Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley (detailed analysis)

Summary

The script explores Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet 'Ozymandias,' published in 1818, a reflection on the theme of hubris and the impermanence of power. It delves into the poem's structure, rhyme scheme, and language techniques, revealing a moral lesson on the futility of human pride against the relentless passage of time. Shelley's imagined depiction of a ruined statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II underscores the inevitable downfall of even the mightiest rulers, leaving only the desolate desert as a testament to their once-great empire.

Takeaways

• 📜 'Ozymandias' was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and published in the Examiner on January 11, 1818, as part of a competition with poet Horace Smith.
• 🏺 The poem's subject is inspired by Diodorus Siculus's writings about a massive Egyptian statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II, reflecting on the theme of hubris and downfall.
• 🗿 Shelley's description of the statue is imagined, as the actual statue did not arrive in London until 1821, despite the British Museum's acquisition in 1817.
• 📝 The poem's moral lesson is that the pride and power of man are ephemeral, with time eroding even the greatest legacies to mere dust.
• 👑 Ozymandias, the Greek name for Pharaoh Ramesses II, was a powerful ruler known for his extensive building projects to memorialize his power and divinity.
• 🏛 The poem follows a Petrarchan sonnet structure with variations in rhythm and rhyme scheme to mimic natural speech and enhance storytelling.
• 🎭 The opening lines set a mysterious and exotic tone, introducing an unnamed traveler from ancient lands with a tale to tell.
• 🗿 The visual imagery of the shattered statue's remains in the desert emphasizes the decontextualization and ruin of once-mighty symbols of power.
• 🗿 The statue's facial expressions, captured by the sculptor, reflect the fierce and uncompromising nature of the Pharaoh, now reduced to lifeless stone.
• 🗿 The use of synecdoche in 'the hand that mocked them' and 'the heart that fed' links the creation of the statue to the Pharaoh's pride and vanity.
• 🗿 The inscription on the statue's pedestal, 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings,' is a bold declaration of power that now ironically serves to mock the Pharaoh's downfall.
• 🏜 The final lines place the statue in the context of its desolate surroundings, emphasizing the emptiness and futility of the Pharaoh's once-great works.

Q & A

Who is the author of the poem 'Ozymandias'?

The poem 'Ozymandias' was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

When was the poem 'Ozymandias' first published?

The poem was first published in the 11th January 1818 issue of the Examiner, a weekly intellectual journal.

What was the inspiration behind the poem 'Ozymandias'?

The inspiration behind the poem was a competition with the poet Horace Smith, both writing sonnets based on a passage from the writings of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, which described a massive Egyptian statue.

What theme does the poem 'Ozymandias' explore?

The poem explores the theme of hubris, which comes from the ancient Greek word 'hubris', describing a person who is foolishly proud and arrogant, leading to their downfall.

Who is Ozymandias in the context of the poem?

In the poem, Ozymandias is the Greek name for the Pharaoh Ramesses II, who ruled ancient Egypt and is known for his powerful reign and building of monuments.

What is the significance of the broken statue in the poem?

The broken statue signifies the downfall and the impermanence of power and pride, illustrating that even the most powerful rulers and their legacies can be reduced to dust over time.

What is the structure of the poem 'Ozymandias'?

The poem loosely follows the structure of a Petrarchan sonnet, with fourteen lines divided into an octave and a sestet, and a base metre of iambic pentameter.

How does Shelley vary the rhythm of the poem?

Shelley varies the rhythm by substituting trochaic feet, anapestic feet, and iambic feet with a dumb stress pattern, which mimics a more natural speech rhythm.

What is the significance of the inscription on the pedestal in the poem?

The inscription on the pedestal is a boast by the Pharaoh, declaring his power and inviting others to despair at his works. However, the irony is that time has eroded all but the inscription, making it a mockery of his once-great power.

How does the poem conclude?

The poem concludes with the traveler observing the shattered statue in the context of its surroundings, emphasizing the boundless and bare desert, symbolizing the ultimate insignificance of the once-great ruler's legacy.

What literary devices does Shelley use in 'Ozymandias' to enhance the narrative?

Shelley uses enjambment, alliteration, sibilance, and synecdoche, as well as variations in rhythm and rhyme scheme to enhance the narrative and bring the story to life.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ The Poetic Tale of Ozymandias

This paragraph introduces the historical and literary context of Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Ozymandias,' which was published in 1818 following a competition with Horace Smith. Both poets were inspired by an Egyptian statue described by Diodorus Siculus. Shelley's poem reflects on the theme of hubris, the downfall of the proud, and the impermanence of power. The poem is structured as a Petrarchan sonnet with a unique rhythm and rhyme scheme, enhancing its natural speech-like quality. It begins with an intriguing image of a traveler from ancient lands, setting the stage for a narrative about the remains of a once-mighty ruler.

05:02

🗿 The Ruins of Pride: Ozymandias' Statue

This section delves into the description of the shattered statue of Ozymandias, highlighting the decontextualized nature of the remains and the once-fierce and ruthless ruler it represented. The paragraph emphasizes the skill of the sculptor in capturing the Pharaoh's expressions and the use of alliteration and sibilants to convey forcefulness. The traveler's account of the statue's inscription, which boasts of Ozymandias' power and commands viewers to despair, is contrasted with the irony of time's erosion, leaving behind only the words and the shattered statue as a testament to the Pharaoh's vanity and ultimate downfall.

10:02

📜 The Legacy of Ozymandias: A Lesson in Humility

The final paragraph of the script reflects on the broader implications of Ozymandias' ruined statue, serving as a symbol of the emptiness of pride and the futility of boasting about one's works. The use of capitalization and alliteration in the word 'works' connects it to the earlier description of the statue, emphasizing the transformation from a symbol of power to a mockery of the Pharaoh's vanity. The desolate setting of the statue, described with adjectives that evoke a sense of boundless emptiness, reinforces the poem's moral lesson about the insignificance of human achievements in the face of time's relentless march.

Keywords

💡Ozymandias

Ozymandias is the Greek name for the Pharaoh Ramesses II, who is a central figure in the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poem uses the term to symbolize the once-great power and eventual downfall of a ruler. In the script, Ozymandias represents the theme of hubris and the impermanence of human achievements, as the once-mighty king is now reduced to ruins in the desert.

💡Hubris

Hubris, derived from ancient Greek, refers to extreme arrogance and pride that leads to a person's downfall. In the context of the video, it is the main theme that Shelley explores through the poem 'Ozymandias'. The script explains how the pride of man and his tyrannical monuments are ultimately powerless against the passage of time, as exemplified by the shattered statue of the king.

💡Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian whose writings provided the inspiration for Shelley's poem. In the script, it is mentioned that both Shelley and Horace Smith based their sonnets on a passage from Diodorus, which described a massive Egyptian statue and its inscription. This historical reference sets the stage for the poem's exploration of the theme of hubris.

💡British Museum

The British Museum's acquisition of the head and upper torso of a statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II in 1817 is believed to have inspired the subject of the competition between Shelley and Horace Smith. The script notes that Shelley's description of the statue seems imagined rather than based on the actual artifact, which did not arrive in London until 1821.

💡Petrarchan Sonnet

The Petrarchan sonnet is a structure of poetry that the poem 'Ozymandias' loosely follows. It consists of fourteen lines divided into an octave and a sestet, with a base meter of iambic pentameter. The script describes how Shelley varies this rhythm and uses a less strict rhyme scheme to mimic natural speech and enhance the storytelling aspect of the poem.

💡Iambic Pentameter

Iambic pentameter is a metrical pattern used in English poetry, characterized by a line of five 'iambs', each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. In the script, it is mentioned that Shelley uses this meter as the base for 'Ozymandias', with variations to create a more natural rhythm that brings the story to life.

💡Enjambment

Enjambment is a poetic device where a sentence or phrase continues beyond one line of verse to the next, without a pause. The script highlights the use of enjambment in the poem to give it momentum from the start and to create a sense of breathless excitement in the description of the shattered statue.

💡Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole, or vice versa. In the script, Shelley's use of synecdoche is exemplified in the lines 'the hand that mocked them' and 'the heart that fed', where 'hand' represents the sculptor and 'heart' represents the Pharaoh, linking the creation of the artworks to the ruler's pride.

💡Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of closely connected words. The script points out the use of alliteration in the poem to enhance the forcefulness of the description, such as the hard consonant sounds linking 'cold' with 'command', and the plosive alliteration in 'boundless and bare' and 'lone and level' to convey a sense of desolation.

💡Turning Point (Volta)

The volta, or turning point, is a shift in perspective or mood that often occurs in sonnets. The script identifies line 9 of 'Ozymandias' as the volta, where the description of the shattered statue leads to the inscription on its pedestal, marking a change in the poem's focus from physical ruins to the ironic message of the Pharaoh's pride.

💡Desolation

Desolation refers to a state of extreme emptiness or devastation. In the context of the video, desolation is conveyed through the final lines of the poem, which describe the statue's surroundings as 'boundless and bare' desert sands, emphasizing the nothingness and the ultimate futility of the Pharaoh's pride and power.

Highlights

Ozymandias, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley, was published in the Examiner on January 11, 1818.

The poem was a result of a competition with poet Horace Smith, both writing sonnets based on Diodorus Siculus' writings about an Egyptian statue.

The subject was inspired by the British Museum's acquisition of a statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II, which arrived in 1821.

Shelley's depiction of the statue is imagined rather than based on the actual statue.

The poem explores the theme of hubris, a Greek term for excessive pride leading to downfall.

The moral lesson is that time erodes the legacies of the powerful, reducing them to dust.

Ozymandias is the Greek name for Pharaoh Ramesses II, known for his monumental building projects.

The poem follows a Petrarchan sonnet structure with variations in rhythm and rhyme scheme.

Shelley uses natural speech rhythm and slant rhyme to enhance the poem's conversational feel.

The poem begins with an intriguing description of a traveler from an ancient land.

The description of the statue's ruins emphasizes the passage of time and the statue's decontextualization.

The statue's facial expressions are skillfully captured, depicting a fierce and uncompromising ruler.

The use of synecdoche in 'the hand that mocked them' and 'the heart that fed' links the creation of art to the Pharaoh's pride.

The inscription on the statue's pedestal reflects the Pharaoh's boastfulness and his expectation of despair in others.

The final lines emphasize the irony of the Pharaoh's words, now reduced to a powerless wreck.

The poem's setting in the boundless desert conveys a sense of desolation and the insignificance of human achievements.

The video concludes with an invitation for questions or comments, encouraging viewer engagement.

Transcripts

Ozymandias written by Percy Bysshe

Shelley was published in the 11th

January 1818 issue of the examiner a

weekly intellectual journal and is the

result of a competition with the poet

Horace Smith the pair both wrote sonnets

based on a passage from the writings of

the Greek historian diodorus siculus who

described a massive Egyptian statue and

quoted the inscription that appeared

below it the choice of the subject for

the competition is believed to have been

inspired by the news of the British

Museum's acquisition of the head and

upper torso of a statue of the Egyptian

of pharaoh ramses ii in 1817 the statue

did not actually arrive in London until

1821 so it would seem that Shelley's

description of it is imagined rather

than actual the poem explores the theme

of hubris coming from the ancient Greek

the word hubris stick describes a person

who is foolishly proud and arrogant this

leads the person to behave in a

dangerously confident manner which in

turn brings about their downfall

the main purpose of the poem is

therefore to provide a moral lesson that

tyranny and the pride of man is

powerless in the face of time even the

legacies of the most powerful and mocked

as they are reduced to little more than

dust

Ozymandias is the Greek name for the

Pharaoh ramasees ii who ruled ancient

egypt for 66 years from 1279 BC and is

widely regarded as the most powerful

ruler of the Egyptian Empire much of his

early reign is thought of being consumed

by an almost obsessive building of

monuments temples and cities which were

meant as physical reminders of his power

and greatness not only did they

memorialize his honor

they also symbolized his almost divine

nature the most iconic of his building

still standing are the temples at Abu

Simbel which both memorialized ramses ii

and his wife Nefertari and commemorate

his victory at the Battle of Kadesh in

1275 BC

the poem loosely follows the structure

of a Petrarchan sonnet it has fourteen

lines divided into an octave eight lines

and assess that six lines and has a base

metre of iambic pentameter

dee-dum dee-dum dee-dum dee-dum dee-dum

shelley varies this rhythm with the

substitution of trochaic feet with a

dumb d stress pattern that tillich feet

with a dum ditty stress pattern and

anapestic feet with a diddy dum stress

pattern this more closely mimics a

natural speech rhythm than pure I am bit

pentameter and helps to bring the story

told by the unnamed traveler to life

this is further enhanced by its rhyme

scheme which follows an a b a b a c d c

d e f EF pattern which is not as strict

as that required by traditional sonnets

shelley makes use of slant rhyme lines

two and four stone with frown and para

rineman lines nine eleven and thirteen

to allow a pier to rhyme with despair

which in turn has a single rhyme with

bear rather than full rhyme to give the

poem a sense of cohesion as well as a

more natural conversational feel

the poems beginning is intriguing

I met a traveller from an antique land

who said the words traveler and antique

land suggest a tale of far-off exotic

and mysterious countries which is

further enhanced by the traveller being

an unnamed stranger the word antique

here is used to mean ancient and so

refers to ancient Egypt the enjambment

where there is no punctuation at the end

of a line on the first line gives the

poem momentum from the very start as we

are launched into the tale that he has

to tell the image of a pair of legs

without a body in lines three and four

is visually arresting and bizarre

enhanced by the use of a trochee dum dee

at the beginning of line four to draw

attention to the fact that they are the

only parts to remain upright two vast

and trunkless legs of stone stand in the

desert the factual tone of this

description suggests none of the or that

a contemporary of Ramesses would have

felt when looking up at the monument the

stone legs have become decontextualized

objects where nothing around them to

give them meaning the word stone tells

us that we are looking at a statue and

it's state of ruin becomes more evident

as the poet goes on to tell us that it's

broken faces lying nearby near them on

the sand half sunk a shattered visage

lies its features can still be made out

however and these three facial

descriptions whose frown and wrinkled

lip and sneer of cold command

effectively built up a picture of a

fierce and ruthless ruler that has been

skillfully captured by its sculptor the

alliteration of the hard sound and the

consonants of the hard sounds at the

ends of the words link cold with command

and enhance the idea of a pharaoh who

was both hard

and uncompromising the traveler praises

the sculptor face skill tell that it's

sculptor well those passions read which

yet survive stamped on these lifeless

things

note the sibilants in these lines which

adds to the forcefulness communicated by

the words stamped the words stamped also

suggests the superficiality of the

carving though and lifeless things links

back to the factual tone at the first

description which enhances the sense

that these are now merely stones devoid

of any life the generic word things

reveals that the stones have lost any

identity that they had the use of

synecdoche where a party's used to

signify the hole in the lines the hand

that mocked them and the heart that fed

makes the link between the creation of

these artworks here the hand represents

the sculptor and the feeding of the Edo

of the Pharaoh represented by the heart

hear the word mocked communicates it's

less frequently used meaning that of

imitating or replicating and suggests

that the site of his likeness and his

most fearsome facial expressions so

masterfully executed by the artist

filled the self-exalting Pharaoh with

pride and a sense of vanity Shelley has

used any one sentence for the

description of this shuttered village

which stretches from the middle of line

3 to the end of line 8 this coupled with

the use of enjambment give the

description a sense of momentum and

almost breathless excitement at line 9

we have the valta or turning point in

the poem which often signals a change of

mood or shift in perspective as the

description of the shattered statue

continues we reach the pedestal upon

which the sculptor has carved the words

my name is Ozymandias king of kings look

on my works ye mighty and despair

here the Pharaoh was boldly exhorting

those who look upon his statues

monuments temples and cities to see them

as an embodiment of his divine power and

as a consequence to lose all hope and

surrender

notice the uncharacteristic Elevens

syllable line my name is Ozymandias king

of kings it seems fitting that the words

of the man himself declaring his

ultimate power cannot be contained

within the structural limitations of the

sonnet form this extra syllable is

provided by a critic foot with a dum

dee-dum stress pattern the stress on

King and Kings emphasizes his sense of

his own importance ironically of course

time has eroded all and nothing beside

remains this sentence is short sharp and

factual and makes us see the dramatic

irony in his words the word nothing is a

trochee with a dumb D stress pattern and

this first stressed syllable helps to

emphatically destroy his self-made image

indeed we should look on his works or

lack of them and despair but not in the

way he intended if time has reduced the

legacy of such a powerful man to nothing

what hope is there for the rest of us

the expressions on his face and his

words carved so well by the sculptor

only served to mock him in the more

common usage of the word now was the

statue as an empty and powerless

colossal wreck surrounded by an expanse

of

nothingness his boastfulness and vanity

now seem almost pathetic notice the use

of the capital w of rec which links it

back to works and reminds us of this

transformation the final two lines

distance us from the remains of the

statue as we see it in the context of

its surroundings the objectives

boundless and bare linked by plosive

alliteration which is built on by the

further alliterated pair of adjectives

loan and level to describe the desert

sands convey a sense of infinite

nothingness and desolation

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