It covers one of the main poems that is studied for the GCSE exams. It provides you key quotes that can be used for your exam with also detailed analysis for your questions.
It also provides a summary of the poet and contexual information to help to gain more marks.
POWER AND CONFLICT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - GCSE AQA SPEC - GRADE 9 - FULL ANNOTATIONS OF EACH POEMS - COMPARISON ANALYSIS - CONTEXT - GLOSSORY OF DEVICES
Power and Conflict Poetry revision pack
GCSE poetry
All for this textbook (6)
Written for
GCSE
GCSE
English
4
All documents for this subject (3323)
Seller
Follow
divyageorge
Content preview
GCSE Poetry, Power and Conflict: Ozymandias
Summary:
Traveller tells the poet that two huge stone legs stand in the desert. Near them
on the sand lies the damaged stone head. The face is distinguished by a
frown and sneer which the sculptor carved on as the features. Around the
huge fragments stretches the empty desert
Context:
Shelley grew up in a wealthy family and is knows as a romantic. He was
expelled from the uni for atheism which led his father to disinherit him. He
drowned at sea. He is known as a radical. Ozymandias can be read as
criticism of people/systems that become huge and believe that they are
invincible.
Structure:
A sonnet (14 lines) but doesn’t have simple rhymes scheme, lines are split by
full stop and rhyme is irregular. Uses iambic pentameter. The irregularity of
the rhyme scheme maybe a symbol of the broken statue itself and how it is no
longer perfect.
"I met a traveller from an antique land" (1)
Shelley begins the poem by detaching himself from the story being told. He
wants to point 'not open criticism’. But a thinly veiled attack.
The very fact that the "land" is "antique" suggests that it is outdated, kind of
like dial-up internet. The speaker implies that the traveller is coming from a
place that is more primitive or older than the speaker's, a place that used to be
home to a civilization and culture that has passed away.
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair" (10)
The tone is indicated through the exclamation mark as it shows strength and
authority, but it is ironic as nobody is listening.
Also portrays Ozymandias as arrogant and foolish as his "works" turns in
to "despair" but he tells the "mighty" to be worried as their works will never
be good as his. This deliberately portrays him as stupid as there is nothing
left "beside remains”.
"Sneer of cold command" (5)
Shows Ozymandias’s character as arrogant and powerful but now ironic as
there is nothing left. Also tells us the statue is wearing the same expressions
as the king. (synaesthesia)
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller divyageorge. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.59. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
