Outline
Thesis: A poem about the ravages of time and the fallibility of human power, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias” exemplifies the use of irony, imagery, and symbolism.
I. Context
A. Shelley wrote “Ozymandias” during the period known as Romanticism.
B. Context has an important role to play in poetry due to the cultural and historical implications of the symbols and imagery used in “Ozymandias.”
C. The Romantic era hearkened to an idealized past, with special affection for ancient civilizations, which is why Shelley uses imagery of ancient Egypt in “Ozymandias.”
II. Themes
A. Although brief, “Ozymandias” is a complex poem with interlocking and layered themes related to time, power, and identity.
B. One of the main themes of Shelley’s poem is the passage of time, and how people from different eras perceive reality differently.
C. Another main theme of “Ozymandias” is the fallibility and fleeting nature of authoritarian power in human societies, symbolized by the crumbled statue of a King.
III. Irony, Symbolism, and Imagery
A. Irony, symbolism, and imagery converge in “Ozymandias,” creating a cohesive poetic whole.
B. The poem is ironic because of the juxtaposition of the King’s certainty of his own power with he is now just a “colossal wreck,” (line 14).
C. The poem is also ironic because of the juxtaposition of eternity, represented by imagery of the “yet surviving” (line 7) statue and the “boundless” (line 13)sands, and temporality, represented by the decay.
Conclusion: With imagery of the eternal sands of time, into which the man-made statue crumbles, Percy Bysshe Shelley captures the ironic nature of human power and history.
Shelley’s “Ozymandias”: Irony, Imagery, and Symbolism
In “Ozymandias,” Percy Bysshe Shelley...
References
Glenn, C. & Gray, L. (2019). Harbrace Essentials. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Johnson, G. & Arp, T.R. (2018). Perrine’s Literature. Boston: Cengage.
Shelley, P.B. (1818). Ozymandias. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias
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