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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 8 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the likely purpose of capitalizing "Works" (line 11) and "Wreck" (line 13)?
(a) To draw the reader's attention to the consonant rhyme.
(b) To draw the reader's attention to the alliteration in these lines.
(c) To convey a sense of Ozymandias's hubris.
(d) To stress that these are one and the same thing.

2. What is the antecedent of the word "them" in line 8, "The hand that mocked them"?
(a) Visage.
(b) Passions.
(c) Lifeless things.
(d) Sculptor.

3. Which lines contain caesuras?
(a) Lines 11 and 12.
(b) Lines 2 and 3.
(c) Lines 8 and 9.
(d) Lines 5 and 6.

4. Which is the best description of the statue's expression?
(a) Cold and contemptuous.
(b) Passionate and angry.
(c) Impassive and distant.
(d) Startled and bewildered.

5. What does Ozymandias's quote imply should be standing around the statue?
(a) The graves of enemy kings.
(b) Monuments and buildings.
(c) Gold and treasure.
(d) Military weaponry.

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is employed in the poem's final two lines, "Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare/ The lone and level sands stretch far away”?

2. In line 4, "Half sunk a shattered visage lies," what techniques are employed?

3. In line 1, what word does the speaker use to describe the land where the traveler has been?

4. What title does Ozymandias give himself in the statue's inscription?

5. What does Ozymandias hope to inspire in his audience?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly summarize the action of the poem.

2. Explain the irony of the poem's ending.

3. Identify the three voices heard in "Ozymandias."

4. What claims does the poem make about the statue's sculptor?

5. Describe the poem's form.

6. How does the epithet that Ozymandias gives himself help the reader understand the intentions behind his quote?

7. How does the poem's setting support its main point?

8. What poetic techniques create impact in the line, "Half sunk a shattered visage lies" (line 4)?

(see the answer keys)

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