Introduction
Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote this poem in friendly competition with fellow-poet Horace Smith. Ozymandias is an ancient Greek name for Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC).
Ozymandias
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 shattered
visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, 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!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal
wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
In 1816, just two years before the poem was published, a large fragment of a 13th century BC statue of Ramesses had been brought to Europe, and was eagerly anticipated in London. The statue arrived in London in 1821, and can still be seen at the British Museum.
Précis
Shelley recalls the description of a broken statue of a haughty pharaoh, with some lines engraved into the pedestal bragging of his power. Enough remained to see both the king’s pride, and the willingness of the contemptuous sculptor to show it as exaggeratedly as he dared; yet in all that wide, empty land nothing of his boasted empire was left. (60 / 60 words)
Shelley recalls the description of a broken statue of a haughty pharaoh, with some lines engraved into the pedestal bragging of his power. Enough remained to see both the king’s pride, and the willingness of the contemptuous sculptor to show it as exaggeratedly as he dared; yet in all that wide, empty land nothing of his boasted empire was left.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, despite, if, or, otherwise, ought, unless, until.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Bound. Despair. Life.
2 Fed. Land. Leg.
3 Traveler. Whose. Yet.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Sink. 2. Mine. 3. Lie. 4. Well. 5. Desert. 6. Stand.
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Look. 2 Sink. 3 Remain. 4 Appear. 5 Feed. 6 Work. 7 Stretch. 8 Lie. 9 Read.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
shrng (5)
sharing. shearing. sheering. shoring. ushering.
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