Emphatic English Chapter 4 Grade 8 Vol 1

Ozymandias

Page: 43 Pre-reading Activity

Observe the image carefully and answer the questions.
1. The head seems to be broken off from the body; it is lying on the ground; no pedestal; kept
in a dusty place, etc.
2. people have broken it; it was destroyed in a war; ruined over time
3. This is a student-specific answer.
4. This is a student-specific answer.

Page: 44 Intext 1 Questions

Pause to Ponder.
1. The poet comes to know about the statue from a traveller.
2. He was arrogant and harsh.
3. ii. a king

Page: 44 Intext 2 Questions

Choose the correct answer:
1. coming from
2. good
3. surrounded by

Pages: 46-47 Poetic Elements

Allusion
‘colossal wreck’

Alliteration
boundless
Hyperbole/Exaggeration
King
Synecdoche
a. The hand
b. the heart
Irony
Nothing beside remains.

Inversion
a. Half sunk
b. well those passions read

Pages: 48-50 Post-reading Activity

I. Use the graphic organiser to list words and phrases from the poem associated with ideas of
Ruin, Earthly Power and Art.
Ruin: half-sunk, shattered, trunkless, decay, wreck, lone and level sands
Earthly power: vast, frown, wrinkled lip, sneer, cold command, king of kings, mighty, Colossal
Art: well those passions read, which yet survive

1. Time brings all evidence of earthly power to ruin, no matter how powerful their creators may
have been. Also, all human life comes to end as both the king and sculptor are now long dead.
However, some artistic achievements like the expressions sculpted on the statue can
sometimes last longer than the whole statues which were planned as symbols of earthly power.

2. The poem itself is an example of art and has lasted much longer than human life since we are
reading it even 200 years after the poet has died.

II. Darken the bubble next to the correct answer.

1. c. hears of
2. a. the passage of time
3. a. emotions
4. b. fear
5. c. The passage of time levels all material glory.
6. d. the sands of the desert

III. Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1. a. they are a part of a statue
1. b. antique
1. c. Ozymandias
1. d. (ii) imagery

2. a. the expressions on the face of the ruined statue.

2. b. The king’s

2. c. He is arrogant, haughty and tyrannical

2. d. alliteration

3. a. The expressions on the face of the statue have survived while the entire statue and other
constructions have not.

3. b. the sculptor’s hand

3. c. The heart belongs to the king and it has fed the emotions of arrogance and tyranny.
3. d. The poet may have used mocked not only to mean imitated but also to imply that the
sculptor, in replicating the king’s arrogance, was in a way mocking him since no matter how
mighty a ruler, he is sure to die someday and his kingdom turn to dust.

4. a. the wrecked statue of Ozymandias

4. b. The image of ruined pieces of a statue surrounded by vast unending desert sands
expresses the main theme of the poem which is the impermanence of human glory in the face
of eternal nature and time.

4. c. Colossal gives a sense of something huge and mighty while wreck means the
opposite, something that has disintegrated.

4. d. the long vowels of the last line give the impression of unending desert sands and create a
sombre/serious mood.

IV. Think and Answer.

1. The speaker, the traveller and Ozymandias.
The speaker’s words frame the poem and introduce the person who actually saw the statue.
The character of the traveller highlights how ancient the statue of Ozymandias is, thus adding
to the timelessness of the theme and importance of the message.
The king also speaks through words on the pedestal so that the poet can develop the theme of
impermanence and the use of irony.

2. It is ironic that the ruler who bragged about his works and even told other kings to despair
now has his own statue broken and scattered in the desert sands. Irony is expressed by words
and imagery that represent the gap between what is said and what has actually happened.
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains
Also, irony is conveyed with contrasting symbols, the contrast between ‘colossal
Wreck’ and the ‘lone and level sands’.
Another level of irony is conveyed by the contrast between human arrogance and
artistic achievements. While Ozymandias and his mighty empire are no more, the sculptor’s
genius has survived and this poem, also a work of art, continues to be read and appreciated.

3. This is a student-specific answer.

Pages: 50-52 Home Assignments

I. Darken the bubble next to the correct answer for each.
1. b. in a desert

2. b. contempt

3. d. the passage of time

4. c. vast

II. Answer the following questions in 50-60 words.

1. Powerful but tyrannical king, built many monuments, held others in contempt, boastful of his
achievements, had money and resources, skilful people to obey his command, etc.

2. Ozymandias expects his mightiest rivals and other kings to look upon his statue and despair
of ever being able to reach the heights of his power.

3. To level means to even out/to become equal or similar. Here time is a levelling factor. With
the passage of time, Ozymandias and other tyrants have been made equal to ordinary people
since neither their statues nor their immense power have survived. Nobody is in awe or despair
of them anymore.

III. Use the graphic organiser given below to analyse the poem.
Type of poem: sonnet, 14 lines, octave, sestet

Mood/Tone: serious, tightly-controlled, powerful

Speakers: poet, traveller and Ozymandias

Themes: all material glory is defeated by passage of time; art can survive longer than material
evidence of might; sooner or later tyrants are brought to dust.

Rhyme scheme: ABABACDCEDEFEF; slanted rhymes; internal rhymes

Alliteration: Half sunk a shattered visage lies, cold command, boundless and bare, The lone and
level sands stretch

IV. Listening activity

2. a. Colossus
2. b. The Statue of Liberty
2. c. Abu Simbel
2. d. the Arabs
2. e. the Egyptian civilisation
2. f. Greece

Pages: 53-54 Enrichment Activity

Read the following passage and answer the questions.
1. b. surrounded
2. d. Sahara Desert Fact File
3. c. a fertile spot in the desert, where water is found
4. b. Egypt
5. a. because desert soil has low content of nitrogen and inorganic matter
6. b. due to the presence of algae
7. a. 830 square miles
8. a. 2
Page: 54 Exit Slip
Learner specific