Percy Shelley's 'Ozymandias': Mr Bruff Analysis

Summary

This video offers an in-depth analysis of Percy Shelley's 'Ozymandias,' exploring the poem's complex themes of power's transience and the enduring nature of art. It delves into Shelley's life, the historical context, and the poem's structure, which uniquely blends elements of Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets. The video also discusses the poem's language and potential religious critique, inviting viewers to consider multiple interpretations of this classic work.

Takeaways

• 📜 The poem 'Ozymandias' by Percy Shelley is a short but complex work that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
• 🎓 For exams before 2017, knowledge of the poet's life and context is essential, whereas for the 2016 AQA GCSE exam, it's not required.
• 💼 Percy Shelley was a Romantic poet known for his nonconformity, including expulsion from Oxford and an unorthodox personal life.
• 🌊 Shelley's personal beliefs were deeply political, with a focus on pacifism, vegetarianism, and criticism of war and political control.
• ✍️ 'Ozymandias' was written during King George III's reign, a period marked by military conflicts that Shelley opposed.
• 🏺 The poem draws a parallel between the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, known as Ozymandias, and King George III, critiquing the delusion of power.
• 📝 The sonnet form of 'Ozymandias' is a blend of Petrarchan and Shakespearean structures, reflecting the theme of power's transience.
• 🏛 The poem's language uses negative descriptors and alliteration to emphasize the fall of the once-powerful Ozymandias.
• 🗿 The statue's inscribed words, 'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!', underscore the theme of the futility of power and grandeur.
• 🖋️ Shelley's use of the sonnet form, with its evolving rhyme scheme, mirrors the shifting nature of power and the enduring quality of art.
• 🔮 The poem invites multiple interpretations, including critiques of political leadership, religious authority, and the enduring nature of art.

Q & A

Who is the poet of 'Ozymandias' and what is his significance?

The poet of 'Ozymandias' is Percy Shelley, a leading figure among the Romantic poets. He is significant not only for his innovative poetry but also for his controversial personal life and political beliefs, which often found expression in his work.

What are the key themes of 'Ozymandias'?

The key themes of 'Ozymandias' include the delusion of power, the impermanence of might and majesty, and the enduring nature of art. Shelley uses the poem to critique the arrogance of leaders who believe their power is supreme and everlasting.

What is the historical context of 'Ozymandias'?

The historical context of 'Ozymandias' is multi-layered. It references Ramesses II, an Egyptian pharaoh known for his military conquests, and it was written during the reign of King George III, a monarch involved in numerous military conflicts, which Shelley, a pacifist, disapproved of.

How does Shelley use the sonnet form in 'Ozymandias'?

Shelley employs a unique blend of Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet forms in 'Ozymandias'. The poem begins with an octave presenting the details of the powerful Ozymandias, followed by a sestet that reflects on the transient nature of power. Shelley also introduces a new rhyme scheme, suggesting the evolution of power and form.

What is the significance of the title 'Ozymandias'?

The title 'Ozymandias' is derived from the Greek words 'Ozium', meaning 'to breathe', and 'mandate', meaning 'to rule', reflecting the poem's theme of power and control. It also directly references Ramesses II, known as Ozymandias in Greek, emphasizing the historical and political context.

How does Shelley use language to convey the poem's themes?

Shelley uses a variety of language techniques in 'Ozymandias' to convey its themes. These include the strategic use of negative words to criticize power, alliteration to emphasize harshness, and religious references to critique authority, all contributing to the poem's complex message.

What is the role of the artist in 'Ozymandias'?

The artist in 'Ozymandias' is portrayed as someone whose work outlives the power it represents. The sculptor's skill in capturing Ozymandias's arrogance is preserved even as the statue crumbles, suggesting that art is a lasting form of expression that can critique and outlast the powerful.

What is the irony present in 'Ozymandias'?

The irony in 'Ozymandias' lies in the contrast between Ozymandias's expectation of eternal grandeur and the reality of his broken statue in the desert. This irony underscores the poem's theme that power and might are not enduring.

How might 'Ozymandias' be interpreted as a critique of religion?

The poem can be read as a critique of religious authority through its religious undertones and references. Ozymandias's self-designation as 'king of kings' mirrors biblical descriptions of Jesus, and the desert setting evokes the temptation of Jesus, suggesting a comparison between the transient power of earthly rulers and the more enduring nature of religious figures.

What is the significance of the desert setting in 'Ozymandias'?

The desert setting in 'Ozymandias' serves as a backdrop that emphasizes the isolation and decay of Ozymandias's power. It also acts as a symbol of the natural world's enduring nature, contrasting with the ephemeral might of human rulers and possibly religious figures.

How does the poem's structure reflect its themes?

The structure of 'Ozymandias', blending elements of Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet forms and introducing a new rhyme scheme, mirrors the poem's themes of change and impermanence. Just as the sonnet forms evolve, so too does power shift and decay, reinforcing the message that nothing, not even artistic form, remains unchanged.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Introduction to 'Ozymandias' and Shelley's Life

The video begins with a welcome and an introduction to the poem 'Ozymandias' by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The presenter emphasizes the complexity of the poem despite its brevity and promotes a guide to poetry for further reading. The discussion then shifts to the relevance of Shelley's life to the poem, noting the differences in exam requirements regarding biographical context. Shelley is painted as a fascinating figure: a wealthy, educated Romantic poet expelled from Oxford for his atheistic views, who married young and was ultimately drowned at sea. His lack of success during his lifetime is contrasted with his posthumous acclaim. The presenter also touches on Shelley's political beliefs, which are reflected in his poetry, and sets the stage for a deeper analysis of 'Ozymandias' by discussing the historical and literary context, including the reign of King George III and the Romantic movement.

05:00

🔍 Deep Dive into the Historical and Literary Context

This paragraph delves deeper into the historical context of 'Ozymandias', focusing on the figure of Ramesses II, also known as Ozymandias, an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled around 1279 to 1213 BC. The presenter draws parallels between Ramesses II and King George III, noting their shared military ambitions and suggesting that the poem may critique the latter through the lens of the former. The discussion also covers the sonnet-writing competition between Shelley and Horace Smith, which led to the creation of the poem, and the influence of the British Museum's acquisition of a statue of Ramesses II. The presenter advises on the relevance of this context depending on the exam being taken, highlighting the usefulness of understanding the poem's background even when not explicitly required.

10:02

🏛 Analyzing the Sonnet Form and Its Significance

The video segment explores the structure of 'Ozymandias', identifying it as a sonnet that blends elements of both the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet forms. The presenter explains the traditional structure of a sonnet, with its problem-presenting octave and resolving sestet, and the importance of the volta. Shelley's poem is noted for its innovative rhyme scheme, which evolves from the traditional a-b-a-b pattern to a more complex structure, reflecting the theme of power's transience. The discussion suggests that the poem's form mirrors its content, with the evolution of the sonnet form echoing the shifting nature of power and the enduring quality of art.

15:03

🌐 Exploring Language and Irony in 'Ozymandias'

This paragraph scrutinizes the language and use of irony in 'Ozymandias'. The presenter discusses how Shelley's choice of words, such as the negative descriptors and the aggressive alliteration in 'cold command', serve to criticize the powerful. The religious undertones are also examined, with 'king of kings' drawing a parallel to Jesus and the desert setting reminiscent of the temptation of Jesus. The irony is highlighted through the contrast between Ozymandias's expected immortality and the reality of his crumbling statue, suggesting a broader theme of the impermanence of power and the enduring nature of art and nature.

20:05

📚 Conclusion and Invitation for Further Discussion

In the concluding paragraph, the presenter invites viewers to share their interpretations of the poem, whether it be a critique of specific figures like Jesus or King George III, or a broader commentary on power. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to support the presenter's work by purchasing the revision guide, which is linked in the video description, and to engage in the评论区 to enrich the collective understanding of 'Ozymandias'.

Keywords

💡Ozymandias

Ozymandias refers to the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, who is the central figure of the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. In the video, the poem 'Ozymandias' is analyzed as a critique of power and arrogance, with the character of Ozymandias representing the delusion of invincibility among the powerful. The poem contrasts the once-great ruler's remains with the enduring desert, symbolizing the transient nature of power and the permanence of nature.

💡Percy Shelley

Percy Shelley is the poet who wrote 'Ozymandias' and is a central figure in the Romantic movement. The video discusses Shelley's background, including his expulsion from Oxford for atheism, his unconventional personal life, and his political beliefs. Shelley's life and works are relevant to understanding the themes of the poem, particularly his views on power, politics, and the transient nature of human achievements.

💡Romanticism

Romanticism is a literary and artistic movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century, characterized by its emphasis on emotion, individualism, and the beauty of the natural world. In the video, Shelley is identified as a second-generation Romantic poet, and the movement's conventions are discussed in relation to the poem. Romanticism's influence is seen in the poem's focus on the natural world, the critique of urban life, and the use of the supernatural and classical allusions.

💡Sonnet

A sonnet is a fixed form of poetry, traditionally consisting of 14 lines, often used to express love or other deep emotions. The video explains that 'Ozymandias' is a sonnet, and it delves into the different types of sonnet forms, including Petrarchan and Shakespearean, and how Shelley's poem combines elements of both. The sonnet form is used in the poem to reflect the theme of the impermanence of power, as the form itself evolves and changes.

💡Petrarchan Sonnet

The Petrarchan sonnet is a form of sonnet that originated in Italy, characterized by an octave presenting a problem and a sestet offering a solution, with a volta or turning point between them. The video mentions that 'Ozymandias' has elements of the Petrarchan sonnet, with the first eight lines setting the scene of Ozymandias' fallen statue and the last six lines reflecting on the transient nature of power.

💡Shakespearean Sonnet

The Shakespearean sonnet, also known as the Elizabethan sonnet, is another form of sonnet that typically has three quatrains and a final rhyming couplet, with a volta often occurring in the final couplet. The video notes that Shelley's 'Ozymandias' incorporates aspects of the Shakespearean sonnet, particularly in its rhyme scheme, which is a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.

💡Alliteration

Alliteration is a literary device where words with the same initial consonant sound are used close together for emphasis or stylistic effect. The video points out the use of alliteration in 'Ozymandias', such as 'cold command', to convey the harsh and powerful nature of the statue's expression, reflecting the poem's critique of power.

💡Irony

Irony is a rhetorical device or a situation where there is a contrast between expectation and reality. The video discusses the irony in 'Ozymandias', where the once-great king's statue is now in ruins, highlighting the poem's theme that power and greatness are not everlasting.

💡Religious Critique

The video suggests that 'Ozymandias' can be read as a critique of religious authority, particularly through the use of the title 'king of kings', which is also a title given to Jesus in the Bible. The poem's setting and themes may also allude to the temptation of Jesus in the desert, offering a broader critique of those who claim divine power.

💡Power and Transience

The concept of power and its transience is a central theme in the video's analysis of 'Ozymandias'. The poem uses the image of the fallen statue to symbolize the inevitable decline of even the mightiest rulers, contrasting their temporary power with the enduring natural world. This theme is explored through the poem's language, structure, and historical context.

Highlights

Introduction to the detailed analysis of Percy Shelley's poem 'Ozymandias'.

Availability of a comprehensive guide to poetry, including 'Ozymandias', for instant download.

Relevance of Percy Shelley's life to the poem, depending on the exam context.

Percy Shelley's background as a Romantic poet and his expulsion from Oxford for atheism.

Shelley's personal life, including his marriages and untimely death at sea.

The lack of success of Shelley's work during his lifetime compared to his posthumous fame.

Shelley's political beliefs as a pacifist and vegetarian, reflected in his poetry.

Contextualizing 'Ozymandias' during King George III's reign and his military conflicts.

Definition and characteristics of Romantic poetry, with Shelley as part of the second generation.

The influence of Ramesses II on the poem 'Ozymandias' and the historical context.

The sonnet-writing competition between Shelley and Horace Smith that led to 'Ozymandias'.

The literal meaning of the poem describing the ruins of Ozymandias' statue.

Themes of the poem, including the delusion of power and the lasting nature of art.

Explanation of the sonnet form and its variations in 'Ozymandias'.

The use of language and sound in the poem to convey meaning and emotion.

Irony in the poem, contrasting Ozymandias' expectation of eternal power with his crumbling statue.

Possible religious interpretations of the poem, including critiques of Jesus and King George III.

Encouragement for viewers to share their interpretations of the poem in the comments.

Promotion of the revision guide for further study and support of the video content.

Transcripts

Hello everybody and welcome to this detailed analysis of the poem ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy

Shelley.

Very short poem.

Seems like it should be easy, but it's an incredibly clever complex

poem.

Before I go any further, everything that I go through in this video is written down in

detail in my guide to poetry, which you can pick up through following the link on the

description of this video.

It's an e-book; downloads instantly to your computer, so why

scribble furiously when it's all there written out in longhand for you and contains lots

of other poems as well?

‘My Last Duchess’ is in there.

So do pick up a copy.

Let's have a look at the poem.

Well, the first thing is the poet Percy Shelley.

When we are

studying a poem, it's important that we only look at areas of a poet's life that are actually

relevant to the poem itself.

Now, depending on when you're taking the exam, you may or may not need to know about the

poet's life and context.

So if you're taking the 2016 AQA GCSE exam, then you don't need

to know about the poet's life or the context surrounding when the poem was written.

But

if you're taking the 2017 onward exams, or perhaps you’re in a different country taking

a different exam, you do need to know about the context.

So let me go through some interesting things.

Now, Percy Shelley is honestly one of the

most interesting poets that ever lived.

And, as I was saying, we should only really study

areas of the poet's life which are important to our understanding of their poetry.

But

with Percy Shelley, it's just too interesting not to look at everything.

He was born in 1792.

He was one of the Romantic poets.

I’ll explain a bit more on that later.

And he came from a very wealthy family.

In fact, he was set to inherit the riches of

his grandfather and his role of MP, so he had a kind of life mapped down for him that

should have been very comfortable.

He went to Eton and Oxford, but his life took a big twist and he was expelled from university

for writing in favor of atheism.

He wrote this paper that sort of argued against existence

of God.

And, then, he delivered them to all the bishops and people, and he was expelled.

At the age of 16, he ran away and got married.

But he, then, left his wife and ran off with

a girl called Mary, who would ultimately be Mary Shelley the writer of Frankenstein.

In

1816, his first wife committed suicide.

And just three weeks later, Percy married Mary

Shelley.

And Percy himself was drowned at sea while sailing to Italy at the age of just

29.

So, as I said, what a fascinating person.

And it's also interesting though to note that Percy Shelley was not very successful as a

writer during his own lifetime.

Although, today, we associate him with the much more

successful poets Byron and Keats, he was nowhere near as popular.

Byron actually sold as many

as 10,000 copies of his poems in just one day, whereas Shelley wrote almost just for

himself.

There was no major interest from the public.

Of course, today, that's different.

He's regarded as one of the finest poets ever.

But back

in his time, he really was not successful at all.

That’s sad, isn't it?

Wouldn't it

be nice to say to him, “Look, we’ve studied you for hundreds of years since”?

He was a deeply political person, and that shows through in a lot of his poetry.

He was

a pacifist.

He didn't believe in war.

He believed in protest, but nonviolent protest.

And he

was a vegetarian, and he wrote widely on that subject.

So let's look at the context.

Shelley wrote ‘Ozymandias’ during the reign of King

George the Third who you can see here on the screen.

There's a lot that can be said about this king who reigned for longer than any other

king before him.

But the key points for this poem are that King George the Third was involved

in a large number of military conflicts around the world.

And, of course, Shelley hated that

So, King George (the Third) is often thought of as the inspiration for this, and I'll go

into that, of course, in a bit.

Romanticism, a huge topic, the sort of thing that you study in detail if you do this English

literature at degree level.

But let me give you a few points.

So, Shelley belonged to what is known as the second generation of the Romantic poets.

Romantic

poetry can be defined as containing a number of conventions.

Number one, a dislike of,

essentially, urban life –city life – and embrace of the natural world and the countryside;

a love of the supernatural; and the use of everyday ordinary language, which wasn't ridiculously

flowery but just normal language.

Now, the most famous early Romantics were Wordsworth and Coleridge.

But by the time

that Shelley was writing, it was felt the early Romantics had essentially sold out and

lost their values.

For example, Wordsworth, by that point, was now working as a taxman.

So the second generation of Romantics needed to set themselves apart from the old guard

to make it clear that “We're a bit different”.

So, Byron Shelley and Keats looked to antiquity

and foreign lands for the setting of their poetry.

So, in order to distinguish themselves

from what had gone before, they set their poems in foreign lands in the past.

And, of

course, that's what we see in ‘Ozymandias’ which is set in a foreign land and refers

to an ancient historical period.

Those second-generation Romantic poets often wrote against religion and political control.

And we can see both of those in this poem.

They used rich language which was full of

metaphor and classical allusion.

There is a second context to this poem though, and that is about Ramesses.

So, Ramesses,

who's otherwise known as Ozymandias, was Ramesses II, an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled from 1279

to 1213 BC.

He's believed, by many scholars, to be the pharaoh who was in charge of Egypt

during the biblical Exodus of Moses.

But the crucial thing about this guy is he was a ruler

who led many battles to protect Egypt, but also to extend the borders.

So he did a lot

of military attacks to take new land.

And in that way, he's very similar to King George

the Third.

So I think there's a deliberate use of this character from history as he resembles,

in many ways, King George the Third.

The actual scenario that led to the writing of this poem was that Shelley was having a

sonnet-writing competition with his friend Horace Smith.

They literally said, “Let's

both write sonnets about Ozymandias.”

And, eventually, both poems were actually published.

The real-life inspiration of the

poems is thought to be the fact that the British Museum had just recently announced it would

acquire a statue of Ramesses II that weighed nearly 8 tons and the fragment of the head

and torso dating back to the 13th century BC.

It actually took a couple of years to

arrive.

That's Royal Mail for you.

That's all the context.

And depending on what exam you're doing and when you're doing it,

you may or may not need to write about context.

But even if you're not writing about context,

so if you're taking the 2016 AQA GCSE English literature looking at this poem in the Character

& Voice Cluster, it's still useful to learn the context, I think, to help you understand

the poem.

And, then, you've just got to detach and not write about it in the exam.

Now we understand that, let's have a look at the literal meaning of the poem.

Just basically

what's going on.

So it begins:

I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of

stone Stand in the desert.

What does that mean?

Well, somebody's talking, and they're saying that they met a traveller

from a historic land who told me there were two huge stone legs standing in the desert.

Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose

frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

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.

Getting a little bit more complex now with the language.

So often, with these short poems,

you look at them and think, “Oh, easy.”

But the fact is they're often complex because

they pack so much into a short amount of lines.

But what this bit really means is that: Near their legs, on the sand, sunk into the ground

a bit is the head of the statue; and its face is shattered and cracked; and it's got a nasty

look on its face.

It looks powerful.

The artist made it look very lifelike.

And on the pedestal these words appear – “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

Nothing beside remains.

Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.’

So, a little bit more detail now: At the foot of the statue is an engraving which reads

‘My name is Ozymandias, king above all kings; and look at all I have achieved and feel hopeless.’

But, then, nothing else remains around the broken statue.

There's nothing.

It’s isolated

in the middle of the lonely desert.

So that's the literal meaning.

Themes of ‘Ozymandias’ Let's have a look at the themes then.

The

major theme of Ozymandias is that those with power are deluded in their belief that their

power is supreme and invincible.

This idea that the powerful in the world think they

are all-powerful, that their power will never go away.

And Shelley is basically saying, through this poem, that the might and power of leaders

does not last.

But, interestingly, art, as represented through the statue of the sculptor,

does last.

And it's also possible to read the poem as a critique of Christianity and

religious belief in general.

So, obviously, the two key things that the second generation of Romantic poets did in

attacking politics and religion can be seen in this poem.

Okay.

Well, when you understand the themes of a poem, it's time to look at:

- Where are those themes presented?

- How are they presented?

The first thing to say is that Ozymandias is a sonnet.

Now, the sonnet is a genre of

love poetry which originated in Italy in the 13th century.

The 14th century poet Petrarch

is the most recognized Italian sonneteer, but he’s not the person who created it.

That would be Giacomo da Lentini.

He created this very strict and tight form of love poetry.

A love poem from a man to a woman, it contains fourteen lines.

The first eight (octave) pose

a problem that the last six (sestet) solve.

And, line nine – we call it the Volta – is

a sharp turn which brings about the move to the resolution.

And it has the abba abba rhyme

scheme.

This form of poetry was made most famous by this guy in Italy, Petrarch, about 100 years

later.

Petrarch was essentially a priest who fell in love with this woman Laura.

And it

was unrequited love, and he wrote her 366 sonnets of unrequited love.

She rejected his proposals.

But, this incredibly difficult form of love poetry, he wrote loads

of poems in that form.

If you've got the time, try and write a sonnet following all of those

rules.

It's really, really tricky.

Shakespearean Sonnet A little bit later, made famous by Shakespeare,

we have the Shakespearean sonnet.

This is a different, almost like the new form of sonnet

– 14 lines; three quatrains and a couplet; the volta comes in the couplet at the end.

It's in iambic pentameter with ten syllables per line, and the rhyme scheme’s a-b-a-b,

c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.

This is important.

It might seem like it's all going up your head.

Why does this matter?

But it is important because, interestingly, the sonnet form is always about love.

So,

on one level, you could say, “Well, why did Percy Shelley choose to write this in

the sonnet form?”

And in a very basic way, we could say, “Well, if sonnets are about

love, it could just reflect how Ozymandias and, perhaps, the arrogant rulers – he represents

King George the Third – and, in the religious interpretation, perhaps Jesus or all religious

leaders are in love with themselves.”

But there is a much more complex and sophisticated and, I think, brilliant interpretation of

the sonnet form because Ozymandias is actually a mixture of the Petrarchan and the Shakespearean

sonnet forms.

As a Petrarchan sonnet, it does follow the format of having an octave, which

presents details about the powerful Ozymandias as represented through his broken statue,

and, then, a sestet, which focuses on how the power has disappeared and nature outlives

the powerful ruler.

But, then, there are elements of the Shakespearean sonnet in the poem’s form.

If you think

about the rhyme scheme with the first four lines – land-stone-sand-frown – that's

the rhyme scheme a-b-a-b.

So, there's evidence of the Shakespearean sonnet.

But it doesn't

stop there.

The rhyme scheme then changes to a whole new idea for a sonnet’s rhyme scheme.

So it

goes a-b-a-b-a-c-d-c-e-d-e-f-e-f…

Again, you don't need to write all this down.

It's all in the e-book.

Pick it up in the

link in the description.

But, essentially, what's happening is, there are three types of sonnet form in this poem.

There's the Petrarchan sonnet, the Shakespearean sonnet, and this new idea for a sonnet which

doesn't really have a name.

But this other rhyme scheme.

And that's incredibly clever

from the poet there because what's happening is, Shelley's using form to suggest the same

thing.

Just as Petrarch’s sonnet form gives way to Shakespeare's and, in this poem, Shakespeare's

form gives way to a new form, all power ultimately gives way to new power.

Nothing remains forever.

Not even the form of the sonnet.

So you can see that the poet is using form and structure to reflect the theme of the

poem about the fact that power is not eternal; it all changes and moves on just as the sonnet

form does in this poem.

Absolutely fantastic, amazing work.

Let's have a quick look at the language, then.

A few things to look at.

Let me zoom in a

bit more for you.

The title itself ‘Ozymandias’, yes, we know, it's reference to Ramesses II.

But let's break down the word.

‘Ozy’ comes from the Greek ‘Ozium’, meaning ‘to

breathe’.

‘Mandias’ comes from the Greek ‘mandate’, meaning ‘to rule’.

So,

there's this sense that this kind of power and control is even reflected in the root

words of the title.

Look at the first line:

I met a traveller from an antique land

Now, if Shelley is using this poem to criticise King George the Third and his belief in himself

as a ruler and a leader and the fact that he thinks he's amazing, or even if he's using

it to criticise religion, he has to distance himself in the poem because you can't be seen

to be criticising something too openly in the context that you live in.

I can't just sit here and start criticising the exam board.

I'd have to do it in a thinly

veiled attack, which is exactly what Shelley does here.

By starting with ‘I met a traveller’,

he's distancing himself.

He's saying, ‘Look, this isn't my story.

I'm not openly criticising

the British monarchy here.

I'm just telling you about somebody that I met.”

But it's a thinly veiled attack.

We understand what he's doing.

Look at, in green here, all

of the negative words – ‘sunk’, ‘shattered’, ‘frown’, ‘wrinkled’, ‘sneer’ – this

plethora of deeply negative language is used to make it very clear the poem is an attack

and not a praising up of the powerful.

And look at ‘cold command’.

This is very clever.

This alliterative repetition of the

hard kuh sounds reflects the harsh nature of Ozymandias.

This is something that a lot

of poets do.

If you want to have this idea of anger or aggression, lots of words beginning with ‘C’

help you achieve that.

Poetry is meant to be read aloud.

And the sound that it makes

– ‘cold command’ – that [k] sound is an aggressive sound.

When you form that

sound in your mouth, it's aggressive and harsh sounding, which is exactly what the poet was

trying to achieve here.

That's why a lot of swear words have the [k] sound in them, because

it sounds angry.

The sound itself is an angry sound.

‘King of kings’ is one of the religious references which I'll look at in a second.

But look at ‘boundless and bare’; a bit of alliteration at the end to emphasise that

the vast emptiness that's there.

And ‘the lone and level sands stretch far away’ is essentially saying that the desert

itself outlives the statue.

So, this guy thought he was all-powerful and amazing, but, actually,

nature has outlived him.

So there's a few of the language points that you might want to annotate from the poem.

But there are a couple more things that I just want to talk about.

There's some interesting

irony in this poem.

What do we mean by irony?

Well, where what's going on seems to deliberately

contrast what's expected.

And in this poem we see that, because Ozymandias expected to

remain forever but his statue is now crumbling away.

Now, it's possible to interpret one of the poem’s themes as a symbol of the greatness

of art.

Whilst the might and majesty of the King don't last, the artist’s skill in capturing

the arrogant sneer is still visible.

In fact, along with the statue, although it's crumbled,

the artist still lives on too.

The lines ‘the hand that mocked’, ‘the heart that fed’

are referring to the artist.

So it's possible to look at this statue and actually think

about the artist.

Those looking at it are able to see the artist within it.

And the word ‘mocked’ is an interesting word.

It's got a double meaning – two possible

meanings – which is always very clever with poetry, if you can find a word or phrase which

can be interpreted in numerous ways.

Alternative interpretation, this word here ‘mocked’

Alternative interpretation is one of the key things with poetry.

If you can say, “This

could mean this, but it could also mean this,” then that's the way to get to the highest

marks in your work.

So what do we mean by this word ‘mocked’?

Well, as I said, there are two possible meanings.

It can mean ‘to mock up’ as in to create and make.

But it could also mean that artist

was actually mocking Ozymandias, ridiculing him.

And, then, this sets the artist above

the pharaoh because Ozymandias clearly didn't spot this mockery in the statue.

He didn't

look at it and think, “Oh, he’s taking the mick out of me,” destroy it, kill the

artist.

He looked at it and, clearly, was happy with it and said, “Yep.

Go and stick

it there.”

So it seems that the artist is satirically attacking his subject.

And, perhaps, Shelley

is using the sculptor as a metaphor for himself or a symbol for himself.

Poetry outlives the

powerful.

We know that to be true, don't we?

Because, as I said, Shelley's more famous

today than he was two hundred years ago, whereas King George the Third is just one in a long

list of ancient kings.

If Shelley is using the poem to attack King George the Third and to say, “Look, you

think you're amazing.

You think you're powerful, but you'll crumble away and be forgotten.

But I and other artists won't,” then, he needs to remove himself personally from the

poem so it's not too obvious that that's what he's trying to achieve.

And he does that through removing himself in the poem at the end.

They're very clean

at the end to remind you that: I am detached from the king and the sculptor.

This is just

something in the middle of a desert.

I'm not writing about present-day England, I promise.

It's just a random desert.

Then, there's this interpretation of looking at the poem as a critique of religion.

We

know Shelley doesn't like religion.

There are certainly some religious references in

the poem.

To begin with, Ozymandias himself – this biblical character that most scholars

believe is the same pharaoh who persecuted Moses in Egypt, in the Bible, in the book

of Exodus – immediately gives the poem a religious undertone.

But it’s Ozymandias’

description of himself which is most religious, this ‘I am Ozymandias, king of kings’.

King of kings, as you may know, is the title that is given to Jesus in many books of the

Bible – Revelation 1, Timothy 6:15.

Jesus is called King of kings, Lord of lords.

So

there's a reference.

I think he's saying that he thinks of himself as almost godlike.

And,

of course, the desert setting reminds readers of the temptation of Jesus which took place

in the desert.

So how can we read the possible religious interpretation of the poem?

I think, simply,

that it's the same theme, in that nothing lasts forever.

Leaders and those with power

soon fade away.

Although, perhaps, Jesus has done a little bit better in not fading away

than King George the Third.

Whatever you think of this poem, it's useful to have numerous interpretations.

Put a comment

in the comment section.

How do you see this poem working?

Is it a specific critique of

Jesus or King George the Third?

Or is it a more general critique of those with power

and how they think?

They're so amazing.

Let me know what you think.

I'd be really interested to find out.

And please do pick

up a copy of the revision guide, which you can see linked in the description box.

It

really helps me to continue doing these videos if you guys can support it.

As you can probably

tell, to prepare this poem has taken me about ten or twelve hours, so really useful if you

guys can pick up the guide.

Thank you.