1. Why are statues created in honour of people?
Starter
Why are statues created in honour of people?
How does it change your view if you know that the person represented by the statue, ordered its creation?

2. Written in 1817 and published 1818.
Ozymandias
Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Written in 1817 and published 1818.

3. Task 1: Picture Unpacking
Look at the images below. What do you think the poem’s content will be?

4. Task 2: Analyse the title
Ozy comes from the Greek “ozium” which means either, ‘to breathe’ or ‘air’.
Mandias comes from the Greek word “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?

5. Initial Reading: First Impressions
Listen to and read the poem very carefully
What are your first impressions of what the poem is about?

6. Background
"Ozymandias" is a sonnet. A sonnet is a poem with fourteen lines.
It is written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817 and published 1818.
Shelley, the poet, was critical of the royal family and government in England and sympathised with the ideals behind the French Revolution. The French Revolution attempted to get rid of the monarchy in France.
The poem ‘Ozymandias’ has been thought by some to be about Shelley’s condemnation (disapproval) of undemocratic or tyrannical (unfair) government.
The writer was also thought to be quite radical.

7. ‘Ozymandias’ is part of the collection ‘Character and voice’ in the Anthology. A typical exam question could ask you to compare how a character is presented in two poems. This task will get you to explore the wider issues and themes in ‘Ozymandias’.
Task 1 
Look at the statements below and decide which ones are true. Put these on a piece of A3 paper.
Task 2
Next to each statement, add evidence from the poem that supports your assertion that it is true.
Task 3
Branching off from your evidence, add notes about the language, connotations of words and any ideas you have about the text. You could also add images/symbols which would trigger your memory when revising this poem.
Mind Maps
Statements
The poem explores power and status.
The poet admires Ozymandias.
Ozymandias was once a proud, tyrannical ruler.
The poem suggests we have all the time in the world.
The poem is about legacies and what we leave behind after we die.
The poet suggests that pride comes before a fall.
The poem is about time and nature and how man cannot conquer either.
Shelley suggests that art and language will outlast humans and other legacies of power.
The reader is left to imagine the sculptor as well as Ozymandias’ character.
It is ironic that it is the sculptor’s legacy that will last and not Ozymandias’ power.

8. Closer Reading
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 shatter’d visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things, The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: 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.
What does the adjective ‘antique’ suggest?
Up until line 5, the writer’s focus is mainly on the image of the statue in the desert.
Underline each noun and highlight each adjective.

9. Task: Analyse the statement
‘Pride comes before a fall’
In pairs, discuss what you think this actually means.
How might you relate this to Ozymandias?

10. Imagery Posters

11. Description task Draw an image of The writer’s creation of Egypt.
Make sure you draw them the way they are described by the poet.
Label your drawing with quotes from the poem.