"Ozymandias" by Perscy Bysshe Shelley

Essay by dogcatUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, April 2004

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Sub-- What is the tone of a speaker of the poem and how do we understand the tone.


Perscy bysshe shelley

Ozymandias is one of the best sonnets that

Shelley wrote. Technically the poem confirms to the sonnet form in having 14 lines.

Ozymandias a Greek form of an Egyptian name.

In its rhyme scheme is ab ab ac dc ed ef .


Theme-nostalgia for the past idea that things change and nothing will stay in its original glory forever.

Tone- Speaker is also mocking the great king because he built up this huge kingdom on the backs of worker only to have it now in shambles.

This short poem tells the story of the remains of the past and how they lack to make any lasting impact on the lives of those in the present. The opening line, "I met a traveler from an antique land" gives the poem a mysterious air.

Neither the traveler nor his location is identified which helps the reader to understand that the events that occur could have happened anywhere, any time, and to any one. Throughout this poem the traveler, as well as the speaker are kept anonymous because Shelly's goal is to keep the focus on the main subject, which is Ozymandias himself.

The statue of king ozymandias wears an expression of hauteur, contempt, arrogance, and cruel confidence even to this days. The vast ness of the boundless desert,which surround the ruins of the statue. Though this statue was half buried on the sands, face was broken but it had a sign of anger and his lips was sign of pride and expression of contempt, as by turning up the nose. This is absolutely irony.

Though it was life less but the hand of the artist who showed his dislike...