10th std OZYMANDIAS

OZYMANDIAS

Answer the following questions briefly

1. “The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed”. Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to in this line?
   Answer: The sculptor’s hands and heart are referred to in this line. It was the sculptor whose hands must have copied the inner feelings of Ozymandia while making the statue and have mocked about them.
2. “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”. Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as King of Kings? What quality of the king is revealed through this statement?
   Answer: Ozymandias may have become a powerful king by defeating the other kings. He may have assumed all the powers as per his wishes and that is why he refers to himself as King of Kings. This statement shows that the king must be very proud of his achievements.
3. “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Who is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?
   Answer: Ozymandias is probably referring to his enemy kings to feel despair at his achievements.
4. Bring out the irony in the poem.
   Answer: The once powerful king who was glorified      through a grand statue is no more and even his statue is shattered into pieces; lying against the backdrop of mighty nature. This is the irony in the poem.
5. “Nothing beside remains”. What does the narrator mean when he says these words?
   Answer: Apart from the trunkless legs on the pedestal and a shattered visage, no remains of the once grand statue can be seen in the vast desert. By saying this, the narrator tries to highlight that a time comes when everything has to meet its end.
6. What is your impression of Ozymandias as a king? 
   Answer: Ozymandias could have been a powerful king who wanted to enjoy his days of glory. He also wanted to leave a mark in the form of a grand statue so that the future generations could remember him.
7. What message is conveyed through this poem?
   Answer: This poem tells about the insignificance of the life of an individual when seen in the larger context of time which never stops to take notice.

Extract Based Questions

 Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow : 

1. The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, king of kings

(a) Whom does the hand and heart refer to?

Ans : ‘The hand and heart’ refers to a king called Ozymandias, who ruled over a powerful kingdom and the sculptor who sculpted the sculpture with his hands.

  (b) How did the king look after his people?

Ans : The king fed his people but was not bothered for their welfare or happiness.

(c) What quality of Ozymandias is revealed in the last line?

Ans : He was cruel and selfish and considered himself to be the mightiest. He was conceited and intoxicated with his power.  

2. Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair! 

(a) Whom does the poet refer to as “ye mighty”? 

Ans : Any other person who considers himself as mighty.

(b) How does he challenge the mighty?

 Ans : King Ozymandias throws a challenge to other people who consider themselves mighty to compare their exploits with his and then only consider themselves to be mighty.

(c) What message is conveyed in the poem Ozymandias?

 Ans : All great achievements, vanity, pride, etc. crumble and get destroyed, Civilizations disappear with time, so man should not be conceited. 

3. Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read.. 

(a) What lies in the sand and how?

 Ans : Two vast legs of stone with a body, and massive, crumbling and broken stone-head lies half sunk, in the sand.

(b) How does the shattered visage look?

Ans : The shattered visage had a bitter and cruel expression of sneer and cold command.

(c) What does the face tell us about the sculptor? 

Ans : The bitter and cruel expressions on the face of the statue tell us that the sculptor had understood the passions of his subject very well.  

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. How did the poet come to know about the broken statue of Ozymandias?

Ans : The poet was told the story of Ozymandias by a speaker who had met a traveler from an ancient land. The story and the condition of Ozymandias’ statue is conveyed by word of mouth. This adds a tinge of obscurity and mystery to the statue.

 2. In what condition was the statue found?

Ans : The statue of Ozymandias was found in a distant desert. The head of the statue was broken and nearby two vast legs of stone stand without a body. The head is half sunk in the sand. The statue has a bitter and cruel expression of command and power.

 3. Who had written the inscription on the pedestal below the statue? What did it indicate? 

Ans : On the pedestal of the statue the words inscribed were, “My name is Ozymandias, I am the king of kings. If anyone wishes to know how great I am, then let him surpass my works.” These words indicate the arrogance, conceit and arrogance of the king. The king appeared to sneer at people who were weak and helpless. 

4. Describe the surroundings of the statue of Ozymandias? 

Ans : The broken statue of Ozymandias was surrounded by vast stretches of sand and loneliness of deserts. These ruins prove that the king’s work and civilization has crumbled to dust. Nothing lasts forever, and loneliness, desertion conveys a feeling of crumbling under the cruel knife of time. 

5. Do you believe Ozymandias was justified in persisting in the belief of his supremacy? Why/ Why not? 

Ans : Ozymandias was cruel, dominating and arrogant. He was too conceited and looked down upon the weak and helpless. He believed that he was the mightiest. But his challenge was ironically disproved by time itself. All his achievements, fame, empire were razed to the ground. Fate and time make a mockery of all this. So his boast could never be justified. 

6. What does the partially destroyed statue of Ozymandias symbolize?  

Ans : Ozymandias was arrogant, conceited and was intoxicated with power. His partially destroyed statue, half buried in sand, bears a testimony to the fact that nothing lasts forever. This is the true destiny of man, and the passage of time proves to be a great leveler.