Hypermandias
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If you loved "Ozymandias" you will enjoy - ...the poem that possibly inspired him. ...something else Shelley wrote. ...another poem about Ozymandias. ...humorous poem with similar subject
To ponder...
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I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, 5 Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,And on the pedestal these words appear:"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: 10Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away. |
Yup, it's a sonnet!
(Syntax of lines 10-14)
Lines 14 and 15 "scream" imagery and irony. |
An Allusion!
http://www.uky.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~scaife/terms?file=1ahrd.html&isindex=Allusion
Clarification
http://www.savagenet.com/oz/Oz/real.htm
2. A
picture of Ozymandias' tomb:3.
Picture of Ramses statuehttp://library.thinkquest.org/3187/ozymandias.html
4.
A small picture of Ozymandiashttp://www.craigmont.org/britlitreviewozyman.html
5.
From the PBS Nova series-A virtual tour of the Luxor TempleYet, the viewer needs a plug- in to view.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/explore/ramses.html
Viewer needs Quick Time to view.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/explore/
7. Related archealogical resources
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/resources.html
8. Information and pictures
http://www.powerup.com.au/~ancient/luxor.htm
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Detail
A detail is a piece of information communicated by the author.
Commentary: The detail "half sunk," describes the broken statue's face which is slowly being "absorbed" into the desert. Nature is at work, taking back man's creation, in this case, Ozymandias' empire. As the statue is crumbling back into its ingredients, this detail foreshadows the ending irony where nature has already completely reclaimed Ozymandias' grand works. Also ironically, Ozy's statue has outlived that which the statue was supposed to announce.
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Imagery is the use of images, which are descriptions rich in sense details, which hope to closely approximate a real life experience.
Look at how
"The
lone and level sands stretch far away."http://www.civilisations.ca/membrs/civiliz/egypt/images/geog02b.jpg
http://www.photo.net/photo/pcd0738/great-sand-dune-hills-light-15
http://www.photo.net/photo/pcd0738/great-sand-dune-hills-dark-16
http://www.photo.net/photo/pcd0738/great-sand-dune-sweep-6
http://www.photo.net/photo/pcd0738/great-sand-dune-ridge-7
Commentary:
A desert is endless nothing. Poor Oxymandias envisioned quite a different setting for his monument; he expected his conquests to stretch as far as the eye could see. What the eye could see was what had become of his life work.
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"Oz" and Percy would enjoy the double irony that the "Ozymandias Effect" lives on in...
Corporate Planning
http://www.hcgnet.com/succession-summary.asp
And Environmental Preservation
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/faculty/ddcaron/courses/iel/ie02015.htm
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...
lived an interesting life (he was married to the author of Frankenstein!)...wrote lots of other poems and essays
...did a few things and wrote a lot
...had a life and works that others wanted to comment on
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"Boundless and bare" (line 13) and "lone and level" (line 14) are both alliterations, as is "cold command" (line 5.)
Definition of alliteration:
http://www.uky.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~scaife/terms?file=1ahrd.html&isindex=Alliteration
Commentary:
Alliteration is sound repeated over and over. The repetition in the adjectives describing the sandy scene surrounding the fallen statue suggests the visual environment. All there is, over and over, is sand.
With "cold command," Shelley possibly wanted to mirror the harshness of Ozymandias' management style with the harshness of the hard "c" sound.
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"Colossal wreck" (line 13) is an oxymoron.
Definition of oxymoron:
http://www.uky.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~scaife/terms?file=1ahrd.html&isindex=Oxymoron
Commentary:
Understanding of this poem depends on understanding the irony of the last two lines. An oxymoron is "self-contained" irony and this one suggests the larger irony to come. As the stone representation of the giant who erected it in his honor has fallen, so later will the reader see that the "advertised" accomplishments of that giant will soon be shown to be no longer existent.
Use of the word
colossal is deliberate as it is derived from mythology. Ozymandias' self-view is colossal, or larger than life like Colossus.Return to poem
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Irony
The last two lines constitute the central irony of the poem.
Definition of irony:
http://www.uky.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~scaife/terms?file=1aglt.html&isindex=Irony
Commentary:
http://www.savagenet.com/oz/Oz
http://library.thinkquest.org/3187/ozymandiasinterp.html
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Syntax
Syntax is the arrangement of words in a sentence, encompassing sentence length, type, word order, and grammatical correctness.
Commentary:
Notice the contrast between the statue's inscription and the phrase redescribing what the inscription refers to. In a pretentiously long proclamation, Ozymandias charges all future generations to marvel at all he accomplished. The length of the pronouncement underscores its intended grandieur and importance. The illusion of that importance is dispelled by the short, sweet statement of the real situation, that "nothing remains" to prove the importance that was announced.
With line 6, which ends in "read," the normal word order of the sentence has been modified primarily to make the rhyme with "fed."
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Tone
http://www.uky.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~scaife/terms?file=1aglt.html&isindex=Tone
Commentary: Several tones coexist in this poem; they include pomposity and irony. The once larger than life statue and proud boast in its inscription support pomposity. The discrepancy between that inscription and the surroundings creates the irony that encourages the reader to consider the author's intention.
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Diction: visage (noun)
Connotation/Commentary:
Instead of using the word "face," Shelley uses a word for "face" based on the root for seeing or looking. This face, the visage, proudly surveyed its holdings as it perched on its grand shoulders. As it toppled, so did the conquests it so proudly kept watch over.
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Diction: trunkless (adjective) trunk + less less=lacking, without
Denotation:
Connotation/Commentary:
A "trunk" is the central support of a tree--no trunk, no structure. Word choice here supports the idea of decay. Everything is crumbling--the statue in a significant way and the acquisitions of its honoree.
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Denotation:
Connotation/Commentary - Place for student comment
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Diction: shattered (participle, adjective)
Denotation:
Connotation/Commentary - Place for student comment
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Diction: sneer (noun derived from verb, to sneer)
Denotation:
Connotation/Commentary:
Who got the last laugh?
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Denotation:
Connotation/Commentary: Place for student comment
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Denotation:
Connotation/Commentary:
Should one put oneself on a pedestal?
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Diction: decay (noun)
Denotation:
Connotation/Commentary: Place for student comment
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Study Questions and worthwhile links:
