Shelly
Join now to read essay Shelly
1. logical structure
*Ozymandias, or Ramese II, was pharaoh of Egypt in the thirteenth century B.C.
1. The poem, as an Italian sonnet, can be divided into two parts: the first eight lines (octave) and the next six lines (sestet). If the octave part describes the fragments of a sculpture the traveler sees on an ancient ruin, the sestet goes further to record the words on the pedestal and then describe the surrounding emptiness. How are the words on the pedestal in contrast to both the octave and the last three lines (triplet) of the poem? In other words, what does Ozymandias want to achieve, as opposed to what is left behind him?
The feet of the colossus of Rameses II on which Shelleys poem Ozymandias is based.
From Art, Space and the City p. 68.
2. Irony
From the last question, we can see the most obvious kind of opposition (between what Ozymandias said and what is left behind him). This opposition has the effect of dramatic irony. What other sets of oppositions or conflicts can we see in the poem? Are they ironic?
3. Structure of narration
The poem contains a story (told