ozymandias

• shelley was a radical, romantic poet, strongly anti-monarchy, a pacifist, an atheist, anti-religion and supported social justice
• supported social justice was inspired by the french revolution and his anti-religion and atheist mindset got him expelled from oxford university as he published an atheist pamphlet and delivering it to religious figures
• shelley being a second generation romantic focused on emotional, yet enlightenment values, during this time writers would center their work on beauty of nature and simplicity of the past, with an appreciation of the sublime
• the sublime is the overwhelming power and awe of the natural world and writers would protest the present/future of mankind by returning to the past
• there was a rejection of institutions of power, and poetry was used to spread messages and political ideas which needed to be accessible to all
• historical influences in the poem first reference to Ramesses II, who was an Egyptian pharaoh from 1279-1239BC, he later was defeated by 12 tribes of Israel and used the throne name 'Ozymandias' - he is the subject of the poem
• Ramesses is remembered for his tyranny and military exploits, had a large empire over Egypt and vassals, as well as being remembered for his defeat
• King George III arguably has impact over Shelley's poem written during his reign ; he had reigned longer than any king before, but outstayed his welcome as he engaged in many military conflicts and was remembers for oppression and tyranny
• this poem engages in these issues of power and conflict through the discussion of a huge statue in the desert, which is of ozymandias, however it stands almost destroyed this reflects how reigns of powerful empires are impressive but not morally good will be criticised and then forgotten
• the poem explores the conflict between man, time and memory, as Ozymandias was largely forgotten, even though he thought his reign and impact on the world would last forever
• this poem also touches on the power of art and words, as people may not have remembered Ozymandias, but part of the statue remained, as well as an inscription, overall, the message of the poem could be considered to be a reminder that power will not last forever
• ' i met a traveller from an antique land'

  'antique land' - legacy is so insignificant it is known only by travellers - Egypt is seen as an antique land (failed in trying to increase influence)
• 'stand in the desert. near them on the sand'

  'desert' - suggests a lifelessness and lack of culture
• 'half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown'

  'shatter'd visage' - the image of shattered visage created a sense of irony : a king who believed so strongly in his own power and superiority, and who tried so hard to present this image of greatness through his statue, yet he is now forgotten and destroyed by time other than the visage that had been intended to show he is unforgettable
• 'And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command'

  'wrinkled lip' - conjures the image of someone grimacing in disgust and contempt, thus displaying the king's disregard for his subjects, viewing them as inferior - this antipathy is then paired with immense power which enables him to exploit and torture the people he rules with no empathy or remorse.
• 'And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command'

  'sneer' - contemptuous/mocking smile connotes malicious cruelty and heartlessness to his subjects and how his insolence and contempt for subjects that he views as below him - presents the king's arrogance and confidence
• 'And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command'

  'cold command' - this is reflective of shelley's own anti-violence stance, as he was against all military exploits and thus also against the 'cold command' that initiate them
• 'the hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed'

  'the hand that mock'd them' - the artist's work is mocking the king - sees glory in the statue that is criticising, yet his confidence in his own supremacy means he overlooks any evidence that contradicts their grandeur and 'mocked' can also be interpreted as 'to make a model of ' as the sculptor has literally made a model of the king - perhaps it was not his intention to portray him negatively as 'heart that fed' could be his intention to please him
• 'and on the pedestal these words appear'

  'pedestal' - irony of pedestal message by idiomatic connotation presents his power as undeserved
• 'my name is Ozymandias, kings of kings'

  'kings of kings' - the claim seems ironic to the reader when they are known only via the report of a traveller and shows Ozymandias' arrogance and excessive pride which is included in order to criticise leaders, their ideas of themselves and ability to rule suggests he views himself as omnipotent or like a god
• 'look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'

  'look on my works' - the king clearly expects his empire and kingdom to survive, which is dramatic irony
• 'of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare'

  'boundless and bare' - plosive alliterative which can give the power of nature a harsh and powerful feel
• 'the lone and level sands stretch far away'

  'lone and level' - level means monotonous and featureless and can suggest sign of his legacy, lone means isolated and can suggest statue is all that remains and his cruelty is only remembrance ; these are also alliterative
• 'the lone and level sands stretch far away'

  'sands' - the literal sand has covered over Ozymandias' statue ; the figurative 'sands of time' have covered over Ozymandias' memory
• 'the lone and level sands stretch far away

  'far away' - the statue is in a 'far away' where it stands so insignificant and unrecognised that only travellers know it exists. Ozymandias' has tried so hard to extend and empower, and his pursuits are condemned to failure when the insignificance of Egypt allows it to be dismissively deemed 'far away'
• the perspective the poem is written in is first person, however the speaker is never revealed, nor assigned any identifying characteristics
• the pronoun 'I' is only used once in the poem, right at the start, which shows how little the perspective actually matters, intentionally to disconnect the speaker from shelley, as he was attempted to impart a political message through his work
• the opening begins with 'i met a traveller' which instantly passes any responsibility for the opinions within the poem onto a fictional stranger, further shelley opens his poem with the detached narrative of a traveller to distance himself from the political messages of his poem
• shelley uses Ozymandias as an allegory, a story with a hidden meaning, for King George III, this shows readers that he's willing to risk criticism that would have come with this move, this detachment means shelley is free to comment on the monarchy or religion as he wishes for the rest of the poem because the views expressed are being presented as the views of someone else
• the irregular rhyme scheme contrasts with the single stanza this suggests a lack of power and control of the ruler, whereas this contrasts with the single stanza suggests order, this could further reflect how different groups of people view war and conflict as either beneficial to society
• the poem in the form of a sonnet blends Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets, and shelley does this in order to demonstrate that all power - even the power of literacy conventions - is transient and subject to evolution
• however, the irregular rhyme scheme breaks away from the sonnet form which enables shelley to imply how poetry and literature can defy tradition and give way to new power - he is directly demonstrating that conventions can be changed, replaced and edited like leaders in history
• sonnets being traditionally love poems, and by shelley selecting to make the statue to focus of the poem, it could be argued that he is making this an object of love and respect to disguise political messages or present Ozymandias' excessive love for himself ( extreme narcissist or hubris )
• shelley uses alliteration to demonstrate the vast, never-ending power of the desert, and to contrast and belittle the limited power of man and the statue can be seen as a representation of human power
• consonance is the repetition of the harsh 'c' sound helps to reflect the callous lack of compassion the king had for his subjects, and how oppressive his rule was, also this helps the reader's perception of the king, as it portrays him as aggressive and cruelty
• the consonance also reflects shelley's own anti-violence statue, as he was against all military exploits and thus also against the 'cold commands' that initiate them - contextually Ramesses II was remembered for his military expansion of Egypt
• this poem can be seen as an allegory and shelley is using Ozymandias as a representation of King George III and all figures of power and he plays with the literal and the metaphorical to create an overwhelming sense of irony surrounding the fall of the King's influence
• the image of a 'shatter'd visage' creates a sense of irony and the poem portrays a King who believed so strongly in his own power and superiority, and who tried so hard to present this image of greatness through his statue, therefore, the visage of power that he wore during his reign was little more than a mask for the true vulnerability of his authority
• symbolism is the use of a desert setting also strips Ozymandias of his legacy and the emptiness of the desert is symbolic of how his reign was pointless and insignificant as he has been forgotten by history, instead he has been dwarfed by greater the greater forces nature and time
• sand is often associated with time, within the poem shelley uses sand to show how time can erase the power of man, and the sand literally covered over Ozymandias' statue ; the figurative 'sands of time' have covered over Ozymandias' memory - this shows the reader that regardless of how powerful man becomes nature will always prevail and also shows that everything comes from the earth and everything will return to it