Practice
notes
Ozymandias
By Percy
Bysshe Shelley
I met a
traveller from an antique land
Who said:
`Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in
the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half
sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And
wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that
its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet
survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand
that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on
the pedestal these words appear --
"My
name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on
my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing
beside remains. Round the decay
Of that
colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone
and level sands stretch far away.'
Introduction:
Persuasive device – Perhaps a 10 second clip or still photo from the scenes
of the appointment of the
new North Korean leader? Rhetorical question – “When we look at the world
around us, isn’t an examination of the way human beings exercise power still
something that we can, and perhaps should, engage in?"
Thesis:
In his poem, Ozymandias, Percy
Shelley certainly presents an idea which has relevance for the global citizens
of the 21st century. In just
14 lines Shelley captures the essence of a particularly prominent human
characteristic – the tendency to allow power and status to go to one’s head.
The poem positions readers to understand that such pride in one's power and
belief in its longevity is a delusion.
Who will connect with this: Almost anybody alive could
be expected to connect with this idea. In the 21st century we see examples
every day in the media of people who seem to have exactly Ozymansias' view of
themselves. (List some examples). Those interested in politics and the history
of politics might be especially interested. The poem could almost be read as a
warning to those in positions of power or who desire power that it is more ephemeral
than we think and our view of ourselves may not be shared by others.
Body:
The poem is a sonnet and the first
section presents readers with an interesting scenario but not one in which the
idea is clearly relevant to those of us living in the modern world. We need to
read through to the end of the poem before this relevance becomes completely
apparent. Shelley does immediately engage our
attention though through the use of the first person pronoun as he begins to
tell his story – “I met a..”. We immediately feel as if we are involved in a
chain of storytelling. It’s a little like hearing the story of a friend’s
adventure from a third party. So, in fact, it is “the traveller” who is
speaking to us, not the poet. To the 21st century reader who is
perhaps a little wary of poetry as a medium, this might in fact help to
overcome some of our natural suspicion.
We are also immediately taken to
the “antique land” where the events have taken place and the traveller begins a
description of what he or she saw. Although we are not yet sure that we can
connect with the ideas, we know we can connect with the imagery used to present
this scene to us. We have a sense of having been transported to some desolate
area in the Middle East, Egypt or Saudi Arabia or some exotic place where these
two “vast and trunkless legs stand in the desert”. Perhaps the 21st
century reader, with the advantage of memories of having seen the sphinx and
the pyramids at least on television or at the movies, if not in real life, is
in a better position to relate to this than Shelley’s 19th century
reader. Even without this, the language used
creates a vivid picture – the “trunkless legs ” and the “shattered
visage” can be imagined because of the power of the language choices to create
a visual image for the reader.
