Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley (detailed analysis)
Summary
TLDRThe 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
- π '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.
- πΊ 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.
- πΏ 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.
- π 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.
- π Ozymandias, the Greek name for Pharaoh Ramesses II, was a powerful ruler known for his extensive building projects to memorialize his power and divinity.
- π The poem follows a Petrarchan sonnet structure with variations in rhythm and rhyme scheme to mimic natural speech and enhance storytelling.
- π The opening lines set a mysterious and exotic tone, introducing an unnamed traveler from ancient lands with a tale to tell.
- πΏ The visual imagery of the shattered statue's remains in the desert emphasizes the decontextualization and ruin of once-mighty symbols of power.
- πΏ The statue's facial expressions, captured by the sculptor, reflect the fierce and uncompromising nature of the Pharaoh, now reduced to lifeless stone.
- πΏ 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.
- πΏ 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.
- π 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
ποΈ 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.
πΏ 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.
π 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Ozymandias
π‘Hubris
π‘Diodorus Siculus
π‘British Museum
π‘Petrarchan Sonnet
π‘Iambic Pentameter
π‘Enjambment
π‘Synecdoche
π‘Alliteration
π‘Turning Point (Volta)
π‘Desolation
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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