About the Poet
Shelley is one of the major poets of the Romantic Age in English literature. He had highly radical, social and political views which were against the existing norms of his time. His poetry uses powerful symbolism and imagery; it also reflects the themes of love, liberty and nature. He died in a drowning incident at the age of 30, in Italy.
Brief Summary of the Poem
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.”
‘Ozymandias’ is one of the best known sonnets in English literature. It describes the ruined statue of a powerful king, lying in a state of neglect in the desert. The poet meets a traveller from Egypt, who describes the statue. There’s nothing remaining of the statue apart from its wreck. The pieces are scattered on the desert sand. Ozymandias was a tyrannical ruler and proud of his power. The poem drives home the message that power and pride cannot beat time. Work of art endures and stands the test of time.
Line wise Analysis:
Line1:
The poet met a traveller from Egypt, referred as “an antique land”. The poem begins in the first person with the use of the personal pronoun ‘I’. The first person narrative stops with the first line. The remaining thirteen lines are described by the mysterious traveller.
Line 2:
The traveller starts describing a broken statue, he saw in the desert. It was of King Ramesses II, known as Ozymandias in Greek. He was a great and powerful Pharaoh; a military conqueror and a master builder. He was also a tyrant and was the ruler of Egypt, when Moses led the Israelites out of captivity.
The traveller saw two huge legs, made of stone. There was no torso and hence it is called “trunkless “.
Line 3:
The legs stood in the desert. The word ‘desert’ also implies isolation and loneliness. There was something else on the sand near the two huge legs.
Line 4:
Near the legs on the sand, half buried in it was a shattered face. The face had an unpleasant frowning expression on it.
Line 5:
“Wrinkled lip” implies a disdainful attitude, showing contempt. “Sneer of cold command “ means Ozymandias was arrogant and excessively proud of himself. He wanted everyone to fawn and obey his orders.
Line 6:
The sculptor knew the Pharaoh well and understood his expressions well and carved the same on the face of his statue.
Line 7:
The expressions on the Pharaoh’s face have stood the test of time and still survive. The statue is made of stone and is without life.
Line 8:
The hand refers to the hand of the sculptor. Mocked means to imitate in an insulting way. The sculptor mocked Ozymandias by showing him in a way that he could not himself perceive.
The heart referred to here is of Ozymandias. His hands were not kind and giving. Instead, he mocked his subjects that they were worthless in front of him. His heart was not a compassionate one, it exploited people for his gain.
Line 9:
The statue was on a pedestal with an inscription.
Line 10:
The inscription shows the pride of Ozymandias as he proclaims himself as king of kings.
Line 11:
He is so proud about his achievements that he says other rulers would be worried that they cannot accomplish all that he has done.
Line 12:
There is nothing else there apart from the pieces of the broken statue. Ozymandias was a mighty king in his lifetime, surrounded by people who feared and obeyed him. Now , his colossal statue is broken and is a wreck with pieces scattered on the desert sand. There is nobody to admire it.
Line 13:
The statue of Ozymandias is referred to as colossal wreck. It was a huge and towering statue when it was commissioned. However, with the passage of time, it is in ruins, in the desert. There is sand all around it, it seems endless. Pride and glory fade away with time.
Line 14:
The line emphasizes the desolation and lack of attention near the statue. We are reminded that power and might do not remain. They will eventually disappear. The king and his power are gone. Art remains and endures the test of time.
Ozymandias of Egypt Questions-Answers
Answer the following Questions 1 Mark
1. Name the poet of “Ozymandias of Egypt”.
Ans. Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Romantic poet wrote the poem ‘Ozymandias’.
2. When and where was the poet born?
Ans. Shelley was born on August 4, 1792 at Field Place, near Horsham, Sussex, England.
3. Which country is referred to an ‘an antique land’? 2017
Ans. Egypt, known for its ancient civilization, is referred to as ‘an antique land’.
4. In the poem, whose “hand” “mocked them”?
Ans. In the poem, the sculptor’s “hand mocked them”. The sculptor understood the Pharaoh’s expressions well and he copied them on to the sculpture.
5. Who did the narrator meet? 2016
Ans. The narrator met a traveller from “an antique land”.
6. Whose greatness is actually glorified in the poem? 2020
Ans. The poem actually glorifies the greatness of the sculptor and his art.
7. Who did the narrator meet?
Ans. The narrator met a traveller from “an antique land”.
8. Where did the traveller come from? 2017
Ans. The traveller came from the ancient land of Egypt.
9. Where is the antique land referred here in the poem?
Ans. The antique land referred here in the poem is Egypt.
10. What is sonnet? 2016
Ans. Sonnet is a fourteen lined poem. This form of poetry originated in Italy. The word sonnet is derived from the Italian word ‘sonneto’.
11. Whose hand ‘mocked them’?
Ans. In the poem, the sculptor’s “hand mocked them”. The sculptor understood the Pharaoh’s expressions well and he copied them on to the sculpture.
12. What kind of a poem “Ozymandias of Egypt” is? 2019
Ans. ‘Ozymandias of Egypt’ is a sonnet, a short fourteen lined poem.
13. When was the poem “Ozymandias of Egypt” published?
Ans. The poem ‘Ozymandias of Egypt’ was published on 11 January 1818, in the weekly newspaper ’The Examiner’.
14. What is it that lies near the legs of stone in the desert? 2018
Ans. The shattered visage or face of the statue of Ozymandias lies near the legs of stone in the desert.
15. What does one see beside the ruins? 2018
Ans. There is nothing beside the ruins except vast stretches of sand.
16. Give the meaning of the following words:
Antique, Visage, Pedestal, Colossal, Wreck, Stamped
Ans. Antique- belonging to ancient times.
Visage- person’s face
Pedestal- base on which a statue is mounted
Colossal- extremely large
Wreck- something that has been badly damaged
Stamped- impress a mark on
Answer the following Questions 2 Marks
1. What is a sonnet?
Ans. A sonnet is a fourteen lined poem. This form of poetry originated in Italy. The word sonnet is derived from the Italian word ‘sonneto’. Sonnet is written in iambic pentameter and follows a definite rhyme scheme. A problem is introduced in the first part of the sonnet ending with a resolution in the second part. There are different types of sonnets. Petrarchan sonnets and Shakespearean sonnets, are common forms in English literature.
2. What did the traveller come across in the desert? 2017
Ans. The traveller came across the broken and ruined statue of Ozymandias in the desert. Ozymandias was a great and powerful Pharaoh, who lived and ruled Egypt in the 13th century BC. He was also a tyrant, harsh, demanding and egotistical. All that remains of the statue in the desert is a pair of legs and a shattered face. The face is half sunk in the sand.
3. What was inscribed in the pedestal of the statue? 2016 2018 2019
Ans. The following was inscribed on the pedestal of the statue:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! “
4. What does ‘wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command” signify? 2017
Ans. “Wrinkled lip” implies a disdainful attitude, showing contempt. “Sneer of cold command “ means Ozymandias was arrogant and excessively proud of himself. He wanted everyone to fawn and obey his orders. He was a cruel and tyrannical king; this could be seen from his face in the form of the ‘wrinkled lip’ and ‘sneer of cold command’.
5. Who recounts the tale of Ozymandias and his broken statue lying in the desert to the narrator of the poem?
Ans. A mysterious traveller, who has come from “an antique land” Egypt recounts the tale of Ozymandias and his broken statue lying in the desert to the narrator of the poem.
6. Who was Ozymandias? 2019
Ans. Ozymandias was King Ramesses II, known as Ozymandias in Greek. He was a great and powerful Pharaoh, who lived and ruled Egypt in the 13th century BC. He was a military conqueror and a master builder. He was also a tyrant, cruel and dictatorial.
7. Describe the condition of the statue in the desert.
Ans. The statue is broken and in ruins in the desert. It is lying in a state of neglect. The parts are lying scattered on the desert sand. There is nothing around the ruins except the sand of the desert. A pair of legs stood in the desert and near them is a shattered visage half buried in the sand.
8. What are the expressions of the king as stamped on the statue?
Ans. The king is depicted in an unpleasant way, with a frown on his face, a wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command. Though the face of the statue is half buried in the sand and shattered, the expressions stamped on it are evident (clearly visible). He looks contemptuous and scornful.
9. What do the expressions of the face of the statue suggest about the king?
Ans. The expressions of the face of the statue suggest that the king is very arrogant and scornful of others. He looks down on other people, orders them about and disapproves of people. He is proud and boastful and thinks of others as inferior to him.
10. ‘The heart that fed’…………….. Explain.
Ans. The heart referred to here is that of Ozymandias. This is also an example of synecdoche, where a part represents the whole. The Heart refers not just to the organ but to the king as a whole. Ozymandias’ actions rose from a heart that was without compassion for his subjects. He used people for his own gain.
11. What are the words that were inscribed on the pedestal?
Ans. The following words were inscribed on the pedestal of the statue:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! “
12. What else remains beside the ruins of the statue?
Ans. Nothing else remains beside the ruins of the statue. The pedestal bore the inscription that the mighty should look on his works and despair. However, there are no works left to see. Everything has disappeared. There is only sand there in the desert near the ruined statue.
13. What idea is carried forth in the lines ‘boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away’?
Ans. The lines are an example of alliteration. As far as the eye can see, there is only sand near the ruins of the broken statue in the desert. There are no other structures or buildings. Hence the line and level sands stretch far away. The lines also carry a picture of desolation and emptiness.
14. What kind of a man Ozymandias was?
Ans. Ozymandias was a tyrant who thought that he was the greatest king. He was a megalomaniac, who was boastful and self obsessed. The shattered visage of the statue and inscription on the pedestal bear proof of this.
15. “The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed”. Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to in the poem?
Ans. The hand refers to the hand of the sculptor. Mocked means to imitate in an insulting way. The sculptor mocked Ozymandias by showing him in a way that he could not himself perceive. The heart referred to here is of Ozymandias. His heart was not a compassionate one, it exploited people for his gain.
16. What is the irony inherent in the poem?
Ans. The irony inherent in the poem is that the king’s boast has been disproved. His works have not lasted, they have crumbled. Even the statue that was sculpted to show off his power is in ruins in the desert. Everything is temporary and will perish with time. Time took away all the magnificent and grand works of the king and his own statue is lying broken half buried in the sand.
17. What is it that has destroyed the boasts and pride of king Ozymandias?
Ans. Ozymandias had boasted that the mighty would look at his works and be worried. Time has destroyed his boasts and pride by devouring his grand works. He was foolish in thinking that he and his works would survive the onslaught of time. None of his work remains, even the statue constructed to glorify him is broken and in ruins.
18. Who is the most powerful of all?
Ans. Though Ozymandias was known for being a master builder and a military conqueror, time did not spare him. Time is more powerful than mere mortals and none can stand the onslaught (a violent or strong attack) of time. He was foolish in thinking that he and his works would survive the onslaught of time. None of his work remains, even the statue constructed to glorify him is broken and in ruins.
19. What did king Ozymandias ask his sculptor to do?
Ans. King Ozymandias asked his sculptor to make a colossal statue of his, that would glorify him. It would remind the world of his greatness and his accomplishments. They would look up to him and not forget him.
20. How the greatness of the sculptor is mentioned in the poem?
Ans. The greatness of the sculptor is seen in his work of art. The expression on the face of the king shows that the sculptor understood those emotions well. These emotions stamped on the lifeless stone survive the test of time. So, though the statue is meant to glorify the king, instead the broken pieces stand testimony to the sculptor’s work of art.
21. How has the sculptor mocked the king?
Ans. The sculptor was skilled in his work and depicted the king precisely as he was. Through his sculpture, he showed that a person is remembered for their behavior. He mocked the king by showing him with a frown, a wrinkled lip and a sneer.
22. What is meant by ‘the colossal wreck’?
Ans. ‘The colossal wreck’ is a reference to the statue of Ozymandias, in the desert of Egypt. The statue is in a ruined condition and broken, with two vast trunkless legs standing in the desert and a half buried shattered visage nearby.
Answer the following Questions 3/4 Marks
1. Describe the condition of the statue that the traveller comes across in the desert.
Ans. The traveller came across the statue of King Ozymandias in the desert of Egypt. He saw two huge legs made of stone and without a trunk. Near the legs half buried in the sand was a shattered visage. Though the visage is half buried in the sand, the expression on the king’s face can be made out. He has a frown on his face and a disdainful look. The inscription on the pedestal proclaims Ozymandias as “king of kings”. There is nothing beside the statue. It is in a state of neglect.
2. What kind of king was Ozymandias?
Ans. Ozymandias was King Ramesses II, known as Ozymandias in Greek. He was a great and powerful Pharaoh, who lived and ruled Egypt in the 13th century BC. He was a military conqueror and a master builder. He was also a tyrant, cruel and dictatorial. He thought that he was the greatest king in the world. He was a megalomaniac, who was boastful and self obsessed. The shattered visage of the statue and inscription on the pedestal bear proof of this.
3. What is the message that the poet wants to convey in the poem? 2019
Ans. Through the poem, the poet wants to convey that however powerful a person may be, it is for a short time. People in power may think that they are immortal and everything is in their control. With time, all traces of glory vanish and nothing remains. Time is all powerful and none can stand the onslaught of time. It can also be seen that pride comes before a fall. Ozymandias was very proud and boastful, proclaiming himself as king of kings. In the end, his statue ends up in ruins in a desert.
4. What else remained there besides the broken statue? What does it signify?
Ans. There is nothing besides the broken statue of Ozymandias. As far as the eye can see, there is only sand, “boundless and bare” near the ruins of the broken statue in the desert. There are no other structures or buildings near the ruined statue. The last line ,”lone and level sands stretch far away “ also evokes a sense of desolation. It is significant of the fact that power and glory are temporary and subject to the ravages of time.
5. How skilled is the sculptor in his art?
Ans. The greatness of the sculptor is seen in his work of art. The expression on the face of the king shows that the sculptor understood those emotions well. He depicted the king’s arrogance and conceit. These emotions stamped on the lifeless stone survive the test of time. So, though the statue is meant to glorify the king, instead the broken pieces stand testimony to the sculptor’s work of art. The sculptor was skilled in his work and depicted the king precisely as he was. Through his sculpture, he showed that a person is remembered for their behavior. He mocked the king by showing him with a frown, a wrinkled lip and a sneer.
6. What do the words on the pedestal of the statue imply? 2016
Ans. The words on the pedestal of the statue bear testimony of King Ozymandias’ proud nature. He thought that he was the greatest king in the world. He felt that other rulers should look at his works and despair that they would not be able to achieve as much as he did. The words also imply that he was a fool without foresight. Pride power and glory are temporary things and do not last for a long time. Yet, he failed to realize this and proclaimed himself as “king of kings”.
7. Does Shelly glorify the greatness of the king?
Or
Whose greatness is actually glorified in the poem “Ozymandias of Egypt? 2020
Ans. Shelley does not glorify the greatness of the king in his sonnet ’Ozymandias’. Ozymandias is shown in a poor light in the poem. He is portrayed as a domineering king, arrogant and exploiting his subjects for his own selfish interests. The statue meant to proclaim his greatness is lying neglected in the desert, broken and in ruins. On the other hand, the sculptor and his work of art are glorified in the poem.
8. “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”. How would you interpret this line?
Ans. These words are inscribed on the pedestal of Ozymandias’ statue. Ozymandias introduces himself to the world with these boastful words. According to him, he is the greatest king in the world and thus calls himself king of kings. We are introduced to his statue in the desert in a ruined condition. It is broken and all that remains of it is a pair of huge legs and a shattered visage. This also shows that pride comes before a fall and now the statue is in a derelict condition with nothing else beside it.
9. What is the central idea of the poem, ‘Ozymandias of Egypt’?
Ans. ‘Ozymandias of Egypt’ by P. B. Shelley is a sonnet that describes a broken statue of King Ozymandias, in the desert of Egypt. The king who commissioned his statue to glorify him is unknown to the world. His broken statue reflects his arrogance and vanity. This shows that every thing including wealth, power and glory are temporary. It fades away and cannot stand the test of time. Time is all powerful. Nobody can stop the onslaught of time or be spared by it.
Explain with reference to the context: (5 Marks)
(a) 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.
Ans. These lines have been taken from the poem ’Ozymandias’ by P. B. Shelley. The poem describes a broken statue of Ozymandias, an ancient Egyptian king, who was a tyrant and proud of himself.
There are two legs of stone standing in the desert with a shattered face, near by. The face is half buried in the sand and has a frowning expression. “Wrinkled lip” implies a disdainful attitude, showing contempt. “Sneer of cold command “ means Ozymandias was arrogant and excessively proud of himself. He wanted everyone to fawn and obey his orders.
The sculptor could understand the emotions of the king very well and depicted them on the statue. The emotions survive and are imprinted on the lifeless stone. The sculptor imitated the expression on the king’s face on to the statue. The heart that fed is a reference to the king’s heart which used people for his own gain without caring for their welfare.
(b) 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.
Ans. These lines have been taken from the poem ’Ozymandias’ by P. B. Shelley. The poem describes a broken statue of Ozymandias, an ancient Egyptian king, who was a tyrant and proud of himself. The pedestal of the statue has the inscription that Ozymandias is the king of kings, other mighty people should look at his work and despair. These lines show his pride and arrogance.
However, his statue has been ravaged by time and all that can be seen of the once colossal statue is a pair of legs and a half buried visage near it. As far as the eye can see, there is only sand near the ruins of the broken statue in the desert. There are no other structures or buildings near the ruined statue. The last line also evokes a sense of desolation.
c). “Nothing beside remains”. What does the poet want to say through these words?
Or
Nothing beside remains, round the decay 2016 2019
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away,
Ans. These lines have been taken from the poem ’Ozymandias’ by P. B. Shelley. The poem describes a broken statue of Ozymandias, an ancient Egyptian king, who was a tyrant and proud ruler. His statue has been ravaged by time and all that can be seen of the once colossal statue is a pair of legs and a half buried visage near it. As far as the eye can see, there is only sand near the ruins of the broken statue in the desert. There are no other structures or buildings near the ruined statue. The last line also evokes a sense of desolation.
d) The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed. 2017
Ans. This line has been taken from the poem ’Ozymandias’ by P. B. Shelley. The poem describes a broken statue of Ozymandias, an ancient Egyptian king, who was a tyrant and proud of himself. The hand refers to the hand of the sculptor. Mocked means to imitate in an insulting way. The sculptor mocked Ozymandias by showing him in a way that he could not himself perceive. The heart referred to here is of Ozymandias. His heart was not a compassionate one, it exploited people for his gain.
