ENG 1501
September 1
ENG
1501
2014
Assignment 1- L. Grindley-Ferris 50332333
OZYMANDIAS
1. What kind of man was the Pharaoh Ozymandias, do you think? Quote from the poem to substantiate your answer.
Pharaoh Ozymandias was a mighty man full of pride, power and cold heartedness which is evidence in these lines, ''my name is Ozymandias, king of kings'' and ''look on my work ye mighty and despair'' and “the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.”
1
2. The poet takes great care to describe, in lines 4 and 5, the ‘passions’ of
Ozymandias that are ‘stamped on these lifeless things’ (line 7). What is the effect of the juxtaposition of ‘passions’ and ‘lifeless’? What is Shelley suggesting about human ambition?
2
The poem describes the work of the sculptor who was able to capture the king’s
“passions” and give meaningful expression to the stone, an otherwise “lifeless thing.”
In the poem there is also an element of human vanity where ambition creates achievements, but even great accomplishments are eventually forgotten. The sculptor’s attention is praised by means of the only things that “survive” are the artist’s records of the king’s passion, carved into the stone.
3. The ‘hand’ and the ‘heart’ (line 8) are, of course, the hand and heart of the sculptor, not Ozymandias. Discuss the irony in this fact, referring particularly to lines 10 and 11.
The irony is created by means that the King thought his “heart” which will allow the
3
artist to fed off this to create a sculptor that resembles him is actually aiding the
“mocking hand” of the sculptor to artistically mock the passions of the king. The
4 sculptor is seen rather as a testament to his oppression than his benevolence.
4. An atmosphere of degeneration and despair is created in the poem. How
5
does the poet achieve this? Quote from the poem to substantiate your answer.
"Nothing else remains, round the decay" the speaker alerts us that nothing but the
sculptor
ENG
1501
2014
Assignment 1- L. Grindley-Ferris 50332333
OZYMANDIAS
1. What kind of man was the Pharaoh Ozymandias, do you think? Quote from the poem to substantiate your answer.
Pharaoh Ozymandias was a mighty man full of pride, power and cold heartedness which is evidence in these lines, ''my name is Ozymandias, king of kings'' and ''look on my work ye mighty and despair'' and “the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.”
1
2. The poet takes great care to describe, in lines 4 and 5, the ‘passions’ of
Ozymandias that are ‘stamped on these lifeless things’ (line 7). What is the effect of the juxtaposition of ‘passions’ and ‘lifeless’? What is Shelley suggesting about human ambition?
2
The poem describes the work of the sculptor who was able to capture the king’s
“passions” and give meaningful expression to the stone, an otherwise “lifeless thing.”
In the poem there is also an element of human vanity where ambition creates achievements, but even great accomplishments are eventually forgotten. The sculptor’s attention is praised by means of the only things that “survive” are the artist’s records of the king’s passion, carved into the stone.
3. The ‘hand’ and the ‘heart’ (line 8) are, of course, the hand and heart of the sculptor, not Ozymandias. Discuss the irony in this fact, referring particularly to lines 10 and 11.
The irony is created by means that the King thought his “heart” which will allow the
3
artist to fed off this to create a sculptor that resembles him is actually aiding the
“mocking hand” of the sculptor to artistically mock the passions of the king. The
4 sculptor is seen rather as a testament to his oppression than his benevolence.
4. An atmosphere of degeneration and despair is created in the poem. How
5
does the poet achieve this? Quote from the poem to substantiate your answer.
"Nothing else remains, round the decay" the speaker alerts us that nothing but the
sculptor