TUITION NOTES ENGLISH

Ozymandias
I. Key terms (make sentences Yourself.)
• Antique land - land of ancient civilization (प्राचीन भूमि)
• Boundless – limitless (जिसकी कोई सीमा न हो)
• Pedestal - base of the statue ( मूर्ति का नीचे का हिस्सा जिसके सहारे मूर्ति खड़ी हो)
• Colossal - great in size or force to bring out a feeling of admiration and respect (आकार या शक्ति में
विशाल )
• Visage – face (चेहरा)
• Sneer - an unfriendly self- important expression (अहंकारी भाव)
• Stamped – sculpted (मूर्ति की तरह गढ़ा हुआ)
II. Extract Based Questions
A. "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."
(poetic device - Alliteration)
(i) Whom did the poet meet?
Ans- The poet met a traveller.
(ii) Where was he coming from?
Ans- The traveller came back from an ancient land.
(iii) What did he see there?
Ans- The traveller saw the ruins of a huge statue.
(iv) Find a word from the given extract that means the same as "the manifestation, image, or aspect of
something."
Ans- Visage
(v) Which land is the poet referring to when the poet speaks of an antique land?
Answer: The poet is referring to Egypt as an antique land.
(vi) How many speakers are there in the poem?
Answer: There are three speakers in the poem- the poet, the traveller, and Ozymandias.
(vii) What does the poet mean when he says 'trunkless legs'?
Answer: The poet means the statue was broken. Only its legs remained and the face which lay half buried
in sand.
(viii) Who was Ozymandias?
Answer: Ozymandias was an Egyptian pharaoh(King) , Ramses II who vainly believed that he was powerful
and his empire would last forever.
B. "Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies

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TUITION NOTES ENGLISH
Whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read "
(poetic device - Metaphor or personification)
(i) Whose face lies on the sand?
Ans- King Ozymandias's face lies on the sand.
(ii) What sort of expression did the face have?
Ans- The face had the harsh expression of a strong leader who must have been quite brutal and appeared
to be rather haughty.
( OR )The face had a stern expression like that of a powerful commander, who must have been very cruel
and quite arrogant.
(iii) Who understood the emotions well?
Ans- The sculptor understood well the emotions or passions of the statue's subject.
(iv) Whose expression did the sculptor read well?
Ans: The sculptor read the expression on the face of Ozymandias and created the same expression on his
statue.
(v) What does the poet mean by "Sneer of cold command" ?
Ans- It means that King Ozymandias was arrogant, conceited, and egoist.
(vi) Who is referred to as 'them'?
Answer: The two legs of the statue are referred to as 'them'.
(vii) What lies near 'them'?
Answer: The half-shattered face of the statue lies near them.
C. " Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things.
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed; "
(poetic device - Metaphor or personification)
(i) Whose hands mocked them?
Ans- These were the hands of the sculptor. (ii) Whose expressions are carved on these lifeless things?
Ans- King Ozymandias's expressions are carved on these lifeless things.
(iv) What message is conveyed through these lines?
Ans- The message conveyed here is: Time spares none. It highlights the variety of human grandeur and
power that is reduced to dust.
(v) What is the meaning of 'stamped'?
Ans- "Stamped" means engraved or imprinted permanently on the object.
(vi) Whom does the hand and heart refer to?
Ans- The "hand" refers to the sculptor; the "heart" refers to Ozymandias.
(v) What do lifeless things refer to ?

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TUITION NOTES ENGLISH
Ans- Broken pieces of the statue of ozymandias.
D. " And on the pedestal these words appear;
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
(poetic device - Irony )
(i) What was carved?
Ans- A small introduction of the king and a message for all was carved on it.
(ii) Find a word in the given extract which means the same as "the base or support on which a statue,
obelisk, or column is mounted."
Ans- Pedestal
(iii) Explain: Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair?
Ans- According to ozymandias, all the other rulers to come after his reign. They should despair, because
according to him, they can’t surpass his glory and power.
(iv) What do the words written on the pedestal reflect about Ozymandias?
Ans- The king was very boastful, vain and arrogant.
(v) How did the king look after his people?
Ans- The king ruled arrogantly, without caring for his people.
(vi) My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:" Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as King of Kings?
Ans- He thinks himself the most powerful among all other kings.
E. "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
(poetic device - Alliteration)
(i) Why does he say 'nothing beside remains'?
Ans- Once upon a time, there was a vast kingdom. But no trace of it was left now. Hence, the poet says
that 'nothing beside remains'.
(ii) What does 'Colossal wreck' mean ?
Ans - The damaged State of the statue of the king.
(iii) Explain the last line. OR what do these lines describe?
Ans- These lines describe the ruined, broken statue surrounded by an endless, empty desert, with nothing
left of the king's empire. OR
These lines describe the ruined state of the statue now.
Q. What message is conveyed through the poem, 'Ozymandias'? (Summary / Central idea)
Ans: The icy hands of time leave nothing in this world. All human emotions like arrogance, frown, sneer,
haughtiness, etc. vanish into thin air in the course of time. Time is so powerful that even the statue made of
stone could not resist it. Ozymandias realised the futility of his vices. People must take a lesson from his
life.
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