Class: 8

Subject: English

Poetry – Ozymandias

Summary

The speaker recalls having met a traveler ―from an antique land,‖ who told him a story about the
ruins of a statue in the desert of Egypt. Two vast legs of stone stand without a body, and near them a
massive, crumbling stone head lies ―half sunk‖ in the sand. The traveler told the speaker that the
frown and ―sneer of cold command‖ on the statue‘s face indicate that the sculptor understood well
the emotions (or "passions") of the statue‘s subject. The memory of those emotions remains
"stamped" on the lifeless statue, even though both the sculptor and his subject are both now dead. On
the pedestal of the statue appear the words, ―My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my
works, ye Mighty, and despair!‖ But around the decaying ruin of the statue, nothing remains, only
the ―lone and level sands,‖ which stretch out around it.
Text book Questions

1. How many voices are there in the poem? Can you identify them?
There are three voices in Shelley's poem "Ozymandias." The first is the narrator‘s voice, who begins
by immediately introducing a traveller whom he met. In fact the, only words spoken by the narrator
which are his alone are as follows: "I met a traveller from an antique land, / Who said —.‖
The second voice is that of the traveller who narrates the rest of the poem. He describes, at the end of
the poem, the "lone and level sands which stretch far away," painting a picture of the statue, or its
remains, as a relatively tiny speck on a vast, empty landscape.
The third voice is of Ozymandias himself, although we only hear his voice through the words
inscribed on the pedestal of the statue: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my
Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

2. What is the main theme of the poem ‘Ozymandias’?

Power is transitory - The poet highlights the ephemeral nature of power. Ozymandias was a king
who considered himself the mightiest of all. He was arrogant and took pleasure in gloating. He was
of the opinion that he possesses eternal power. However, with the passage of time he was forgotten,
his empire declined and now his statue is in a dilapidated state. History is replete with examples of
empires that reached the zenith of success and glory and ultimately declined with only faded
memories and shattered remains of their architectural marvels.

Pride comes before a fall - Ozymandias was a king who boasted of power and wealth. He
commissioned a huge statue of himself and got these words engraved on the pedestal, ―My name is
Ozymandias, king of kings, Look on my works ye mighty and despair‖. He took pride in his political
power and accomplishments. He looked down upon other kings and considered them insignificant.
At present, his statue is in ruins, only two large legs of the statue are standing without a torso and the
head of the statue is half buried in sand which implies that pride leads to destruction. One must not
be proud of one‘s achievements as it will distract us from the reality of life. It is rightly said that
pride comes before a fall.

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Class: 8
Subject: English

3. The poem has two settings. Identify them.

―Ozymandias‖ has two primary settings. The first is an unspecified time and place—most likely,
early 19th century England when the poem was written—where the speaker and the traveller meet.
The traveller has been to Egypt in the recent past, where he sees a ruined statue of Ozymandias in the
desert.
The second setting is still the desert in Egypt, but it is Egypt not during Shelley's time but rather
during the time of the ancient Greeks. It is the time when ‗Ozymandias‘ was the ruling entity. His
kingdom was one of the most prosperous and wealthiest.

4. In the poem ‘Ozymandias’ how does the poet show that art and language outlive the other
symbols of power?
The statue also symbolizes the power of art. The sculptor is skilled at his work. He captures and
preserves the "passions" of its subject by stamping them on "lifeless" rock. The statue also
symbolizes that art can have power beyond the intentions of even those who commission it. While
Ozymandias saw the statue as a way to forever capture his power and magnificence, the poem hints
that the statue so thoroughly reveals Ozymandias's pride and arrogance that it also serves to mock
him. While Ozymandias's great works have been destroyed by nature and time, art in the form of the
statue endures, both keeping Ozymandias's memory alive, but not in entirety the ways he would have
wanted.

5. ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
What character traits do the lines reveal?
The above lines reveal that Ozymandias was a king who wanted to proclaim his supremacy. He was
arrogant and proud. He boasted of his achievements and belittled the other kings.

6. Which traits of Ozymandias have been highlighted by the sculptor?

Although the statue is a wreck, in a state of decay, its individual pieces depict the skill of the sculptor
and preserve the story of Ozymandias. The face is ‗shattered‘, leaving only a mouth and nose above
the desert sand, but the ‗frown‘, ‗wrinkled lip‘, and ‗sneer‘ clearly show Ozymandias‘s ‗passions‘ -
his pride, tyranny, and disdain for others. The fragments interpret and preserve the king‘s personality
and show the onlookers throughout history what sort of a man and leader Ozymandias truly was.

7. Explain the lines – ‘The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed’.
The above line is an example of synecdoche. The word ‗hand‘ is used to refer to the sculptor who
mocked as well as copied the king‘s passions so precisely. The word ‗heart‘ refers to the king. The
phrase ‗the heart that fed‘ refers to the king‘s heart which nursed the desire to commission a huge
statue of the king.

Workbook Questions
1. Which Pharaoh does Ozymandias represent?
‗Ozymandias‘ is the alternate name of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II.

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Class: 8
Subject: English

2. ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Who is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks
of ‘ye mighty’? Why should they despair?
Ozymandias is referring to the other rival kings of his time through the words ‗ye mighty‘. He states
that these kings should despair at his political supremacy, his invincible power and enviable legacy.

3. ‘The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed’. Whose hand and heart has the poet
referred to in this line? Explain the context.
The word ‗hand‘ is used to refer to the sculptor who mocked as well as copied the king‘s passions so
precisely. The word ‗heart‘ refers to the king. The phrase ‗the heart that fed‘ refers to the king‘s heart
which nursed the desire to commission a huge statue of the king.

Poetic Devices

1. Metaphor – The statue of Ozymandias metaphorically represents power, legacy and command. It
shows that once the king was mighty and all powerful. Sand has eroded the statue, representing the
ephemeral nature of power.

2. Imagery – It is the use of vivid and visually descriptive language to represent objects, actions and
ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. The poet has used images involving the
sense of sight such as two vast and trunkless legs, shattered face, wrinkled lip and desert. These
images help readers visualize the status of the broken statue.

 Who said: ‘Two vast trunkless legs of stone

 And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Figures of Speech

1. Alliteration - It is a stylistic literary device identified by the repeated sound of the first letter in a
series of multiple words.

 Who said: ‘Two vast trunkless legs of stone

 And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
 The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
 Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
 The lone and level sands stretch far away.

2. Synecdoche - It is a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole is
used to represent a part.
 The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

3. Irony - It is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is
different from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be used to refer to a situation that may
end up in quite a different way than what is generally anticipated.

 Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!

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Class: 8
Subject: English

4. Hyperbole – It is a figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to show emphasis.

 My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: