Please login to post your comments.
Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley
About Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. he was considered controversial for writing on themes like atheism and non-violent resistance. His poetry was recognised only after his death. Some of his best-loved poems are 'Ode to the West Wind' and 'To a Skylark'.
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.'
Available Answers
- 1.
Where had the traveller come from?
- 2.
What had he seen in the desert? What are the various phrases used to describe it in the poem?
- 3.
What was written on the pedestal of the statue? Explain it in your own words. What do the lines say about the character of Ozymandias?
- 4.
Who are the two narrators in the poem?
- 5.
Near the, on the sand,/Half sunk, a shattered visage lies
- Who is the speaker in these lines?
- What was the expression on the face of the statue? What did the expression say about the sculptor?
- Explain the meaning of the phrase 'shattered visage', Why was it half sunk?
- 6.
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
- Whose hand is being referred to in the given line? Who does the word 'them' refer to?
- Explain the two meanings of the word 'mocked'.
- Whose heart is being referred to in the line? What had it 'fed'?
- Where do the passions of the old king survive?
5 more answer(s) available.