Grade 11 Poem Analysis Worksheet

Grade 11 Poem Analysis

Read the poem below carefully. Then, answer the questions that follow, using complete sentences and providing textual evidence where appropriate.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

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."

1. Which literary device is most prominent in the line "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"?

2. What is the central theme of "Ozymandias"? Provide at least two pieces of textual evidence to support your answer.

3. The poem is written in the form of a   sonnet, which consists of fourteen lines and typically uses iambic  .

4. The traveler in the poem is the sculptor of the statue.

5. Analyze how Shelley uses imagery and diction to convey the transient nature of power and human ambition in "Ozymandias." Your response should be a well-developed paragraph.