📚 Topic Summary
Close reading involves carefully analyzing a text to identify its themes, literary devices, and overall meaning. When applied to poetry, close reading helps us understand how the poet uses language, imagery, and structure to convey their message. In the case of Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Ozymandias,' close reading allows us to explore themes of power, time, and the human condition.
By examining the poem's vocabulary, structure, and historical context, we can gain a deeper appreciation for its artistry and its enduring relevance. This worksheet provides activities to guide you through a close reading of 'Ozymandias.'
🧠 Part A: Vocabulary
Match the following terms with their definitions:
| Term |
Definition |
| 1. Visage |
A. A feeling of contempt; disdain |
| 2. Sneer |
B. Scattered pieces; remnants |
| 3. Colossal |
C. Face; appearance |
| 4. Wreck |
D. Extremely large |
| 5. Repast |
E. Something that has been badly damaged or destroyed |
| 6. Repast |
F. A meal |
✍️ Part B: Fill in the Blanks
Complete the following paragraph with words from the poem:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and __________ legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered __________, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and __________ of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these __________ 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 __________!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that __________ wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
🤔 Part C: Critical Thinking
In 'Ozymandias,' what does the ruined statue suggest about the nature of power and legacy?