Ozymandias of Egypt by Percy Bysshe Shelley

For summary of the poem click here.

Important Solved Questions and Answers -

A. Answer the following questions in one or two words -

1. Name the poet of "Ozymandias of Egypt".
Ans: Percy Bysshe Shelley.

2. When and where was the poet born?
Ans: 4 August 1792 in Sussex, England.

3. Which country is referred to as "an antique land"?
Ans: Egypt.

4. In the poem, whose "hand" mocked them?
Ans: The sculptor's.

5. Who did the narrator meet?
Ans: A traveller from "an antique land" i.e. Egypt.

B. Answer the following questions in a few words -

1. What is a sonnet?
Ans: A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter with a fixed rhyme scheme.

2. Who was Ozymandias?
Ans: Ozymandias was a powerful, proud, and arrogant king of Egypt who considered himself the king of kings. He lived with the belief that other mighty rulers would not be able to attain his greatness.

3. What did the traveller come across in the desert?
Ans: The traveller came across the fragmented statue of king Ozymandias lying in the sands of a vast desert. He saw two 'trunkless legs' of stone standing in the desert and the shattered visage of the statue partly buried in the sand.

4. What was inscribed on the pedestal of the statue?
Ans: It was inscribed in the pedestal that—

"My name is Ozymandias, King of kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

5. Whose greatness is glorified in the poem?
Ans: The greatness of the sculptor who had made the statue of Ozymandias is glorified in the poem. The art of the sculptor remains, while the political power of king Ozymandias is already reduced to dust.

C. Answer the following question briefly in your own words -

1. What does "wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command" signify?
Ans: In the fragmented statue of Ozymandias sculptor successfully imprinted ‘the wrinkled up and sneer of cold command'. This expression on the face signifies the arrogance of the king and clearly shows how the king must have yielded a lot of power over his subjects. It also clearly exhibits how well the sculptor studied the passions and essence of the king's personality.

2. Describe the condition of the statue that the traveler comes across in the desert.
Ans: When the traveller saw the statue of Ozymandias, it was lying fragment in the sands of a vast desert. The two "trunkless legs" of the stone statue were standing in the desert and its shattered visage was partly buried in the sand. The face was imprinted with a frown and a mask of sneer which signifies the arrogance of the king and clearly shows how the king must have yielded a lot of power over his subjects. It also clearly exhibits how well the sculptor studied the passions and essence of the king's personality. On the pedestal of the statue are inscribed the words –

"My name is Ozymandias, King of kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair."

3. What kind of king was Ozymandias?
Ans: Ozymandias was a powerful king. He was proud and arrogant and must have yielded a lot of power over his subject. He built a huge statue to immortalize his name and fame. He claimed himself to be king of kings Ozymandias lived with the belief that other mighty rulers would not be able to attain his greatness.

D. Give a suitable answer to the following -

1. What is the message that the poet wants to convey in the poem?
Ans: In the poem, the poet wants to convey that art is permanent while the power and pride of a king are temporary. The statue of once-powerful king Ozymandias is now lying fragmented in the sands of a vast desert. The might of the king is no longer evident. Neither the king nor his empire remains. All that remains are the ruins of the statue that speak of the artist's greatness. Through this poem, the poet conveys to the reader the idea of human mortality and the permanence of art.

2. What else remained there besides the broken statue? What does it signify?
Ans: Nothing else remained besides the broken statue of Ozymandias. Only a ‘shattered visage’ and two ‘trunkless legs’ of stone lying amidst the bound and bare stretch of sand in the desert.
It signifies the ideas of human mortality, the impermanence of political power, and the permanence of any form of art. Pride and power are destroyed with time and no signs of their existence remain whereas art acts as a permanent reminder of creation.

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Ozymandias of Egypt by Percy Bysshe Shelley - Important questions and answers