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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 likely purpose of capitalizing "Works" (line 11) and "Wreck" (line 13)?

2. Who is the author of "Ozymandias"?

3. To whom does Ozymandias address his remarks?

4. What is the form of "Ozymandias"?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Briefly summarize the action of the poem.

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

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

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

8. Describe the poem's form.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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 explicate the poem's rhyme scheme and discuss the effects created by this rhyme scheme. How does rhyme link or emphasize ideas and affect the poem's flow, pace, and tone? Use both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem to support your claims.

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