Ozymandias

• "The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed" Juxtaposition, tyrannical rule, they play with their people.
• "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" Imperative, sonnet form of poem showing his love of power
• "Nothing beside remains," volta (turning point), juxtaposing everything before it.
• "The lone and level sands stretch far away," personification, hyperbole
• Plethora of deeply negative language, "half sunk," "shattered visage," "frown," wrinkled lip," "sneer."
• "Boundless and bare." alliteration
• Sonnet form poem
• Based on King Rameses the second, as in the Gregorian era, there was a fascination on ancient Egypt
• Percy Bysshe Shelley held radical political views, a disapproval of the monarchy - perhaps influenced by his time in France during the French revolution
• King George the third was known for conflicts with suppressed colonies, to expand the British empire.
• Key Themes: Power is ephemeral (doesn't last forever, but art does), Power of Nature, and critique of organised religion.
• Form goes from Shakespearean to Petrarchan sonnet form, reflecting a breakdown in Ozymandias' power.
• Romantic poem, emotion over reason, and reflection on natural world, third wave romanticism set in a foreign land to set them apart