Ozymandias

• What's the structure of Ozymandias?

  A sonnet - a traditional love poem

  -> reflects his self-love, arrogance and hubristic nature
• What are the big ideas of Ozymandias?

  Pride, arrogance
• What are the big ideas of power in Ozymandias?

  The power of:

  • legacy + heritage
  • Time
  • Nature
  • pride + leadership
  • Art + creativity
• What's the context of Ozymandias?

  Based on Pharaoh Ramses 2 -> an autocratic, tyrannical figure
• What type of Poet is Shelley?

  Romantic poet
• "A shattered visage lies"

  Conveys destruction - his loss of power

  Irony - even powerful people can't control the effects of time, which reinforces the fragility of time
• "King of Kings"

  Arrogance of pride and self-worth,

  he believes he's superior, narcissist - driven by power
• "colossal wreck"

  semantic field of size - wants to be the biggest power,

  however the desert is vast and lasts longer - insignificance of the statue
• "lone level sands stretch far away"

  Alliteration - empty space surrounding the desert,

  nature is more powerful, will destroy everything,

  Ozymandias ends alone - insignificance of the statue
• What's a summary of the poem?

  • A narrator meets a traveller - tells him about a statue
  • the statue of a king of an ancient civilisation - proud and boastful
  • statue has crumbled - the remains