Question 1

Ozymandias Context

Accepted Answer

‘Ozymandias’ was the Greek name given to Ramses II, one of the greatest pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. In the early 19th century, when Shelley was writing poetry, Europeans became fascinated with Egyptian culture after Napoleon conquered Egypt and began transporting the great treasures of the Ancient Egyptians back to Europe. Shelley and a friend learned of the acquisition by the British Museum of a massive statue of Ramses II. They decided to have a competition to see who could write the best poem about this statue.

Question 2

Ozymandias Analysis

Accepted Answer

Shelley uses language throughout the poem that impresses us with the ruined state of the statue. When he describes the statue he uses the technique of personification (giving something that is not human the qualities or actions of a human). He describes the statue as though it has been alive at some point but is now dead and decaying.

Question 3

Ozymandias Structure

Accepted Answer

The poem Ozymandias uses a Petrarchan sonnet form but this is often disrupted. The sonnet is a stylistic form in poetry. It originated in Italy and the term comes from the Italian sonneto or little poem, little song.  The poem had taken on its present form by the 13th century – a poem of 14 lines, with a strict rhyme scheme. There are a number of different types of sonnet but the sonnets of Percy Bysshe Shelley loosely follow the Petrachan form – this consists of an eight-line set that expresses an idea or problem and then a six-line set that advises a solution or resolution.

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Revise Ozymandias Poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Power and Conflict Poems