Research Paper On Ozymandias

It is impossible for one to overcome the finite nature of existence and the perpetual progression of time. Although no one has succeeded many have tried to remain forever in the present, such as Egyptian monarch Ozymandias. Even though he himself was bounded to the thirteenth century B.C., he attempted to guarantee his immortality through his works and a large statue of himself. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1818 poem, “Ozymandias,” is a traveler’s chilling recount of what remains in his once great civilization. Through the use of stylistic devices such as assonance, synecdoche, connotation and dramatic irony the poem shows that no matter how powerful or important one claims to be, time will eventually consume everything they

This quote had a big influence on me as a reader for the reason that we as individuals may have wounds from our past.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and London by William Blake both explore the theme of power, and how nothing is permanent since time can destroy anything. Both poems relate to the romantic era because romantic writers believed in the idea of nature, and the poem Ozymandias is a reminder that all man-made things will lose to time and the earth. But in comparison London contrasts this reminder, as the industrialization in London is destroying nature, but yet it reinforces the idea that time can change anything.

“Memories I sometimes wish I could wash away, even though I am aware that they are an important part of what my life is; whom I am now” (Beah 19). Remembering things reminds him of who he is.

What is remembered now might not be the same as what is remembered in 10 or 20 years, since memories are bound to change and even slip away as time continues. The poem “Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins and the essay “Once More to the Lake” by E.B. White both use diction and devices in order to help present how memories change and get lost as time moves on. The poem “Forgetfulness” explains how memories will slip away as one ages, and the sadness of not knowing simple facts and skills anymore. The text “Once More to the Lake” by E.B. White explains the story of a father taking his son to the lake for a week, wanting to relive and share his childhood memories. As their vacation continues throughout the week, the father is pulled between

“We cling on to a time and place because without them man is lost, not only man but life” (2). A quote by Loren Eisley “The Brown Wasps.” In life, as humans, we live many different memories, and whether they're sad or happy ones, we will always remember them. But no matter what, there is always going to be one memory that impacted our lives so much that we will find ourselves forever clinging on to the memory of that one event. Both the “Brown Wasps” and “Once more to the Lake” show us just how important our memories are to us.

Every act of remembering is also, intrinsically, an act of forgetting. Giving preference to particular details of an event lessens the immediacy of others. Thus, memory is its own, unique narrative culled from an almost endless sea of details present, and sometimes not present, in the original event. Memory is the past, reformulated and interpreted through the lens of the present (Huyssen 1995). When an event is commemorated through a physical act of memory, the narrowing of possible details becomes even more finely tuned, limited by the physical scope of possibilities for bodies in a three-dimensional space.

from a dying world. The life and pretensions of their world are becoming a thing of memory:

The value of memory is an important aspect in a person’s life because most of the time our brains will go back into our memory and recall past events weather them being good or bad. Memory plays a part in every human being’s life, whether it may be about a great loss of someone you loved dearly or it be a great gift like having a child or a miracle happen like getting a perfect score on your SATs. Memory will always be an aspect in everyone’s life. In the passage, “Hope, Despair, and Memory” by Elie Wiesel, and in the excerpt from The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger the value of memory are treated in both worthy and harmful ways using diction, repetition, and theme.

In “Ozymandias”, Shelley uses destructive diction to demonstrate the inevitable passage of time. An example of this is displayed as Shelley describes the statues on the sand as “half-sunk, a shattered visage” (Shelley 4). The sand in which the statue lies symbolizes time, much like the sand found inside an hourglass. The statue once stood upright, yet now it seems to continue to be consumed deeper into the sand. Shelley demonstrates the effect of time itself on the statue’s face through her use of words such as “shattered visage”, creating an image of aging.

Memory is one of our greatest assets. “It is how we know who we are. Memory gives us a sense of history, our origin, roots, and identity. By it we relive special events, birthdays, anniversaries and days of national significance. The Lord’s Supper is a call to remember Christ and the cross.” The relationships we have in our lives often become stronger as we take time to reflect on what that person has done for us in the past and continues to do for us. As adults we are able to look back and see the sacrifices our parents made for us and we realize just how much they

  Memories are works of fiction, selective representations of experiences actual or imagined. They provide a framework for creating meaning in one's own life as well as in the lives of others. In Toni Morrison's novel Beloved, memory is a dangerous and debilitating faculty of human consciousness. Sethe endures the tyranny of the self imposed prison of memory. She expresses an insatiable obsession with her memories, with the past. Sethe is compelled to explore and explain an overwhelming sense of yearning, longing, thirst for something beyond herself, her daughter, her Beloved. Though Beloved becomes a physical manifestation of these memories, her will is essentially defined by and tied to the

As recollected history over my memories considering tense moments couldn’t release or erase my pain, for they have etched in my heart and tear-stained left behind.

Still, the sad memory hovers round, and sometimes drifts across like floating mist, cutting off sunshine and chilling the remembrance of happier times. There have been joys too great to be described in words, and there have been griefs upon which I have not dared to dwell; and with these in mind I say: Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end. Edward Whymper, Scrambles Amongst The Alps (Krakauer 200).

The poem “Ozymandias” is considered one of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s best sonnets. It was written in 1817 and is still recognized today as its meaning still holds true. “Ozymandias” illustrates the fall of power and mortality through a once powerful king. This is shown through the pride of the king, the tyranny that the king ruled by, and the transience of his ruling and empire.