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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 8 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the meter of the poem's first two lines?

2. What is the antecedent of the word "them" in line 8, "The hand that mocked them"?

3. Whose hand is being referred to in line 8, "The hand that mocked them"?

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

5. Which technique is evident in line 6, "Tell that its sculptor well those passions read"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly summarize the action of the poem.

2. Describe the poem's form.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about meter in "Ozymandias." Be sure to discuss both Shelley's use of iambic pentameter and his departures from this meter. Offer insight into the effect of these departures, using correct literary terminology for types of metrical feet as you discuss the form these departures take. Use both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you consider the three voices in "Ozymandias" as "stand-ins." Who might the speaker stand in for? Who might the traveler represent? What about Ozymandias himself? As you consider your answers to these questions, think about why each voice is necessary to the poem's overall meaning. Support your ideas with evidence from the poem; if you use outside sources, be sure to cite these in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Read one of Shelley's more obviously political poems: either "The Masque of Anarchy" or "England in 1819" (both are available online). Then, write an essay comparing and contrasting his approach to political subject matter in the poem you chose and "Ozymandias." Use textual evidence from both works as support for your ideas; cite all sources in MLA format.

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