Ozymandias and London

• This is an effective comparative choice to explore the nature of political power. Both Shelley’s Ozymandias and Blake’s London show how nature will always be more powerful than humankind, and use setting to convey the nature of power and the power of nature
• Similarities:

  Topic sentence - Both poems show that, despite human achievement and progress, nature will always be more powerful than humankind
• Similarities:

  • The statue in Ozymandias is a physical symbol of the power of mankind, and the poem shows it being consumed by nature
  • Blake’s London shows the attempts of humans to control nature, and the futility of this attempt
• Similarities:

  • Shelley emphasises the exceptional power of the natural world, which links to the Romantic idea of the sublime
  • Blake writes “ near where the chartered Thames does flow ”. He  juxtaposes “ chartered ” and “ flow ” emphasising how impossible it is for humans to ultimately dominate nature
  • Despite being rigidly dominated (“ chartered ”), the Thames continues to “ flow ” naturally. It cannot be controlled
• Similarities:

  • Both poets reflect on power as something that creates a sense of  Entitlement  or arrogance, as a way to make those lacking in power suffer
  • They also show that, ultimately, power and status are meaningless in the long term, as all power is equalized by death
• Similarities:

  • Both poets appear to want to show, via their depictions of people, how power in the wrong hands can be used for evil. Therefore, both create a social commentary relating to Hierarchical power structures and their inherent unfairness
• Differences:

  
  

  Topic sentence - Where Shelley is warning against individual arrogance and pride, Blake is commenting on the state of all people who live in London, and the systems that create oppression
• Differences:

  • Via the inscription on the pedestal, Ozymandias orders his people to “ look on my work…and despair. ” 
  • Blake is commenting on the corrupt nature of politicians and organised societal structures in London, as he believes they cause great suffering to all
• Differences:

  • The imperative “ look on ” shows the king’s arrogance and the verb “ despair ” suggests that once someone has seen what he has achieved, there is no option for them but to feel lost and defeated
  • However, Blake describes the people of London as living in “ mind-forg’d  manacles ”. This suggests that the people who are suffering have created their own prisons in the minds
  • “ Manacles ” has connotations of slavery and oppression, suggesting that Blake feels that London is oppressing its residents
• Differences:

  • Blake uses repetition to reinforce the great suffering of all mankind in “ In every cry of every man… ”. “ Man ” is used as a collective noun to encompass all humanity