CBSE Class 10 English Assignment - Ozymandias

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OZYMANDIAS - POEM AT A GLANCE
The poet meets a traveler from an ancient land.

The traveler tells the poet that he has seen two huge trunk-less legs of stone
standing in the desert.
Near those legs lay a shattered and half buried face in the sand.
The face of the statue showed signs of contempt and cold command on it.
It seems that the workmanship of the sculptor who made the statue, was of a
very high order.
The sculptor had read those passions of the living man quite well. He
stamped those passions exactly on the lifeless stones.
On the pedestal of the statue the following words are written:
My name is Ozymandias, Kings of Kings: Look upon my works, ye Mighty,
m
and despair!
co
Only boundless and bare sand is spreading all around the broken statue and
the shattered face of Ozymandias.
y.
LITERARY DEVICES IN THE POEM
da
Alliteration
to
 Sneer of cold command


es
Survive, stamped on these lifeless things

 The lone and level sands stretch far away

di
Boundless and bare

tu
Rhyme
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 Its rhyme-scheme consists of an octave(a set of eight lines) and a sestet (a set
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of six lines)

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The rhyme-scheme does not follow any of the recognized pattern, and some
of the rhymes are faulty (for instance, stone and frown; appear and despair).
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Images
(i) Near them, on the sand
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
(ii) Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare.
The lone and level sands stretch far away
In the first image, the poet paints the picture of the broken statue, a huge wreck,
the face of which still wears a frown and the sneer of cold command.
In the second image, the poet paints the picture of the lone and level desert,
boundless and bare, stretching far away.
Synecdoche
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 It is a figure of speech in which substitution of a part stands for the whole or
the whole stands for the part.
E.g. the hand that mocked them.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (2 Marks)
To be answered in 30 to 40 words:
1. Whom did the narrator meet? Where?

Ans. The narrator met a traveler from and ancient country, i.e. Egypt
2. What did the traveler tell the narrator?
Ans. The traveler told the narrator that he had seen two huge and trunk less legs
of a statue in the desert. There lay the broken face of a statue near them. One
could see the expression of arrogance and a sense of authority which had
been skillfully depicted on the statue by the sculptor.
3. What was inscribed on the pedestal?

Ans. The inscription on the pedestal was:
m
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings
co
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair.
4. What did the sculptor observe about the king?
y.
Ans. The sculptor observed that the king was proud, vain and arrogant. He had
da
the sense of authority.
to
5. How did the sculptor capture the king s feeling?

es
Ans. The sculptor made a statue of the king on which he skillfully depicted the
expression of haughtiness and a sense of authority.
di
6. Explain the touch of melancholy about the poem.

tu
Ans. There is a touch of melancholy about the poem because it makes us reflect
.s
over the vanity of human wishes and the failure of all our efforts to keep our
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memory alive for ever.

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7. Explain the two pictures painted by the poet in his poem.

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Ans. The first picture refers to the broken statue. Though the statue lies broken
in the desert, It carries the frown and the sneer cold command of the king on
its face.
8. What is the theme of the poem?
Ans. The poet wants to convey that human glory and pomp are not everlasting.
Ozymandias, the king of Egypt, got his statue made in order to immortalize
himself. But time played havoc with his statue and now it lies broken and
disfigured in a desert. Thus, the poet illustrates the vanity of human
greatness and the failure of all attempts to immortalize human grandeur.
9. What impression do you form of the sculptor?
Ans. The sculptor appears to be very competent, skillfully and observant. He

observed that the king was vain, proud, and arrogant and had a sense of
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authority. So he captured the feelings and passions of the king in the statue
of the king very skillfully.
VALUE BASED QUESTION (80-100 WORDS) (4 Marks)
1. The poem Ozymandias illustrates the vanity of human greatness .

Discuss with reference to the lines given below.
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look upon my works, ye Mighty,

despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck,
boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Ans. Ozymandias is a sonnet by P.B. Shelley. It conveys the idea that human glory
and greatness are short lived. Time works havoc with monuments and
statues made by the kings to immortalize their name and fame. Thus, the
poem depicts the fertility of human glory and greatness.
Ozymandias was a great Egyptian king. He made his statue to immortalize
m
his name and fame. With the passage of time his glory and greatness
disappeared. His life-like statue lay in ruins in a desert.
co
A traveler from Egypt notices the broken statue of the king Ozymnadias. He
y.
finds two huge and trunk less legs of the statue standing on a platform in a
lonely desert. Near them lies, half-buried, the broken face of the statue. He
da
sees the expression of arrogance and sense of authority on the face of the
statue. It was the artist s hand which reproduced the king s feelings on the
to
face of the statue. But it was the king s heart which nourished those feelings
es
in his heart. The following words were written on the pedestal:

di
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings

tu
The words reflect that Ozymandias was a king of kings but he did not
realize that the human pride and arrogance cannot live long. There s no
.s
trace of his kingdom or greatness anywhere.

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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (3 Marks)

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(Reference to Context)
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Read the extracts given below and answer the following questions by
choosing the most appropriate answer:
(1)
I met a traveler from an antique land

Who said, Two vast and trunk less legs of stone
Stand in the desert…………….near them, on the sand
Half sunk, shattered visage lies…………………………..
(i) The traveler who met the narrator came from
(a) A palace.
(b) An ancient land
(c) A desert
(d) A forest
(ii) The traveler sees two vast and trunk less legs of stone in
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(a) A forest
(b) A desert
(c) A city
(d) The wilderness
(iii) What did the traveler see lying on the sand?
(a) Two trunk less legs of stone
(b) Half-sunk statue
(c) Half-sunk and broken face of statue
(d) Broken legs of a statue
Answers: (i) (b) (ii) (b) (iii) (c)
(2)
.…whose frown
And that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive…
(i) The expression on the face of the statue is one of
m
(a) Admiration
(b) Anger
co
(c) Despair
(d) Contempt
y.
(ii) The sculptor was able to understand Ozymandias s
da
(a) Words
(b) Expressions
to
(c) Feelings
(d) Ambition
es
(iii) What literary device does the poet use in the second line?
(a) Alliteration
di
(b) Metaphor
tu
(c) Image
(d) Symbol
.s
Answer: (i) (d) (ii) (c) (iii) (a)

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EXTRACT BASED COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (3 Marks)

w
w
Read the following extracts and answer the given question:
(1)
…stamped on these lifeless things
The hand that mocked 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
(i) What literary device does the poet use in ht second line?
(ii) Who should look on Ozymandias s work and despair?
(iii) What does the hand here refer to?
Answers
(i) It is synecdoche.
(ii) The powerful kings are asked to look on Ozymandias s work and despair.
(iii) The hand refers to the sculptor who carved the statue.
(2)
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Who said, Two vast and trunk less legs of stone
Stand in the desert .Near them, on the sand
Half-sunk, a shattered visage lie..
(i) Who had the poet met?
(ii) In which state was the statue lying?
(iii) Where was the visage seen and in which condition?
Answers
(i) The poet had met a traveler from an ancient land.
(ii) The statue was lying neglected in a desert.
(iii) The visage was lying half-buried near the statue in a desert.
m
co
y.
da
to
es
di
tu
.s
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CBSE Class 10 English Assignment - Ozymandias

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What does the poem convey about the transitory nature of human glory and achievements?

What does the poem convey about the transitory nature of human glory and achievements?

How does the sculptor capture the essence of the king in his statue?

How does the sculptor capture the essence of the king in his statue?

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OZYMANDIAS - POEM AT A GLANCE

The poet meets a traveler from an ancient land.

 Sneer of cold command

Survive, stamped on these lifeless things

Boundless and bare

E.g. the hand that mocked them.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (2 Marks)

1. Whom did the narrator meet? Where?

3. What was inscribed on the pedestal?

5. How did the sculptor capture the king s feeling?

6. Explain the touch of melancholy about the poem.

memory alive for ever.

7. Explain the two pictures painted by the poet in his poem.

8. What is the theme of the poem?

9. What impression do you form of the sculptor?

Ans. The sculptor appears to be very competent, skillfully and observant. He

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VALUE BASED QUESTION (80-100 WORDS) (4 Marks)

1. The poem Ozymandias illustrates the vanity of human greatness .

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look upon my works, ye Mighty,

Ozymandias was a great Egyptian king. He made his statue to immortalize

in his heart. The following words were written on the pedestal:

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings

trace of his kingdom or greatness anywhere.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (3 Marks)

I met a traveler from an antique land

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Answers: (i) (b) (ii) (b) (iii) (c)

Answer: (i) (d) (ii) (c) (iii) (a)

EXTRACT BASED COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (3 Marks)

Read the following extracts and answer the given question:

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