ozymandias

• Context: famous pharaoh Ramses II, who was a warrior king and builder of temples
• Percy Bysshe Shelley was a Romantic poet, meaning they have a focus on nature and the power it holds
• ' i met a traveller'- the speaker is from a distance and is a 2nd hand account
• Poems to compare with:

  london

  my last duchess

  checking out me history
• 'trunkless legs of stone' not only does this highlights how a memory will always be there, it also shows that time has the power to stop movement. It is unable to move and stuck in a permanent state
• ' a shattered visage lies' this shows that it is easy to break which juxtaposes the strength of Ozymandias
• ' a shattered visage lies' also shows how his power is gone as his face is no more there and how time has removed his power
• 'sneer of cold command' the verb 'sneer' uses personification to show how the power is no more used by a human due to time
• 'which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things' the caesura shows the feeling of the sculptor's talents rather than talking about Ozymandias. It also shows that it has not 'survived' and lived
• 'the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed' the phrase 'mocked them' highlights how the pharaoh feels above his people having more power and control over them
• 'the pedestal these words appear' the non 'pedestal' is used as a metaphor to illustrate the sense of importance
• 'king of kings' this biblical reference highlights his claim to be God and how highly he viewed himself. It also breaks the rhyme scheme that is used throughout showing how it is broken like Ozymandias himself
• 'looks on my works' contrasts to the actual emptiness of the place
• 'nothing besides remains.' the caesura reflects his end of his reign and also shows how time is powerful and it can destroy anything
• 'decay of that colossal work' the use of identifying the big vs small shows how time can change anything powerful to be little and fragile
• 'boundless and bare' uses alliteration to show how everything has collapsed
• 'lone and level sands stretch far away' the phrase 'lone and level' also uses alliteration shows the repetitive nature of the sand. The focus on the 'sand' shows the insignificance of everything around the statue, everything around the statue is gone. It also shows his power has reduced to sand, his power was temporary but the desert is not.
• the poem shows that power does not last forever and how his power has reduced over time
• it also shows that power completely takes over a person; when it is gone nothing else remains
• it shows the conflict between power and time, also the conflict between the power of nature and the power of time
• the rhyme scheme of ABAC reflected the shattered statue and how it was easily broken by time