Grade 9 Exemplar essay comparing Ozymandias and The Prelude
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
Full marks essay comparing the theme of human power in the poems 'Ozymandias' and 'The Prelude'. These poems are both in the AQA Power and Conflict poetry anthology. I achieved a Grade 9 in English Literature. Feel free to check out my other uploads!
Discuss the ways in which poets present human power
in Ozymandias and Extract from, The Prelude
Plan:
Conceptual Overview
P1 – Humans think they have the most power.
P2 – Insignificance of human power.
Boat referred to as “bark” after speaker realises the power of nature.
P3 – structure of each; Ozymandias distanced from king, The Prelude enjambment, rhyme
scheme.
P4 – warnings; should be scared of nature. Repetition of “huge” in Prelude.
P3 – Speed at which human power dissipates (Ozymandias slow, The Prelude fast) / nature
more powerful
In the poems Ozymandias and Extract From, The Prelude, the poets, Percy Shelley
and William Wordsworth respectively, both explore human power and the insignificance of it
when compared with nature, something that has a much greater, eternal power. This theme is
common with romantic poets of the time. Both poems present a human who is arrogant and
proud, who thinks that they deserve to dominate nature. However, both poems also explore
mankind’s initial confidence followed by nature’s eventual dominance.
Both poems present humans as arrogant and egotistical; people who believe in their
own eternity. In the poem Ozymandias, Ozymandias believes that he will last forever and his
power and the empire he has created will be eternal. This is reflected in the quotation “Look
on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”, which was inscribed on Ozymandias’ pedestal. This
quotation depicts Ozymandias’ arrogance – he thought that centuries later he would still be
the most powerful man in the world and that he would be able to conquer time like he had
conquered other civilisations when he was alive. The quotation is ironic because his
civilisation no longer exists – all that remains is his “half sunk” statue. The word “colossal” is
used to describe Ozymandias’ statue but is more poignant when viewed as a metaphor for his
ego. Wordsworth’s ego and arrogance is also obvious in Extract From, The Prelude, where
he describes a boat he has stolen – this alone reflects his confidence – as an “elfin pinnace”.
His pride and arrogance at the beginning of the poem transformed his small rowing boat into
a mythical sailing ship. In the first half of Wordsworth’s poem, there is an overconfident
semantic field, with Wordsworth’s boat having an “unswerving” line, which highlights how
secure he feels in his power, despite how little power he really has.
Shelly and Wordsworth also both present human power as insignificant compared to
nature, with Wordsworth’s boat turning from an “elfin pinnace” to simply “bark” after he
encountered the full force of nature. The boat is a metaphor for human power, initially strong
and fearless but fragile and weak against nature. As soon as Wordsworth realised how
powerful nature was, he turned with “trembling oars”. This shows that Wordsworth realised
how little power he really had, and all his earlier confidence and arrogance dissipated.
Shelley explores the insignificance of human power by contrasting it with nature’s eternal
strength. Ozymandias’ statue is described as “vast and trunkless” which portrays an image of
desolate ruin. The statue is barely standing, with the torso and arms missing, which suggests
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