1a. What does the traveler describe to the speaker?
2a. What does the inscription on the pedestal say?
3a. What remains in the environment around the statue?
4a. Look at lines 11 and 12 closely. What does this poem say about earthly power and greed?
5a. In this poem, Shelley expresses his feelings about worldly power and glory. What are those feelings? How effectively are they expressed in this poem? Is this poem either more or less effective than stating these feelings more directly? Why?
1b. Why does the statue interest the traveler and the speaker?
2b. Of what flaw was the king apparently guilty?
3b. What is the significance of the description in the last three lines of the poem? What kingdom has the powerful king inherited?
4b. What attitude does this poem express toward its subject? Explain your answer.
5b. What message might Shelley give to today's leaders?
Character. What description does the speaker give of Ozymandias? What do the details of this description reveal about the ancient kings?
Irony of Situation. What is the irony of the last few lines of this poem? Whose expectations are violated and in what way?
1a. What scene is described by the speaker in section 1?
2a. What are three effects of the wind described in sections 2 and 3?
3a. In section 5, what is the speaker asking the wind to do?
4a. In stanzas 1, 2, and 3, Shelley uses leaf imagery to describe the wind's effect on land, air, and sea. Analyze the leaf imagery used. What is Shelley saying about the effect the west wind has on these aspects of nature?
5a. Evaluate the tone of this poem. To what degree is it despairing? To what degree is it hopeful? What leads you to this conclusion?
1b. With what attitude is the speaker addressing the wind in section 1?
2b. How does the figurative language in section 2 connect the images of the clouds to the previous images of the trees?
3b. What happens to the intensity of the speaker's request in section 5? How do you know?
4b. What is the promise of the west wind's act of blowing away the dead and dying leaves? Why do you think the speaker wants the wind to work its powers on him as it does on the leaves, the clouds, and the waves?
5b. The theme of rebirth is one that strikes a chord with many people. We see it in popular movies like Groundhog Day and Big as well as in the religious beliefs of many who believe in reincarnation, resurrection, or being "born again" spiritually. Why do you think this idea is so powerful for so many people? What great longing in human nature does it address?
Terza Rima. In this poem the last two lines of each stanza are a couplet. How does the rhyme scheme of the couplet relate to the rest of the stanza? Mark the complete rhyme scheme of a full stanza.
Personification. In this poem, how does personification work to establish a relationship between the speaker and the personified thing? How would the poem be different if Shelley had referred to the wind impersonally?
1. Ozymandias inscribed his own epitaph on the base of the statue in the poem "Ozymandias." In reading the poem, however, we see the irony of the words he chose. Having read the poem, what words would you choose? Write an epitaph for Ozymandias.
2. The speaker in "Ode to the West Wind" recalls his childhood as a time in which his own spirit paralleled or equalled that of the west wind. He then describes how that spirit has been beaten down by life. Write a memoir that compares your childhood with your present life. Have things changed for you? In what ways?
3. A myth is a story that explains objects or events in the natural world as resulting from the action of some supernatural force or entity. In this poem, the speaker calls upon the wind to inspire him and to renew his spirit, so that he can be a powerful voice prophesying change. Use Shelley's technique to create a prose myth of your own in which you evoke the aid of a force of nature to help you achieve some end.
Common and Proper Nouns. List each of the nouns from the following sentences and correct any errors in capitalization. (Note: These nouns come from the selections. Remember that poets do not always follow rules of capitalization, but you should attempt to follow them in this exercise.)
1. I am Ozymandias, and I am King of kings.
2. The real ozymandias was ramses II of egypt, who lived around 1300 bc.
3. The West Wind is the breath of Autumn's being.
4. The blue mediterranean sea was awakened in the Fall.
5. "Ode to the West Wind" was written near florence, Italy.
Test-Taking Skills. Read the Language Arts Survey 4.41, "Sentence-Completion Questions." Then rewrite and add words and punctuation to the following sentence fragments to make them complete sentences.
1. The real Ozymandias was a .
2. To the speaker of the poem, the west wind represents .
3. The Romantics valued nature and wildness above .
4. The speaker asks the wind to .
5. At the end of "Ode to the West Wind," the reader feels .
