PREPARED BY: ANUSHKA NAVEED (LECTURER BAHRIA COLLEGE KARSAZ)

OZYMANDIAS
QUESTIONS-ANSWERS
1. What did the traveller see in the desert and whom he told about it?
Ans. The traveler saw two huge legs made of stone standing in the desert. There was a stony
body of the man lying broken near the legs. The traveller described the scene to the poet and
told him all about the ancient statue of the King.
2. How can you say that the sculptor was a great artist?
Ans. The sculptor was a skillful artist. He carved the expression of scorn and cold command
on the face of Ozymandias statue in such a manner that it seemed as if the sculptor mocked at
the king's self-obsession and passion. The visage of the statue could be read easily.
3. What was written on the pedestal of the statue of Ozymandias?
Ans. The inscription on the pedestal of Ozymandias statue says I am Ozymandias, the king of
kings, look on my works, ye mighty and despair. This suggests that the king was very
boastful, vain and arrogant.
4. What is the meaning of the phrase in the poem “the heart that fed”?
Ans. “The heart that fed” here means the heart of king Ozymandias which gave birth to those
passions and expressions as were mocked reproduced or copied by the sculptor artistically on
the stone, that anyone can read and understand the crafted countenance.
5. What is ironic about the fate of the Ozymandias?
Ans. The Ozymandias’ meaning is full of irony. Shelly contrasts Ozymandias’ boastful
words with image of his ruined and broken statue lying in the sand. The engraved words
show that he is the most powerful King, but in reality, he has ended up as ruined statue lying
scattered in the sand.
6. What is the message of the poem? OR What is the Central idea of the poem?
Ans. This is an ironical poem that explains the shallowness of the world. The main message
of Shelley's “Ozymandias ” is that political power is not destined to last. It is temporal, not
eternal, no matter how powerful or fearsome a particular ruler may be. This poem, though, it
seems a simple description of a statue, deceptively points to the dark reality that power
corrupts humans. The statue, even after its ruination, displays harsh expressions to show that
the king was not benevolent during his regime. The ruins point out that nothing in the world
is permanent.
7. How does this poem (Ozymandias) relate to your life?
Ans. It is natural for human to think of a high renown, and prosperous existence in this
mortal world. Unlike Ramses, the existence shall be taken as a short span of time in this
world. All powers belong to ALMIGHTY, shall be the utmost belief of every being.
PREPARED BY: ANUSHKA NAVEED (LECTURER BAHRIA COLLEGE KARSAZ)

8. The proud Ozymandias lies forgotten in the dessert. Comment.

Ans. As per the inscriptions written on the lying and broken statue of Ozymandias; ‘King of
Kings’ implying that his works shall be unsurpassed and remembered for eternity while all
his powers and pride have been vanished with the passage of the time, which clearly
indicates that all powers are temporary. Poetic Diction P.B. Shelly uses many literary devices
like; metaphor (Ozymandias being compared with the statue), irony (King of kings),
alliteration (coldcommand), enjambment (line 2 and 3) and assonance (‘a’ sound is repeated
throughout the poem) to narrate and describe the scene, witnessed by a visitor of an ancient
land.
Q9. What is the structure of the poem?
Ans. The poem is basically a sonnet. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem in which the same idea
runs throughout the poem in both of its parts such as the first part, an octet (eight lines), and a
sextet (six lines), the second part. “Ozymandias” also has the same two parts, to be
considered as a sonnet.
The whole poem follows ABBAABBACDCDCD. It is different from the traditional rhyme
scheme. Shelley used a mixture of an octet and a Shakespearian rhyme scheme. The purpose
of this rhyme scheme is to show the progress of time.
Themes
Power : All powers are temporary in this world, no matter how strong someone is,
financially or physically. A hero or sparrow both shall perish from this world of mortality.
Ramses II, considered himself as the mightiest and strongest ruler but what we now witness
the broken statue of the Ramses lying scattered in the sand.
Pride: Throughout the poem, Ramesses' pride is evident, from the boastful inscription where
he declares himself a "king of kings" to the "sneer of cold command" on his statue. However,
"Ozymandias" makes it clear that every person, even the most powerful person in the land,
will eventually be brought low, their name nearly forgotten and monuments to their power
becoming buried in the sand.
Some other themes could be; Time, Beauty, Art and Nature
Structure
"Ozymandias" is a sonnet, which is a type of poetic structure. All sonnets, including
"Ozymandias" are fourteen lines long and written in iambic pentameter. Contrary to many
other sonnets though, "Ozymandias" has an unusual rhyming scheme, following the pattern
ABABA CDCEDEFEF. Most sonnets follow the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and CDECDE
or CDCDCD.
PREPARED BY: ANUSHKA NAVEED (LECTURER BAHRIA COLLEGE KARSAZ)

Language
The language used in the poem by Shelly comprised of poetic techniques, such as; extended
metaphor, oxymoron which means the usage of two opposite parts of speech together
(colossal-wreck) and consonance etc. highly poetic language has been used by the poet to
present the idea more concisely and attractively.
Message
By alluding to an actual ancient empire, and an actual king, the poem reminds readers that
history is full of the rises and falls of empires. No power is permanent, regardless of how
omnipotent a ruler believes himself to be. Even the “king of kings” may one day be a
forgotten relic of an “antique land.
Analysis of Literary Devices in Ozymandias
Literary devices work as tools for writers to use to enrich their texts. With the help of literary
devices, the writers directly or indirectly project their main ideas. Their use brings richness and
clarity to the texts. Shelley also reveals his artistic skill in this poem using various literary
devices.
1) Metaphor: There is one extended metaphor used in the poem. The statue of Ozymandias
metaphorically represents power, legacy, and command. It clarifies the meanings of
the object and makes it clear that once the king was mighty and all-powerful. It also shows that
the sand has eroded the actual shape of the statue, representing the destructive power of time.

2) Personification: Shelley used personification, which means using human emotions for
inanimate objects. He uses personification twice in the poem. The fifth line, “And wrinkled lip,
and sneer of cold command,” refers to the broken head of the statue. However, the lifeless statue
of Ozymandias is referred to as a real person. The second example is in the sixth line of the poem
where “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read” shows as if the statue is commanding the
sculptor how to carve or express his emotions.

3) Imagery: Imagery is used to make the reader feel things through the five senses. The poet
has used images involving a sense of sights, such as two vast and trunkless legs, a shattered face,
wrinkled lip and desert. These images help readers visualize the status of the broken statue.

4) Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds in the same lines of
the poetry, such as the use of /c/ in “cold command”, the sound of /b/ in “boundless and bear”
and the sound of /l/ in “lone and level.

5) Enjambment: The term enjambment refers to lines that end without any punctuation marks.
Shelley used enjambments in the second and sixth lines of the poem where it is stated, “Who said
—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone” and “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read”.

6) Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of the vowel sounds in the same line such as the
sounds of /a/ in “stand and sand” and the sound of /e/ in “well and read.”
PREPARED BY: ANUSHKA NAVEED (LECTURER BAHRIA COLLEGE KARSAZ)

7) Irony: Irony is a figure of speech used to present the opposite meanings of words.
Ozymandias’s description presents him as a mighty, great, and fierce king, but in reality, there is
nothing but a broken, lifeless statue.

8) Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds such as /s/ in “Half sunk, a
shattered visage lies, whose frown”.