Ozymandias by Percy Shelley
Part of the AQA Poetry Anthology, Power and Conflict
Analyse the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley to understand the use of form, structure and poetic devices and how these relate to the underlying themes within the poem.
We’ve captured all of the points below in our PDF guide which you can download below.
Where to start
Analysing poetry can be a little daunting at first, and you may need to read it a few times before you understand what the poet is trying to say. Don’t worry though, you will soon get used to it and start to understand how to approach analysing a poem.
It’s important that you use the version of the poem from your anthology when doing your analysis. The layout of some poems can differ from publication to publication (particularly over the internet) – perhaps some words will have been changed or the stanzas may be set out differently. This can affect the analysis. So, always work from the version set out in your anthology as this is how the poem will be laid out in your exam.
When analysing the poem try to do a little research on the poet themselves. It is not strictly necessary but understanding a little about them and their background can provide some helpful context to the poem which can be useful in your analysis.
Use the button opposite to download a clean copy of the poem Ozymandia by Percy Shelley. Use this to mark up with your own notes using the analysis below.
About the poet - Percy Shelley
- Percy Shelley was born in 1792. He was born in Sussex and his family were wealthy.
- He was privately educated at Eton before going on to attend Oxford University, where he was expelled for his out-spoken views supporting atheism.
- At the time the Christian church was powerful and most people followed Christian views and ways.
- For Shelley to speak out in support of athesim during these times was very controversial, and it caused a big rift between him and his family.
- Shelley had a love of politics and his views were strongly pacifist, he abhorred violence and war.
- As a poet Shelley is generally considered to be a ‘romantic’ poet with themes of nature and freedom running through his poems.
Background to the poem
- Shelley wrote Ozymandias in 1817 when George III was King.
- King George III was very strict and authoritarian and Shelley did not like this, believing it was an abuse of power.
- However, in those times Shelley could not be seen to openly criticise the King.
- Ozymandias is considered to be Shelley’s way of criticising George III, and more generally those in power indirectly.
What is the poem about?
- Around the time the poem was written the remains of on Egyptian Pharaoh, Rameses II (known as Ozymandias), was found in the desert.
- Ozymandias had a reputation for being an abusive and aggressive leader. Shelley draws similarities between him and George III.
- A Pharaoh enjoyed a very elevated status in society during their time. They were considered to be Gods in human form who would leave a lasting impression on the world.
- The poem presents the statue as an allegory (an image used to portray a hidden meaning) for those in power (e.g. King George III).
- The statue is found crumbled and alone in the desert, and Shelley uses irony to point out how such a powerful figure as a Pharaoh may be important during his time, but eventually his legacy crumbles: essentially time changes everything.
So now we know that the poem is about let’s analyse how Shelley uses poetic devices to tell his story.
Form and Structure
- The poem is written roughly in the form of a sonnet. This is unusual given the poem is about power as sonnets are typically used more in romantic poems. It’s therefore important to ask why Shelley used this format. His other poems were typically sonnets too so maybe he was just accustomed to this form, however it could also be to show his love of pointing out how fickle and temporary power is.
- Whilst being written largely as a sonnet is does not stick to the traditional rules of any particular sonnet form (see point below as an example). This reinforces the point that things don’t stay the same: whilst at one point sonnets were recognised to have a rigid structure, Shelley is adapting that structure to show that things can, and will change.
- A sonnet typically has a predictable rhyme scheme but the rhyme scheme here is very unpredictable, with no real identifiable pattern. Perhaps Shelley is pointing out how that life is unpredictable and whilst the powerful may think their legacy will last, everything changes.
- The poem is written in iambic pentameter – where every second syllable is stressed. This gives a sort of marching beat to the poem, which could represent time marching on and as it does so Rameses’ power crumbles.
Use of language
Shelley writes the poem from the perspective of a third party so as not to be seen as directly critical of the King “I met a traveller from an antique land”.
The language he uses to describe Ozymandias is rather grand and proper “antique”, “vast”, “visage”. This emphasises that he was a powerful man.
Shelley uses negative language continuously throughout the poem: “shattered” “lifeless” “remains” “decay”. This in itself is powerful as it is the way Shelley shows he is being critical.
The line; “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone, stand in the desert” shows that the statue is barely standing. It is a rather desolate line that provides some powerful imagery of the statue reduced to ruins, with no one around to care.
There is some clever use of alliteration in the phrase “cold command”. The repeating ‘ck’ sound emphasises Ozymandias’ cruel, ruthless nature.
The reference to “King of kings” has a biblical echo to it (this is the inscription on the statue). This is how Jesus was described and Shelley uses it to show how great Ozymandias thought he was (a God in human form). It is a rather clever reference as it also could be seen to be a criticism towards the church (we know Shelley was an atheist!).
“Look on my works ye mighty, and despair!”. This line highlights the ego and vanity that those in power have. It is written as an order, commanding everyone to look upon him to see how great he is.
There is further use of alliteration in the phrases “boundless and bare” and “lone and level” in the final lines of the poem. This further emphasises the fact that nothing remains. Nature is the powerful one, having weakened and defeated the statue.
Enjambment is used towards the end: ‘Nothing beside remains’. This forces the reader to stop, and take a breath. This emphasises the line and therefore the impermanence of power. it
The final line is a powerful one: “The lone and level sands stretch far away”. It shows that nature has conquered and the statue, and Ozymandias’ legacy is in ruins.
Themes and comparisons
If you’re presented with this poem in the exam you will be asked to compare it to one of the other poems from the anthology in some way. You may also decide to use it as the comparison poem. To do this you need to think about the themes that are presented in the poem and which other poems in the anthology have similar themes. We’ve summarised these briefly below.
Power of humans
The poem shows that power is fleeting and does not last forever.
Compare to:
- London
- My Last Duchess
- Storm on the Island
- Tissue
- Checkin Out Me History
Power of nature
The poem shows that nature will always overcome, no matter how powerful humans think they are.
Compare to:
- Extract from The Prelude
- Exposure
- Storm on the Island
- Tissue
- Kamikaze
Pride and Arrogance
Throughout the poem Shelley draws attention to the arrogance of humans believing they are all powerful.
Compare to:
- Charge of the Light Brigade
- My Last Duchess
What next?
We hope you’ve found this analysis useful, but please remember that we all interpret things differently. Just because we’ve read it one way, does not that it can not have an alternative meaning. Remember that when you’re reading it through – you could pick up on something totally different and that’s fine. There is no right or wrong interpretation of a poem – as long as you can analyse and justify why the poem makes you feel a certain way then there are marks to be had in an exam.
We have prepared a PDF summary sheet containing all of the information on this page which you may find useful when revising. Use this when reading the poem again and make your own notes and highlights. You can download it by clicking on the link below.
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Other Resources
This is a list of resources we’ve found really useful as we’ve been researching. Some of these are free, but some are paid resources. Please note that we do not earn any commission if you choose to purchase using the links below. There’s also some more of our resources below for you to download.
- Mr Bruff – he has some great resources on YouTube and through his website mrbuff.com.
- Collins Snap Revision book from Amazon
- PoemAnalysis.com
- savemyexams.co.uk
- Tips on how to manage exam stress
- Tips on how to revise