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Respect for all forms of life is an essential value. Unmindful destruction of nature and its creatures deserves just punishment. Write in 80 to 100 words this essential value as brought out in the poem, 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'.
Religions function on the basis of a man committing a crime or sin, repenting for it and then gaining subsequent pardon from a higher spiritual authority in lieu of his repentance. However, in the poem, there is no such eventual pardon in sight as the mariner is doomed to recount the story of his wrong deed for eternity to come. The poem explores the horror emanating from the unmindful destruction of nature and its creatures. It teaches us to respect all forms of life otherwise no matter how much one repents; pardon cannot be expected as no higher spiritual authority will ever condone a wanton act of cruelty.
Read the extract given below and answer briefly the questions that follow:
'.................. its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.
(a) What do 'lifeless things' refer to?
(b) How do we know that he was a good sculptor?
(c) How did the heart feed the passions?
(a) The collapsed parts on the statue of Ozymandias were the lifeless things.
(b) We know that he was a good sculptor, as he read the feelings of Ozymandias and expressed them very well on the statue.
(c) Ozymandias' heart fed the passions by etching on his face expressions of the sneer of cold command, the frown and wrinkled lip, to enhance his fearful look, intensify the majestic look and command respect.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert.
(a) The poet was informed about the broken statue by.....................
(i) Ozymandias (ii) some travellers (iii) the sculptor (iv) a traveller
(b) The legs of stone belonged to....................
(i) Ozymandias (ii) the traveller (iii) the statue (iv) the poet
(c) The word, 'trunk' in this context means....................
(i) upper part of a body (ii) part of a tree (iii) legs of the statue (iv) none of the above
(a) a traveller
(b) the statue
(c) upper part of a body
The sculptor was able to understand Ozymandias' ______
words
expression
feelings
ambition
B.
expression
'The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.' Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to in this line?
The poet refers to the hand of the sculptor and the heart of the king Ozymandias.
'My name is Ozymandias, the king of kings:' Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as king of kings? What quality of the king is revealed through this statement?
The king Ozymandias refers himself as the king of kings because he defeated other kings and sees himself as the most powerful king. The statement reveals that he is proud of his achievements, strength and power.
'Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' Who is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?
Ozymandias is referring to the other kings who will reign after him. They should despair because they can never outshine him.
Bring out the irony in the poem.
The great king Ozymandias was so powerful that no one could compete him. He wanted his power and glory to be remembered by the next generations. Now his broken statue lies in a boundless and bare desert.
'Nothing beside remains'. What does the narrator mean when he says these words?
The king wanted himself and his power to be remembered by the next kings and the generations but as the time passed his traces vanished completely. The narrator wants to say no one is immortal and one's glory and power get buried in the history.
What is your impression of Ozymandias as a king?
He was a powerful king and he would have defeated several other kings. He was boastful and proud of his achievements and power.
What message is conveyed in this poem?
The message that is conveyed in this poem is about time which is most powerful of all. Even the strongest rulers can't defeat time. Their glory fades and their traces vanish. Nothing remains for centuries.
Identify and rewrite the lines from the poem spoken by the narrator, the traveller and Ozymandias.
The Narrator: I met a traveller from an antique land who said:
Nothing beside remains.....far away.
The Traveller: 'Two vast and trunkless.....these words appear:
Ozymandias: 'My name is Ozymandias.....despair!'
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| Poetic Device | Lines from the poem |
| Alliteration | ... and sneer of cold command |
| Synecdoche (substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to stand for a part) |
the hand that mock'd them |
| Poetic Device | Lines from the poem |
| Rhyme | 1st stanza |
| Alliteration | The lone and level sands stretch far away |
| Imagery | Two vast and trunkless legs of stone...cold command |
| Hyperbole | 'My name is Ozymandias...despair!' |
What is the setting of the poem, ‘Ozymandias’ ?
The setting was an empty desert in the time of Ozymandias and is an impressive site in the time of the speaker. The setting was an impressive site in the time of Ozymandias and is an empty desert in the time of the speaker. The setting is an empty desert in the time of both Ozymandias and the speaker.
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