Grade 12 Poem Analysis Worksheet

Poem Analysis: Deconstructing Meaning

Read the poem below carefully. Then, answer the questions that follow, providing detailed explanations and textual evidence to support your analysis. Remember to consider the poem's literary devices, structure, and overarching themes.

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. What is the central theme conveyed through the imagery of the ruined statue and its inscription?

2. Identify and explain one example of irony in the poem. How does this irony contribute to the poem's overall message?

3. The phrase “sneer of cold command” is an example of  , which emphasizes Ozymandias's tyrannical nature.

4. The poem is a sonnet, specifically a   sonnet, which is evident in its rhyme scheme and structure.

5. The sculptor's ability to capture Ozymandias's passions suggests that art is ultimately more enduring than political power.

6. Analyze how Shelley uses imagery and diction to create a sense of vastness and desolation in the poem's concluding lines. Discuss the impact of these literary choices on the reader's understanding of the poem's central message.