Definition Of Irony In Ozymandias
The poem was published based on ian lancashire university of toronto near january of 1818.
Definition of irony in ozymandias. What does ozymandias mean. Shelley s source was apparently the hellenistic greek of diodorus siculus who records the inscription on the statue. Ozy comes from the greek ozium which means to breathing or atmosphere. In ozymandias shelley describes a crumbling statue of ozymandias as a way to portray the transience of political power and to praise art s power of preserving the past.
The ozymandias meaning is full of irony. In the poem shelley contrasts ozymandias boastful words of power in with the image of his ruined statue lying broken and forgotten in the sand. From the poem shelley uses irony as a form of satire mocking tyranny. The irony of the long since forgotten ruler ozymandias turns out to be a bit of justice for the manner in which he ruled.
My name is ozymandias king of kings. Information and translations of ozymandias in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Freebase 4 33 3 votes rate this definition. The irony in ozymandias pivots on these lines.
The irony is because ozymandias is described. Mandias originates from the ancient. When looking at ozymandias we have to look at the traditional breakdown from the name. Ozymandias might have been powerful when he ordered those words written but that power is now long gone and his boasts now seem slightly silly in the present time.
In ozymandias by percy shelley there is a type of irony called situational irony the situation is the story or poem in this case. Shelly produces a wonderful bit of irony in ozymandias. Although the poem is a 14 line sonnet it breaks from the typical sonnet tradition in both its form and rhyme scheme a tactic that reveals shelley s interest in challenging conventions both political and poetic. Ozymandias the greek name for ramses ii is a sonnet composed by percy bysshe shelley.
But when the onlooker sees it it is not only shattered but it lies in the midst of a wasteland. Use in english is probably largely after shelley s 1817 sonnet ozymandias written as part of a sonnet writing competition with horace smith whose poem also contains the name.