Compare Ozymandias and Tissue: Grade 9 Thesis & Quotes (AQA)

Quick Comparison Grid (The “Ninja Cheat Sheet”)

1. The Illusion of Permanence: Stone vs. Paper

Ozymandias:

• Ozymandias believes stone is eternal (“Look on my works… and despair!”). He uses the heaviest, most durable material to try and “freeze” his power.
• The “shattered visage” proves that even the hardest stone is vulnerable to time and the “lone and level sands.”
• Elite Link: The irony is that the only thing that survived was the sculptor’s understanding of the King’s cruelty, not the King’s actual power.

Tissue:

• Dharker acknowledges from the start that paper is fragile (“Paper thinned by age or touching”). She doesn’t pretend that man-made things last.
• She uses paper as a metaphor for all structures (buildings, maps, borders), showing that they are all “transparent” and temporary.
• Elite Link: Unlike Ozymandias, who is mocked by his ruins, Dharker suggests that accepting fragility allows us to build things that are “meant to last” in a spiritual sense.

Explore: Both poets show that humanity tries to control the world through structures, but while Shelley shows the failure of stone, Dharker shows the transparency of paper.

2. The Source of Power: Command vs. Connection

Ozymandias:

• Power is coercive and distant. It is a “cold command” that seeks to intimidate the “Mighty.” It is power over people.
• The King is isolated; he is a “King of Kings” with no subjects left, only “trunkless legs.”
• Elite Link: Ozymandias’s power is purely ego-driven, making its eventual disappearance a form of cosmic justice.

Tissue:

• Power is found in the everyday. It is in “Koran” pages, “sepia slips,” and “maps.” It is power that connects people through history and record.
• The final shift to “your skin” suggests that the most powerful “structure” is the human body and the life it contains.
• Elite Link: Dharker’s power is human-centric, suggesting that we should value the “living tissue” over the “capitals and monoliths” of the state.

Explore: Shelley critiques the arrogance of the individual, while Dharker critiques the rigidity of the system.

3. Structure: Decay vs. Drift

Ozymandias:

• The Sonnet form is broken and blended, mirroring the “shattered” state of the statue. It refuses to stay in one traditional shape.
• The frame narrative (“I met a traveller”) creates distance, making the King’s power seem like a fading whisper.
• Elite Link: The irregular rhyme scheme reflects the “sands” shifting over the ruins, showing that nature has the final word.

Tissue:

• The unrhymed quatrains and enjambment create a fluid, “drifting” pace that mimics the lightness of paper.
• The lack of fixed rhythm reflects the poem’s message: that life should not be “caged” by rigid borders or structures.
• Elite Link: The final single line—”turned into your skin”—breaks the pattern, forcing the reader to focus on the human element as the ultimate conclusion.

Explore: Shelley uses structure to enact the fall of an empire, while Dharker uses structure to enact the freedom of the spirit.

Context Comparison (AO3 Power Move)

Elite Insight: Ozymandias is a critique of the past, while Tissue is a manual for the present. Shelley tells us what doesn’t last; Dharker tells us what should matter.

Exam Sentence Starters

1. “While Shelley presents the inevitable decay of physical monuments as a mocking reminder of hubris, Dharker explores the inherent fragility of all man-made structures…”
2. “Both poets utilize the metaphor of ‘transparency’ or ‘shattering’ to describe the failure of human control: Shelley through the ‘visage’ in the sand, and Dharker through the ‘paper’ that lets things through…”
3. “The ‘cold command’ of Ozymandias serves as a stark contrast to the ‘living tissue’ in Dharker’s poem, as both poets weigh the value of physical power against human experience…”
4. “Shelley’s use of a decaying sonnet mirrors the physical collapse of an empire, whereas Dharker’s fluid enjambment reflects the spiritual freedom of the human soul…”
5. “Contextually, Shelley’s Romantic warning to tyrants parallels Dharker’s contemporary exploration of identity, as both poets argue that man-made borders are ultimately futile…”

FAQs

What is the best poem to compare with Ozymandias?

Tissue is excellent for the fragility of power. You can also compare it to My Last Duchess for arrogance, or London for institutional control.

What is the best poem to compare with Tissue?

Ozymandias is the strongest link for transience. Alternatively, compare it to London for the mapping of cities, or The Emigrée for identity and memory.

What is the best theme linking Ozymandias and Tissue?

The Fragility of Human Power and the Passage of Time—specifically, how the things humans build (statues or maps) are eventually overcome by nature or the “living” world.

What quotes should I compare between Ozymandias and Tissue?

• “Shattered visage” (Ozymandias) vs. “Paper thinned by age” (Tissue)—the physical decay of man-made things.
• “Look on my works” (Ozymandias) vs. “Maps too. The sun shines through their borderlines” (Tissue)—the failure of borders and monuments.
• “Nothing beside remains” (Ozymandias) vs. “Turned into your skin” (Tissue)—the end of the empire vs. the endurance of the human.

How do I compare structure in Ozymandias and Tissue?

Shelley uses a decaying sonnet to show the physical breakdown of power over time. Dharker uses fluid quatrains and enjambment to show that life should not be restricted by rigid structures. Both use form to reflect the “instability” of the world.

What is a Grade 9 thesis for Ozymandias vs. Tissue?

“While Shelley presents the inevitable decay of physical monuments as a mocking reminder of human hubris, Dharker explores the inherent fragility of all man-made structures, suggesting that true power lies in the transient, living tissue of human experience.”

Read Next

• Ozymandias Revision Sheet
• Tissue Revision Sheet
• Power & Conflict Comparisons Hub