![]() ![]() ![]() The inscription on the pedestal, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”, is a testament to the king’s hubris and overestimation of his own power. The statue of Ozymandias serves as a powerful symbol in the poem, representing the transience of power and the inevitability of decay. In addition, the poem reflects the disillusionment many felt during the aftermath of the French Revolution and the failure of political ideologies to bring about lasting change. The poem was inspired by the ancient ruins Shelley encountered during his travels in Egypt, which symbolized the fall of great empires and the fleeting nature of human achievement. Shelley was a Romantic poet who wrote during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe. To truly understand the significance of Ozymandias, it is important to consider the historical and cultural context in which it was written. Let’s take an exploration of this classic poem and uncover its many layers of meaning. However, upon closer examination, the poem reveals a depth of symbolism and commentary on the nature of power and mortality. Shelley illuminates the transience of Ozymandias' power he had not achieved the legacy he believed he would and instead his works have been reduced to ' Nothing' a pronoun that highlights how forgotten Ozymandias' works have become.Shelley also shows the power of nature over man with cyclical natural imagery, the poem begins in an ' antique land' and 'desert' and ends with the alliterative line 'the lone and level sands stretch far away', Shelley, a romantic poet, highlights how fragile human power is as it can easily be ' shattered' both by the power of time and nature.6.4 Q: What are some key literary devices used in the Ozymandias poem? An Exploration of Shelley’s Classic PoemĪt first glance, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Ozymandias appears to be a simple tale of a fallen king and his shattered kingdom. This is further highlighted by the semantic field of destruction, 'shattered visage, lifelesss, colossal Wreck" (The capitalisation of the word Wreck works as a transferred epithet -> Ozymandias' identity has gone from being regal to being a wreck).Shelley also uses juxtaposition in the lines "Look on my Works, ye Mighty and despair!/ Nothing beside remains. ' King of kings' also alludes to divine power as Ozymandias believed himself to be as or more omnipotent than God.Shelley then uses the technique of irony to highlight how Ozymandias' power has diminished over time reducing him to "trunkless legs of stone". Shelley makes usage of cacophonous alliteration to present the power Ozymandias once had, 'cold command' and 'King of Kings', these suggest Ozymandias was a stern and authoritative ruler. Then we pick out any literary devices Shelley has used that link to power. How does this link to power? Shelley does not use the traditional sonnet form, this could reflect how Ozymandias' power has not survived in a traditional generational sense, the usage of a regular rhyme scheme also highlights how time has passed. Shelley uses a 14 line sonnet in iambic pentameter and a regular rhyme scheme. Firstly we want to highlight any interesting structural devices in the poem and link them to power. ![]()
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