ozymandias Percy Shelley - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

ozymandias

Percy Shelley

Vocab-5

Word

Definition

Imperialism

Extending a country’s power through military force or colonisation.

Tyrant

A dictator.

Romantic

A literary movement glorifying nature and the arts over man.

Despotism

Exercising power in a cruel and controlling way.

Transient

Something that lasts a short amount of time.

AO3 (CONTEXT)

Shelley wrote the poem in 1817 when the British Museum announced that they would be acquiring a large bit of a statue of a famous Egyptain pharaoh: Ramesses II.Shelley wrote it in December for a poetry competition (FUN!) with his friend Horace Smith. Egyptain culture was popular at the time and they picked that as a topic too. Shelley was probably inspired by a book called bibliothecia historica. He bought this in 1812 which was about the history of the world. A Greek historian Diodurus wrote about the statue of Ramesses II in 30BC when it said:

‘One of these, made in a sitting posture, is the greatest in all Egypt, the measure of his foot exceeding seven cubitts . This piece is not only commendable for its greatness, but admirable for its cut and workmanship, and the excellency of the stone. In so great a work there is not to be discerned the least flaw, or any other blemish.Upon it there is this inscription: – ‘I am Osymandyas, king of kings; if any would know how great I am, and where I lie, let him excel me in any of my works.’

A statue of Ramesses II (remember he had lots made of himself) is in the British Museum today.

This is the one that was arriving in the museum that Percy

ShellEy

was inspired by

!

This clip shows how more of Ramesses II’s statue was discovered in a slum in

Ciaro

in 2017!

This is a giant eight meter chunk of it.

AO3 (king George iii)

The poem could be an attack on King George III who was Shelley’s king at the time of writing the poem and reigned longer than previous British kings of his time.George was obsessed with military conflicts: defeating France in a seven year war for instance.It is rumoured he suffered with mental illness later on in his reign-a link to how power can corrupt the mind in the poem?

I’m so powerful I’ve had the longest reign than anyone before me because I love military conflict. I’ve taken Europe and places in Africa!

AO3 (Ramesses ii)

Ozymandias is Greek for Ramesses.

Ramesses II was an Egyptain pharaoh who is the LONGEST reigning ruler of Egypt. He reigned for 67 years!Ramesses had the largest military with up to 100,000 men. He used his army to take back territories in Nubia that were originally Egyptian and to expand his rule across other countries like Syria and Sudan.Previous sculptures of pharaohs used shallow stone cutting which meant that they could be changed with time. Ramesses ordered masons (stone cutters) to have deeper engravings that would last and make them more prominent in the sun (Power obsessed fact: Ramesses thought he was close to the supernatural god of the sun (Ra) so he wanted his sculptures to be clear in the sun. )

THE POEM

I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frownAnd wrinkled lip and sneer of cold commandTell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped 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!’Nothing besides remains: round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

“Visage”:

French for face

“Pedestal”:

the base of the statue

“ye mighty”:

The Mighty

AO2 - STRUCTURE

I met a traveller from an antique land A

Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone B Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, AHalf sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown BAnd wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command ATell that its sculptor well those passions read CWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, DThe hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. CAnd on the pedestal these words appear: E‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: DLook on my works, ye mighty and despair!’ ENothing besides remains: round the decay F Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, EThe lone and level sands stretch far away.” F

It is a sonnet (has 14 lines)Sonnets are love poems. Petrarch (a famous Italian poet) wrote sonnets in the 14th century which had an octave and a sestet. Shelley uses this too.Shakespeare also wrote sonnets but didn’t use Petrarch’s form; he had his own rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG for. Shelley has used a bit of that at the start of this poem.This poem is a NEW sonnet that combines a bit of Petrarch and a bit of Shakespeare.It also has a VOLTA (a twist) which is in a sonnet.

It could be a love poem to reflect how Ozymandias’ love for power.

Language analysis

AO1- What are the suggested meanings?

AO2 –What’s the effect/s of a word?

Know your BASIC SUBJECT TERMINOLOGY!

A

d

jectives –

d

escribe nouns

The

cruel

pharaoh.

Nouns – objects “things”

Concrete nouns = things we CAN see or touch e.g. table, crown

Abstract nouns = things we CAN’T see or touch e.g. love/hope

Verbs – actions

She was

singing

.

Adverbs – add to actions

She was singing

loudly

and

badly

.

I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

“a traveller”-Indefinite article “a” not specific who it is-adds some mystery-distances Shelley’s views or intentions to perhaps critique the British monarchy in the poem

“antique” (old) this adjective stresses the time that nature has had over humans.

The legs of the statue were “vast” to intimidate people. This adjective juxtaposes with “trunkless” a quick realisation that it isn’t frightening but is broken much like human power.

“trunkless” means without a torso. Symbolises the break down of Ozymandias’ power.

Perhaps how disconnected he was to his mind.

I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

“a traveller”-Indefinite article “a” not specific who it is-adds some mystery-distances Shelley’s views or intentions to perhaps critique the British monarchy in the poem

“antique” (old) this adjective stresses the time that nature has had over humans.

The legs of the statue were “vast” to intimidate people. This adjective juxtaposes with “trunkless” a quick realisation that it isn’t frightening but is broken much like human power.

“trunkless” means without a torso. Symbolises the break down of Ozymandias’ power.

Perhaps how disconnected he was to his mind.

Stand

in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies

The statue now stands in a remote and deserted place. A place that was once ruled by a leader and was a place of battle and control.

Lots of commas, possibly to build your anticipation. What’s near them? What’s on the sand?

“shattered visage” a visage is a face. The face is shattered and broken. A symbol that his power was transient and dismantled over time.

Passive verb “lies” contrasts with how active he was as a ruler.

The face of the statue has been sunk into the sand. Nature has been powerful absorbing man’s power.

The adverb “half” could reflect how Ramesses himself was “two-faced” and hid his true despotic ways from civilians to stay in power.

And

wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

The adjective phrase “wrinkled lip” and the noun “sneer” mimic how cruel he was in power. Sneer in particular means a mocking smile to highlight how Ramesses maintained power by belittling others callously.

Is Shelley accentuating the dangers of power and how it can make you become corrupt and cruel?

Ramesses would give a “cold command”. The adjective “cold” could mean heartless like commanding the deaths of others. It also shows how power made him lose heart.

SOUND ALERT: Sharp “c” sounds reflect his cruel natureAND the long ‘o’ vowels could mimic desperation to keep power for a long time

Tell that its

sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

This means that the sculptor, making Ramesses’ statue, captured the cold command and sneer on his lip really well as it was clear on the statue This makes ‘the arts’ and creativity seem glorified which is typical of Romantic poets.

The cruelness on his face AND the artwork has survived LONGER than Ramesses itself.

It shows how transient humans are and how his despotism will always remain.

Could mean:

The sculptor stamped on the cold command and wrinkled lip which are “lifeless” things and are cold-hearted empty things in the world.

Could mean:

How Ramesses “stamped” on his Egyptian civilians and saw them as “lifeless things”. The demonstrative “these” carries a disgusted tone to reflect how he saw others as mere objects

.

A pedestal is near the bottom of the statue and it has writing on it. The fact there is a pedestal for the statue shows how important Ramesses believed he was.

And on the pedestal these words appear:'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

This line means look on all my creations you mighty other kings and be scared.

Imperative verb “look” foregrounds this line to stress that he wasn’t hesitant to give commands.

Ramesses’ arrogance (conceitedness): he is not just any king, he is the king of ALL kings!

Possessive pronoun “my” echoes how possessive and proud he was of all that he created.

He is giving a command that they should be intimidated by his power and therefore not challenge it.

Exclamation mark: aggression

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

This means the hand of the SCULPTOR not the hand of Ozymandias.

Mocked means to ridicule or joke but it also meant to imitate or copy.

SO it could mean the Sculptor copied the cold command and the wrinkled lip well OR that the sculptor was ridiculing Ramesses’ power.

Them does NOT mean people it refers back to the lip and sneer before.

The heart now means Ramesses’ heart. His love for power (heart) fed the horrible snarling, commands and wrinkled lip. It makes him seem power-hungry and suggest that power is unstoppable over humans.

Nothing beside remains. Round the

decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away

Punishment for his abuse of power and malicious control?

Shelley repeats the image of his broken power by referring to an image of decay. It could link to how humans decay- our lives our

transient compared to nature!

The demonstrative “that” adds a tone of anger- there is passionate shame in Ozymandias for thinking his power would last. It’s just “that colossal wreck” now, it isn’t a worthy powerful statue.

Alliteration of “l” and “s” in the final line stretches out how wide the sand is and how long nature’s time is compared to humans.

Thinking forward:

Possible exam questions:PLAN AN ESSAYCompare how poets present abuse of power in ‘Ozymandias’ and one other poem of your choice.Compare how poets present human weakness in ‘Ozymandias’ and one other poem of your choice.Compare how poets present use of power and control in ‘Ozymandias’ and one other poem of your choice.

‘Ozymandias’

Vocab: transient, despotism, tyrant

AO3:

Ramesses II longest reign

Could be a criticism of King George IIIInspired when statue was being brought to British Museum in 1818.Shelley was a romantic poet

Key quotes“look on my works ye mighty and despair!”“a shattered visage lies”“my name is Ozymandias king of kings”

Structure/FormVolta (twist) at end.Sonnet = love for powerMix of Petrarchan and Shakespeare sonnetRhyme scheme: ABABACDCEFEF

Get someone to read front of card.

Learn the key points on the back and say them without looking!

links:

Ozy’s

friends

‘London’

Abuse of power

Contrast how control lasts in ‘London’

Despotism in both

‘Tissue’Human power is TRANSIENTImages of breaking down/decay in both“raise a structure never meant to last”

‘MLD’

Abuse of power

Control

Callous power

Contrast how control lasts in ‘MLD’ with the metaphor of Neptune at the end.