Ozymandias poem essays
Edmund Burke identified as sublime "the experience of contemplating enormous heights and depths but also the experience of being isolated from other humans" Ferguson There are major themes that come out in each of the sonnets. Near them on the sand, Half-sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamp'd 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: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
The historical context of the poem is important to consider when analyzing the poem for underlying perspectives.
Ozymandias theme
By contrast, much of the rest of the poem is formed of long, complicated sentences that stretch on and on, like the desert or time itself. Legend has it that Shelley was inebriated when he wrote the poem and that it took under 10 minutes to compose. Only the poet can decide what structure to use. It isn't clear whether Shelley would have seen statues himself and whether he was inspired by a real piece of sculpture. Most sonnets break into two parts: an 'octet' the first eight lines and a 'sextet' the last six lines , with the second part commenting on the first. The king Ozymandias has a great amount of pride for what he has accomplished during his time as ruler. According to the inscription, which has survived, the king Ozymandias set up the statue to draw attention to his 'works' - but his own face has not survived, let alone the empire he may have once ruled. His poem, Ozymandias, was inspired by seeing a friend of his, Horace Smith, write a poem on a similar topic. It operates in a loose iambic pentameter, with every line consisting of ten syllables, except for the first and tenth, which have eleven. None of Ozymandias marks on his empire are left, but the remnants of the statue remain O Life!It could imply that his subsequent obscurity was a punishment from God - a subject that Shelley considered in several of his other poems. The power in this poem lies with Ozymandias and he uses that power to control and command his empire. The second caesura comes after 'Stands in the desert.
Ozymandias analysis line by line
All three of those depictions are things you would associate with a king that is ruling tyrannically. The face 'visage' lies on the sand, 'half-sunk' and 'shattered', making it hard to recognise. However, at the bottom of this sorrow, the poem holds great lessons to people who read it. As a result, the poem has a tight, prose-like quality to it, reading smoothly and quickly. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, but there are several variations in the pattern, including reversed first feet 'Nothing beside remains' and 'Tell that its sculptor…'. It had an overall theme of how all human accomplishments and material things all eventually fade to nothing. By applying literary devices such as metaphors, irony, form, and structure, Shelly is able to convey the fact that art is everlasting while the impacts of huge leader figures are not. Instead, it is presented in one block of cohesive text. When the people see the statue it reminds them of him and in a way is like he is always watching over them. It is a tale about a great king named Ozymandias.However, one survivor beside Ozymandias' words is the sculptor's skill: it is witnessed by the success of the statue in capturing 'those passions' of the king, even when partly ruined.