AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Learning Objectives:
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AO1: Respond to the using details from the poem to support your
opinion

AO2: Analyse the writers methods (language, structure and form) and
the purposes of these methods

The title
What is the meaning of Shelleys title?

Ozymandias
Ozy comes from the Greek
ozium which means either,
to breathe or air.

Mandias comes from the

Greek mandate which
means to rule.

Now that you understand the meaning of the title, what do you think the poem
is going to be about?
Make a note of your ideas.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Pharaoh Facts
The gods had a little help, in the form of
pharaohs. Pharaohs were the kings of
Ancient Egypt. In hieroglyphics, pharaoh
means great house or palace, a word
that was eventually used to describe the
king himself. The ancient Egyptians saw
their pharaoh as a god, more specifically as
the god Horus. They thought that when the
pharaoh died, a new Horus was born to rule
on earth, thus achieving eternal life. In
reality, the pharaohs headed the
government, the army, set taxes, judged
criminals and were high priests of all the
temples. All this was in theory, of course.
Appointed officials did most of the work, in
his name.
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/egypt/phar.html

First impressions
Read the poem.
What are your first impressions of the tone and meaning?
Make a note of your ideas.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Lets take a closer look

Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis. Think
PEA - point, example, analysis.

What does the adjective, antique, suggest? Is it a positive or

negative description, or is it both?

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What is the effect of creating a traveller to narrate the story?

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Why does Shelley use vast to describe the remains of the statue,
rather than big?

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What does the noun, frown and the noun phrase wrinkled lip suggest
about the nature of the Pharaoh?

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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Up until line five, Shelleys focus is on, primarily, the image of the statue in
the desert.
Underline each NOUN and highlight each adjective up until line five.
Then, using this to aid you, in the space below, draw an image of Shelleys
creation of Egypt. Make sure you draw every object the way they are
described by the poet.

At line 6, the poem subject shifts to the sculptor, Ozymandiass

servant: its sculptor well those passions read How does this extract
support your previous answers?

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My name is Ozymandias, king of kings
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
a. What do you think these lines meant in the context of the time?

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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

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b. What do you think these lines mean in todays context? What does
the verb, despair, suggest?
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c. How many references are there to Ozymandias himself in these lines?
What does this suggest?
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d. Mighty is a noun in line 11. Who does it refer to?
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e. Using punctuation, how has Shelley created the superior status of
Ozymandias? Note and explain two examples.
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Describe the grammar of this sentence: Nothing beside remains. What

is its effect? Think about the contrast with the previous lines.

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Whose work has lasted - Ozymandias or the sculptors? What do you

think Shelley is suggesting?

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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Rhythm and Rhyme

Label the rhyme scheme.

Does the rhyme scheme follow the conventions of a Petrarchan

sonnet?

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What is the symbolism of replacing old rhymes with new ones?

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What is the effect of the rhythm in the poems last line?

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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

My Itchy Toes Smell Loads

Complete the table below with what you consider to be
the most important quotes and poetic devices within each
category.

meaning
imagery
tone
Structure

and Form

langua
ge
Comparing poems
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating

writers different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects

Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the
two poems.

Ozymandias

my last duchess

Sample exam question

Compare the characters in Ozymandias and My Last Duchess.
Compare the ways that voice is created in Ozymandias and My Last
Duchess.

Comparing poems
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

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AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating

writers different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects

Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the
two poems.

Ozymandias

Medusa

Sample exam questions

Compare the ways that character and voice is created in Ozymandias
and Medusa.
Compare the presentation of power in Ozymandias and Medusa.

Planning an essay
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

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Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for your
essay question. You must include 3 - 5 points of comparison. Number each
point in the order you would write about them in your exam. When you write
your essay, remember to analyse structural and poetic devices for their effect
and meaning. Dont just list.
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Ozymandias
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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

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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 shatterd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
5

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stampd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mockd them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

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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.
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Acknowledgments and thanks

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AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE - POETRY ANTHOLOGY: CHARACTER AND VOICE

Written by Chantel Mathias and Amanda Fiegel

Introduction and copy by Karen Bishop
Audio file scripts and recordings written by Barrie McDermid - www.podcastrevision.co.uk
Interactive resources and design by David Riley - www.triptico.co.uk
Images:

http://www.angelfire.com/wi/egypt/phar.html

web.ukonline.co.uk

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this
collection. If notified, we will be pleased to rectify any errors / omissions.

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