y King, was raised to the ground.
Not asingle trace of
Works' was in sight. his
(dExplain:'
In the
the lone and levell sands stretch far away'.
last line of the poem, the poet
brings out the formidability
ls the glory, pomp and
splendour of even the
nighty and pushes their glory intooblivion. In
gbut theall pervasiveness of nature is
thakes the concluding;line of the poem musical?visible.
Skilful use of
el and 'sands alliteration in 'boundless and bare'; 'lone and
ine of the stretch' lenda musical effect to the
poem. concluding
SHORT ANSWER OUESTIONS
(to be answered in
01. What did the about 40 words each)
of the poem?
traveller tell the poet in the octave (first
eight lines)
The traveller told the poet that he saw a
desert. Two trunkless legs stood broken statue in the
trunk was nowhere to be seen, Itsmounted on the pedestal butits
half-buried face with a cold
expression revealed the sculptor's talernt and the king's
Q2. What do the'trunkless legs' and arrogance.
The
'shattered visage' signify?
'trunkless legs' and 'shattered visage' bring Out the
formidability of Time'. Man cannot immortalize himself by
getting statues carved out as passage of time will
shatter them
and pass tracesof his glory into oblivion.
23. "The hand that mocked them and
the heart that fed'.Whose hand
and heart has the poet referred to in this line?
(Textual)
The expression, 'The hand that mocked' refers to the
sculptor's
Skill in reproducing king Ozymandias's face
Stone and 'the heart that fed' refers to the
expressions in
arrogance ot the
264 Literature Companion 10
considered himself to be fha
conceited king Ozymandias who
mightiest of the mighty.
expression of Ozymandias as captured by the
Q4. Describe the
sculptor?
cold hostility of the frowning scornful
The sculptor captured the
brow and the wrinkled lip brought out the
face. The knitted
arrogance of the king.
the'shattered visage' give about the sculptor?
Q5. What idea does
visage' shows the artisticskill of the sculptor who
The 'shattered of feelings)
nuances (subtle shades
very dextrously captured all
arrogant king.
of the cold expression of the
Ozymandias, king of kings." VWhy does Ozymandias
Q6. "Myname is What quality of the king is
kings'?
refer to himself as 'king of (Textual)
revealed through this statement.
power, position and glory, Ozymandias
Very proud of his
kings. Hence he calls
thoughthimself to be the greatest of all
"king of kings". The statement reveals the pretentiousness
himself
of this arrogant king.
works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Who is Ozymandias
Q7. "Look on my
when he speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they
referring to (Textua)
despair?
Mighty,' Ozymandias refers to his fellow kings who
By ye and great. He
consider themselves to be very powerful, mighty
own greatness is so enormous
feels that the magnitude of his insignificance
and
that it would pale their achievemnents into
give them reasonsto feel ashamed and dejected. (Textual)
What is yourimpressionabout Ozymandias: as a
king?
Q8. looked
who
Ozymandias appears to be a very conceited king to bethe
himself
down upon the other kings and considered
265
reatest of all. His irational approach to
getting acolossal statue carved out immortalize himself by
shows his
Nny did Ozymandias get such pompous and
short-sightedness.
inscribed on the pedestal? bombastic words
Ozymandías's conceit made him get such
bormbastic words inscribed on the pedestal. His pompous and
that made himn
believe that he would be short-sightedness
remembered by
posieritywas also responsible for such an inscription.
014Kothing beside remains.' What does the narrator
says these words? mean when he
The (Textual)
narrator means that
oblivion and not a singleOzymandias' s existence passed into
trace of his glory could be
anvwhere. There is an element of irony in this seen
King aimed to achieve statement - the
works, but not a trace of immortality through his statue and his
them left in the world.
is
11. What message is
conveyed through the poem? (Textual)
Through this poem, the poet brings out the
glory and power. The attempt of vanity of human
their names by building mighty kings to immortalize
statues is bound to fail, for they too,are
subject to decay and ruin. Thus the
the futility of vanity and poem compels us to think of
at ourselves pretentions. It makes us look modestly
impressing upon us the short-lived nature of
human pomp and glory.
. Whatidea doyou form about the traveller from
The the poem?
traveller seems to be adventure-loving and highly observant
who
13. What shares
didti the experiences of his travels with his friends.
the travellerrnotice in the desert?
The
traveller saw ahuge dilapidated statue whoselegs were still
nounted
butits
on the pedestal. Its face was
half-buried in the sand
trunk was nowhere to be seen.
266
Literature Companion 10
Q14. What does the dilapidated state of the statue suggest?
The dilapidated state of the statue suggests that it is ta.
neglected and uncared for. It has lost all its
magnificence.
grandeur and
Q15. What must have happened to the trunk of the statue?
The passage of time must have taken its toll. The trunk mck
have been broken and buried in the sand somewhere.
Q16. Why do you think Ozymandias got such a colossal statue carved
out?
Ozymandias being very arrogant and pompous got a very huge
statue of himself carved out to immortalizehimself. He chose to
have such a gigantic size of the statue as he wanted it to match
with themagnitude of hisachievements.
Q17. Why did Ozymandias get some specific words inscribed on the
pedestal?
Ozymandias got these words inscribed on the pedestal to
challenge his rivals and establish his supremacy. The inscnpto
shows that he was a proud and a conceited king.
Q18. How does the phrase, "Nothing beside remains" highlight
Ozymandias's short-sightedness?
Ozymandias hugestatue
Ifoolishly thought that by getting hu~
name.
of himself carved, he would be able to Perpetuate his
the
Little did he realise that time willIwipe out everythingand
fragments of his sstatue would lie neglected in thesand.
Luterature Compnion 10
267
LONG ANSWER
(tobe OUESTIONS
answered in about 100(BASED
ON VALUES)
Q1. What did the -150 words
each)
traveller
light does this account from the antique land tell the poet?
throw on human What
fame and power? aspirations immortality,
for
Thetraveller from the
state of antique land told the poet about the
Ozymandias'
high pedestal in the s statue which once stood
sorry
desert. The gigantic statue'mounted on a
s trunk was
nowhere to be seen. Nearby, its
shattered face, with ascornful
expression still intact, lay half-buried in the sand making a silent
comment on the
short-sightedness
immortalize himself through the
of the king who
sought to
statue.
The traveller praised the
of the king's
sculptor for capturing the cold hostility
character on his face. Ozymandias's
words challenging the mighty kings to look at pompous
and feel small and his achievements
humiliated mocked his own aspirations as
Time
haddevouredevery
and status.
single trace of his arrogant power, pelf
Thus this account of the traveller
human efforts to seek
highlights the futility of all
immortality, fame and power. Time, the
great leveller, obliterates all' of
them, making a mockery of
human quest for them.
Q2. Bring out the irony in the
poem,
Pompou, Honylity, Coid
Or
"Ozymandias". (Textual)
Whatimportant lesson does the poem "Ozymandias" teach? Discuss
with special
reference to:
the inscription on the
the e presenttstate
:
pedestal
of Ozymandias's statue
"Ozymandi
the poet
as" is aabeautiful Ipoem written by P. B. Shelley where
brings out thethe sheer
sheer futility of pride, pretentiousness
268 Literature Companion 10
the powerful. In the course
and short-sightedness of the rich and
analysingOzymandias's urge toestablish his greatrness, glory
of
permanently, the poet underscores futility of all
and splendour
such efforts.
statue of himself to intimidate
Ozymandias had built a colossal
his fellow-kings and to impress them with his
and humiliate works, Ye
"Look upon my
glorious splendour. His words kings. However,
challenged the mighty
Mighty, and despair!"
devoured allhis grandeur and magnificence and the very
Time
glory lay half-buried in the sand. Today his
icon of his majestic
kings sounds so hollow)
fostentatious challenge to all his fellow
inscription on the pedestal with the trunkless legs
and the
power arnd might.
ironically mocks at his ludicrous claim to
foolish on the part of Man to imagine that his 'glorious
It is
Time.
achievements' would survive the onslaught of
are
"Ozymandias" and "Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments"
Q3.
way both the poems
two poems written on Time. Compare the
(Textual)
treat time.
of "Time' is distinctly
The approach of the two poets to the power
to dust all the
different. Shakespeare feels that 'Time' reduces
it
ornate statues and magnificent 'works of masonry'. However,
cannot rob poetry of its power to immortalize the pre-eminence
live
of the great characters of the world. Such heroes continue to
in the works of the poets and hearts of people and time fails to
fade the name and fame of such people. On the other hand
Shelley finds Time to be more formidable. It levels the glory,
pomp and splendour of even the mightiest of the mighty and
pushes their glory into total oblivion. Thus man's so-called
achievement cannot survive its onslaught. It is nothing but man's
short-sightedness that seeks immortalization.
L'leratureCompanion10 269
Imagine youare Ozymandias. You have come back to life and visit
Q4. thesight of yourstatue.andI other works. Write adiary entry to
expressyourfeelings on seeing the plight of your works
. acknowledgethe power of Time on all things man-made
. highlightitthe futility of human effortsto seekimmortality
(Dayand Date)
(Time)
Dear Diary
Ithought I was the mightiest of allin my real life. This thought
made me feel so great and important. II wanted toperpetuate my
greatness andImy achievements. SoI had got a colossal statue of
mine built land on the pedestal Ihad got an inscription that
announced that I was 'the mightiest of the mighty'. However, a
recent visit to the site gave me the shock of my life there was no
trace of my glory and achievements there!
All my works - forts, inns, castles, gardens and what not - had
disappeared,)Éven the statue lay in piees} just apair of legs on
the pedestal and my face, with an expression of sneer and cold
command still intact, lay half-sunk in sand. There was no trace of
the trunk anywhere. Imust admit thesight shook me through
and through and (nade ne poignantly aware of the power of
Time.)
(How foolish and ludicrous
(
on my part to have sought immortality)
wish Time could give me another opportunity to make amends
tor my past mistakesJohl wish I was a humble and loving king
Witn compassion and kindness for all. Why did I seek immortality
tall knowing that Time and Death overcome everything in this
world?
Ozymandias
