11.(v) How does the poem highlight the theme of transience of glory and power ? (Ozymandias)
11.(v) How does the poem highlight the theme of transience of glory and power ? (Ozymandias)
Shelley highlights the transience of power through the ruined statue of Ozymandias, a once-mighty king, now reduced to 'two vast and trunkless legs of stone' and a shattered face half-buried in an empty desert. His arrogant boast, 'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!', is deeply ironic, since nothing of his empire survives. The 'boundless and bare' sands around the wreck prove that all glory and power are eventually erased by Time.
Marking Scheme
- 11 mark: reference to the ruined/shattered statue of the mighty king lying in the empty desert.
- 21 mark: explaining the irony of the boastful inscription ('Look on my Works... despair!') against the fact that nothing of his empire survives, proving power and glory are transient.
- 3Accept relevant quotations ('trunkless legs of stone', 'Nothing beside remains', 'boundless and bare') as evidence; reward any clear link between the ruins and the theme of impermanence.
Hint
Focus on the ruined, half-sunk statue in the empty desert and the irony of the boastful inscription against which 'Nothing beside remains'.
Quick Oral Answer
Through a broken statue lying in an empty desert and the ironic boast 'Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!', Shelley shows that even the mightiest king’s glory and power crumble away, leaving nothing but ruins and endless sand.
Analysis & Explanation
Shelley's sonnet uses irony and ruin imagery to prove that worldly power inevitably decays.
Concept
- Ozymandias (Greek name for Pharaoh Ramesses II) was once among the mightiest rulers on earth, yet the traveller finds only ruins.
Key Points
- Central device: IRONY — the boast 'Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!' backfires, since 'Nothing beside remains'.
- The 'sneer of cold command' is contrasted with the 'colossal wreck' to show arrogance guarantees nothing permanent.
- Even the sculptor's art (the 'passions' still readable on stone) outlasts the king's power, though it too is decaying.
Common Mistakes
- Merely retelling the poem's plot instead of naming the ironic inscription and the empty desert as the poet's proof of impermanence.
Real-World
- A timeless caution against pride: fame, power and empires all eventually fade before Time.
Common Mistakes
- 1Merely summarising the poem instead of explaining HOW specific images and the irony convey transience — examiners award marks for the link, not the retelling.
- 2Missing the irony of the inscription, which is the very heart of the theme.
- 3Forgetting to mention the empty, boundless desert that surrounds the wreck and underlines that nothing of the empire survives.
Previously Asked
'The vanity of human glory and power is transient.' Elucidate with reference to the poem 'Ozymandias'.
What do the expressions on Ozymandias' face reveal about him?
Interesting Facts
Ozymandias is the Greek name for the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II (reigned c.1279–1213 BCE), and Shelley wrote the poem in 1817 as part of a friendly sonnet-writing contest with his friend Horace Smith.
The poem was inspired by news that the British Museum had acquired a huge fragment of a statue of Ramesses II, making the theme of a fallen colossus vividly topical for Shelley’s readers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the irony in the inscription on Ozymandias’s pedestal?
The words 'Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!' were meant to make rivals despair at his unmatched greatness. Ironically, the reader now despairs at how utterly that greatness has vanished, since 'Nothing beside remains' but empty desert.
What survives of Ozymandias and what does it symbolise?
Only 'two vast and trunkless legs of stone' and a shattered, sneering face survive. They symbolise the ruin of arrogant, tyrannical power and prove that no ruler, however mighty, can escape the destructive passage of Time.