This picture shows the subject of the poem: the ruins of a statue of King Rameses II.
King Ramses II , who reigned for 67 years during the 19th dynasty of the 12th century BC, was known as "Ramses the Great". He is known as one of Egypt's greatest warriors, but also as a peace­maker and for the monuments he left behind all over Egypt. He was the first king in history to sign a peace treaty with his enemies, the Hittites, ending long years of wars and hostility.King Ramses reigned for 67 years (1292–1225 B.C.). Under him Egypt acquired unprecedented splendor. His empire extended from Syria to near the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. King Ramses left monuments throughout Egypt. The principal ones are probably the temple at Karnak, which he completed; the Rameseum, his mortuary temple, at Thebes; the temple at Luxor; and the great rock temple at Abu Simbel with four seated figures of the king on the facade. The period of his rule was characterized by great luxury, increased slavery, and the growth of a mercenary army, all of which led to the final decline of Egypt. 1
What’s Up With the Title?
"Ozymandias" is an ancient Greek name for Ramses II of Egypt It is actually a Greek version of the Egyptian phrase "User­maat­Re," one of Ramses's Egyptian names. Why not just call the poem "User­
maat­Re," you might ask? Well, this is Shelley, who had studied ancient Greek; it is therefore no surprise that he chooses to use the Greek name "Ozymandias," rather than the Egyptian name.
Ramses II was one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs, and many of the most famous tourist sites in Egypt, including the temple of Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum in Thebes, were built or planned during his incredibly long tenure (he lived until he was 90!). He is known not only for his building program, but also for several ambitious foreign military campaigns and for his diplomacy, especially with the Hittites, another important ancient people.
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Ozymandias
Visual description: statue's isolation and destruction & king's expression
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
Synecdoche: (part standing for a And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
whole)
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
• hand that mocked them = hand of Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
the sculptor who tried to copy his features (mocked = made fun of?)
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
• heart that fed = passions of the king And on the pedestal these words appear:
who posed deliberately to feed the `My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
sculptor's art work.
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
Irony: he tells people to fear The lone and level sands stretch far away".
him, but he is dead and his statue is decaying
PB Shelley
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Attitudes/Ideas
Subject Matter
• The speaker reflects on a story he heard from a traveller.
• The traveller told him a story about a statue of a powerful king.
• He reflects on how well the sculptor captured the king's powerful and dictatorial demeanour.
• The message on the pedestal shows that the king wanted the statue to make people fear him as a leader.
• The traveller points out that the statue is a "wreck" and suggests that it is disappearing into the desert that surrounds it.
•
•
•
•
will •
that The poem explores power and status.
The poet suggests that pride comes before a fall.
The poem is about time and nature and how man cannot conquer either.
Shelley suggests that art and language outlast humans and other legacies of power.
It is ironic that it is the sculptor's legacy will last and not Ozymandias' power. Structure
• Ozymandias is a sonnet: a 14 line poem. Reflects serious nature of the subject
• Speaker ­ traveller ­ king's words on pedestal
• ironic tone in last 4 lines
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The River God
I may be smelly and I may be old,
Points out his negative Rough in my pebbles, reedy in my pools,
attributes ­ reveals his But where my fish float by I bless their swimming
bitterness towards nature
And I like the people to bathe in me, especially women.
But I can drown the fools
Who bathe too close to the weir, contrary to rules.
And they take a long time drowning
Whimsical tone suggests As I throw them up now and then in the spirit of clowning.
that he is trying to cover Hi yih, yippity­yap, merrily I flow,
up his bitterness.
O I may be an old foul river but I have plenty of go.
Once there was a lady who was too bold
She bathed in me by the tall black cliff where the water runs cold,
So I brought her down here
To be my beautiful dear.
Oh will she stay with me will she stay
Not unblemished white face, This beautiful lady, or will she go away?
but white because she is She lies in my beautiful deep river bed with many a weed
dead.
To hold her, and many a waving reed.
Oh who would guess what a beautiful white face lies there
Waiting for me to smooth and wash away the fear
She looks at me with. Hi yih, do not let her
Go. There is no one on earth who does not forget her
Now. They say I am a foolish old smelly river
But they do not know of my wide original bed
Irony: the drowned woman has no Where the lady waits, with her golden sleepy head.
choice
If she wishes to go I will not forgive her.
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Context: ‘The River God’ was inspired by an existing river ­ the River Mimram in Hertfordshire, which rises from a spring to the north of Whitwell, in North Hertfordshire, and makes its confluence with the River Lea near Horn's Mill in Hertford.
Subject Matter
Attitudes/Ideas
• The River God reflects on how he is able to control humans by drowning them at will, when they break the rules of the river.
• He goes on to reflect on one specific incident where he brought 'her' down to stay with him (ie drowned her ) and questions whether she will stay.
• He says that he will be very angry if she leaves him.
• He seems to be kind as he blesses fish and seems to like people swimming in him.
• He wields his power at will, suggesting that it is a game to him.
• He deludes himself into thinking that the woman has the choice to leave
Structure
►
►
►
►
►
they What the River God is like ­ 1­2
Things the River God does ­ 3­10
The lady ­ what happened to her ­ 11­14
The lady ­ what’s happening to her now ­ 15­22
What people say about the River God and what don’t know about him ­ 23­26
a)
The shape of the poem represents the shape of the river: sometimes it flows quickly and sometimes it meanders.
b)
The poem is not broken into separate stanzas to emphasise the importance of the River God’s spoken voice: the River God is expressing his thoughts without interruption.
c) Rhyme scheme changes at the end
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Compare and contrast how the poet creates a voice in"Ozymandias" and "River God":
Ozymandias
River God
represents all kings/warriors
represents nature Label
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