaves for a long whether it is power, strength or
wealth.
Text-book Exercise:
- "The
hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed." Whose hand and heart
has the poet referred to in this line?
Answer:
The poet referred to the hands of the sculptor who made the statue of
Ozymandias. The poet refers to the heart of Ozymandias.
- "My
name is Ozymandias, king of kings:" Why does Ozymandias refer to
himself as King of Kings? What quality of the king is revealed through
this statement?
Answer:
Ozymandias is the mighty king who has defeated almost all the kings and their
empires around him. He is proud of his glory and power. So, he calls himself ‘King
of Kings’. From this we come to know that Ozymandias was a powerful but a proud
king. He is an arrogant king and contemptuous of others lesser than him.
- "Look
on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Who is Ozymandias referring to
when he speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?
Answer:
Ozymandias is referring to the kings of his contemporary era. He is also
referring to the ones who are watching this statue.
Other
kings of his era should be despair to see his endless empire and his
achievements as it wouldn’t be possible for them (as they are not as strong as
him) to be like him.
He
is referring also to the people watching his statue that they should despair as
they couldn’t be like him.
- Bring
out the irony in the poem.
Answer:
The meaning of the word ‘Ozymandias’ is ‘the ruler of the air. Ozymandias, the
king, talks about his power, his empire and tries to show other down. Also, he
gets the words written on the pedestal of his statue, ‘I am Ozymandias, King of
kings. Look at my works, ye mighty and despair’. But now when we look at the
statue and the empire around the statue, there is nothing left but the endless
sand. Even his statue, which was made so that people would remember him for a
long time, was lying broken and has mixed with the dust and sand. There lies
the irony.
- 'Nothing
beside remains.' What does the narrator mean when he says these words?
Answer:
The narrator reads the words written on the pedestal ‘Look at my works, ye
mighty and despair’. But when he sees, there is nothing left but the endless
sand. The narrator here means to say that nothing remains forever, and nobody
can defeat time. The achievements and the empires won have all turned into
sand.
- What
is your impression of Ozymandias as a king?
Answer:
Ozymandias was a great powerful king as he had defeated almost every king in
his empire. His achievements could be seen throughout the empire. But his
boastful nature, his arrogance, and his nature of showing others down make him
a weak person.
- What
message is conveyed through this poem?
Answer:
Through this poem, S.T. Coleridge wants to convey the message that time is all
powerful. No king or his power can defeat time. All the achievement, in the
end, leads to grave as nothing lives in the world forever. So, the pride and
the showcase of power are useless. The greatness of a man is known by his good
deeds.
- Imagine
that Ozymandias comes back to life and as he sees the condition of his statue,
realization dawns on him and he pens his thoughts in a diary. As Ozymandias,
make this diary entry in about 150 words. You could begin like this: I
thought I was the mightiest of all but...
Answer:
November 30, 2014
11:00 A.M.
Dear Diary
I
thought that I was the mightiest of all but I was wrong. Today, when I look at
my own statue lying half-broken in the desert, I repent on my deeds. Whatever I
did in my life was just to prove that I was strong. I was so blind in the power
that I did not even think of my subjects. I forced them to salute me and call
me next to God. But I forgot that I was mere a human being who was neither
respected by his subjects nor loved by his own people.
Looking
at my statue, I feel that, if given me one more chance, I would like to work
for my subject, and prove by my work, that I am actually a good king.
But
time never comes back. Time never waits for anyone. Time is the actual powerful
one.
Ozymandias (the loser king)
- 'Ozymandias'
and 'Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments' are on Time. Compare the two
sonnets in terms of the way in which Time is treated by the poets. Write
your answer in about 150 words.
Answer:
In
both the sonnets, ‘Ozymandias’ and ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’ time
is presented in different way by the poets. In ‘Ozymandias’, S.T. Coleridge
presents time more powerful than the most of the powerful king. On the other
hand, in ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’, Shakespeare present time as powerful
but not as powerful and long lasting as his words for his friends. In ‘Ozymandias’
it is seen that even a great king is forgotten in the course of time if his
deeds are bad. But if you love someone more than anything else in the world, as
mention in ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’, your love for that person
lives forever. In such case, one doesn’t need to make a statue to make the
memory live forever. Time can be won only by love not by hate.
Figures of speech in
Ozymandias:
Alliteration:
-
Cold
command
-
Boundless
and bare
-
Lone
and level sand
-
Remains
round
-
Stone
stand
Metaphor:
The entire poem is a
metaphor for the foolishness of a man who thinks that anyone can harness
time. Ozymandias boasted of his accomplishments, which now are nothing
but fodder for the sand and the wind.
Synecdoche:
The hand that mocked
and the heart that fed
-
Two
vast and trunkless1 legs of stone
-
Half
sunk, a shattered visage2 lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip
-
Of
that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
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