Ozymandias close reading

Name one language effect in this poem: Iambic pentameter
“I met a traveller from an antique land, ”

 

How does Percy use this effect to communicate the idea of hubris in his sonnet.

Percy writes the poem in a way that allows other people to understand the information it hides, but still hide yet more information that requires more than just a glance to discover. Some evidence of this is

“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.”
At first glance, you can tell the poem is talking about how all that this guy built was gone, and all that was left was a desert. But when you look closer, you can find the meaning behind the words. It talks of hubris, how this guy was so confident that anyone who looks at what he managed to do would be amazed, and believe they could never match up. Except that all that remains is a “colossal wreck,” and a desert, which is nothing to be amazed about. All this and more is hidden in the words, and that there is a meaning behind them, that can be argued. By doing this, people can learn
Another effect is the way Percy puts so much information into what is there, while leaving it simple for what is bare. Some evidence for this is

“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, “
Percy described all the objects quite well, making sure that everyone understood what the objects looked like. While he does this, he includes the desert and sand, and how it interacts with the objects, but he doesn’t get into any more detail. By doing this, Percy can make sure the audience is mostly aware of the objects that are there, so as to find the meaning behind them, while also making sure everyone is aware of the desert.
And I just realised I was talking about the wrong thing. Oops. Well, I like what I have written, so I shall keep it, but I might just write a new one.
One effect is the way Symbolism allows Percy to give objects a meaning beyond what they are. For instance,

“Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;”
By doing this, Percy can create far more meaning in the poem, with more information stored in it. Because of this, the poem can contain meaning. The evidence I used in this one talks about how the objects are lifeless, but are still surviving, giving the idea even the dead can live in the way there memories and effect on this earth continues to exist.  See? More meaning.
Another effect is Personification. Percy uses it to describe the broken objects that were left there.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *