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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. In line 4, "Half sunk a shattered visage lies," what does the word "visage" refer to?

2. What kind of landscape has the traveler been traveling through?

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

4. Which is the best description of the statue's expression?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the poem's form.

2. Briefly summarize the action of the poem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that analyzes "Ozymandias" as an artifact of English Romanticism. Explain the key characteristics of the style and subject matter of Romanticism, place Shelley within this tradition, and then show how "Ozymandias" reflects this tradition. Use both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem to support your claims, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you advance and defend an argument about why "Ozymandias" is more revered by critics than Smith's poem "On A Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, with the Inscription Inserted Below." Show how Shelley uses poetic technique to create a superior poem on the same subject as Smith's poem. Support your ideas with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both poems.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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