<font color=pink>Well, those of you poetry buffs know "Ozymandias" is a famous poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Now, I admit its a good poem, but, I'm supposed to present to my Lit class tomorrow on various aspects of it: Speaker, tone, audience, ect. which is easy enough. My problem is this: My teacher as well as our Lit book describe this as a romantic poem, and I can't make head or tail of how it's even romotley romantic. I'll post it for yas

<font color=skyblue>I met a traveler 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 shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet surviv, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my words, 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.</font>

Romantic...? Help please [img]tongue.gif[/img] Also, the theme, I'm having trouble putting it to words...something like 'what goes around comes around' or something to that affect. Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

Jen, this is a Romantic poem with the capital R. Shelley was a member of the Romantic movement or period, and they had the characteristics of being intensely emotional, concerned with antiquities and the past, in love with wildness, mystery, and the unknown, and obsessed wiuth death. Also they were concerned with nature, the shape of society, and human nature. You can see several of these characteristics in "Ozymandias," like the antiquarian nature of the poem, the contrast between the mighty king and the unknown sculptor who mocked him, and the transient nature of earthly power. Shelley, in case you didn't know, was an extreme left-winger.

Been a long while since I analyzed Shelly. But he was one of the Romantic Poets, and this poem fits into the style that they are charactorized by (can't remember them at the moment). That does not mean that the poem is romantic as we would call it today.

The poem is about contrast, power, immortality. Notice the stark description of face of the broken statue. Notice the imagry of the whole poem.

"I am Ozymandias, King of kings!
Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair!"

This is an arrogent powerful leader. He beckons all around to behold his accomplishments. Yet, to the passage of Time, they have all withered to dust and are insignificant to everything around it, just another grain of sand in the desert.

Imagery, is one of the qualities of the Romantic Poets (Shelly, Keats, Byron, and a few others). They use words to paint pictures and overlay them against deep philosophy.

[edit] Also note, as Att pointed out the contrast between the sculptor and the King. None of Ozymandias' works have survived his death or Time, but the annonymous artist, that captured the mein of his leige so well, has achieved the immortality that the King thought he had. The King claimed to be great and mighty, yet he is painted petty and cruel and broken before all of eternity.
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Hope this gets you started.
When you get a chance, watch Dead Poets Society. They call quite abit attention to the Romantics.

[ 05-21-2003, 08:49 PM: Message edited by: Night Stalker ]

I don't get romance, but I do get a strong sense of loneliness, and maybe a little bit of despair. But I got the same feelings from some of Shakespeare's stuff too. Maybe melancholy is a better term. Can that be considered romance? Don't get me wrong, I'm not well versed or anything, but I have done some reading, and I really am a bard. Some of my more stirring instrumental work has been labelled the same way, or as just "a funeral dirge". This from a good friend. Haunting! That's the term I'm looking for. It stays with you after you've read it. But I don't see the romance. I hope these ramblings can give you a little bit of help.

<font color=pink>Thanks you guys! Bill, your post totally kicked me into thinking mode. I have all these notes on the romantic movement and TOTALLY forgot about them [img]tongue.gif[/img] . Now that I've pulled them out, this paper is moving smoothly along. Thankie again [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

*Fond Chuckle* Enjoy, sweetie, and the best of luck to you.