Both Shelly and Blake explore the misuse of power in their poems and what e ect that has on people.
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings’ ‘Black’ning church appalls’
-Not only did Ozymandias misuse his power and his country’s money - ‘blackening’ connotes death, despair and corruption, in sharp contrast to
to have a statue erected for himself, but the boast ‘King of Kings’ the light, goodness and hope that Christianity is supposed to represent
suggests that he saw himself as a god-like gure of untouchable
power and status. -Blake does this in order to criticise the church for not doing enough to help
the poor people (and children) who worked, suffered and sometimes died
-Perhaps Shelley draws attention to Ozymandias’ self-consumed in terrible conditions in factories and up chimneys.
arrogance in order to emphasise the traits of a tyrant.
-colour black could also symbolise the church’s responsibility for their
-Good leaders use their power to help others, yet history is full of deaths. Although he was a religious man, Blake’s damning imagery makes
tyrants who erect great monuments but abuse their power and people. it clear that he was angry with the church for not doing more to stop poor
people from being exploited in this way.
‘Sneer of cold command’ ‘Each chartered street’ ‘chartered thames’
-vivid imagery helps the reader to imagine the disdainful facial -Blake does not focus on the cruelty of one ruler but instead highlights the
expression of the statue, and therefore the supercilious attitude of the numerous ways that people suffer because of an imbalance of power with
ruler himself. the monarchy, church and nancial institutions.
-Shelley’s choice of the word ‘sneer’ implies that Ozymandias looked -In the opening stanza of ‘London’ Blake describes the River Thames as
down on his people. ‘chartered’, which indicates that even the river, which is something natural
and should be owned by everyone, is owned by the wealthiest people in
-Furthermore, the 'sharp 'C' sound in the alliterative phrase ‘cold London.
command’ actually makes the words sound cruel, re ecting the idea of
a heartless, unkind ruler who showed no warmth or compassion -Blake’s repetition of ‘chartered’ emphasises the anger he feels about the
towards his own people. charter system, which resulted in large parts of the city, including the river,
being owned and managed by the wealthy people, leaving nothing for the
Context poor.
-Ozy is based on Rameses the second, a pharaoh who was obsessed
with building monuments, statues and cities to showcase his power. Structure
-Both poems have a tight structure suggesting the tight power and control
-George III was King of England at the time Shelley was writing, so is both Ozy and the rich in society have.
said to re ect him.
-King George was criticised for his reckless spending and failure to
look after his people
fl fi fi fl ff
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings’ ‘Black’ning church appalls’
-Not only did Ozymandias misuse his power and his country’s money - ‘blackening’ connotes death, despair and corruption, in sharp contrast to
to have a statue erected for himself, but the boast ‘King of Kings’ the light, goodness and hope that Christianity is supposed to represent
suggests that he saw himself as a god-like gure of untouchable
power and status. -Blake does this in order to criticise the church for not doing enough to help
the poor people (and children) who worked, suffered and sometimes died
-Perhaps Shelley draws attention to Ozymandias’ self-consumed in terrible conditions in factories and up chimneys.
arrogance in order to emphasise the traits of a tyrant.
-colour black could also symbolise the church’s responsibility for their
-Good leaders use their power to help others, yet history is full of deaths. Although he was a religious man, Blake’s damning imagery makes
tyrants who erect great monuments but abuse their power and people. it clear that he was angry with the church for not doing more to stop poor
people from being exploited in this way.
‘Sneer of cold command’ ‘Each chartered street’ ‘chartered thames’
-vivid imagery helps the reader to imagine the disdainful facial -Blake does not focus on the cruelty of one ruler but instead highlights the
expression of the statue, and therefore the supercilious attitude of the numerous ways that people suffer because of an imbalance of power with
ruler himself. the monarchy, church and nancial institutions.
-Shelley’s choice of the word ‘sneer’ implies that Ozymandias looked -In the opening stanza of ‘London’ Blake describes the River Thames as
down on his people. ‘chartered’, which indicates that even the river, which is something natural
and should be owned by everyone, is owned by the wealthiest people in
-Furthermore, the 'sharp 'C' sound in the alliterative phrase ‘cold London.
command’ actually makes the words sound cruel, re ecting the idea of
a heartless, unkind ruler who showed no warmth or compassion -Blake’s repetition of ‘chartered’ emphasises the anger he feels about the
towards his own people. charter system, which resulted in large parts of the city, including the river,
being owned and managed by the wealthy people, leaving nothing for the
Context poor.
-Ozy is based on Rameses the second, a pharaoh who was obsessed
with building monuments, statues and cities to showcase his power. Structure
-Both poems have a tight structure suggesting the tight power and control
-George III was King of England at the time Shelley was writing, so is both Ozy and the rich in society have.
said to re ect him.
-King George was criticised for his reckless spending and failure to
look after his people
fl fi fi fl ff
