Comparison: London and Ozymandias
‘Ozymandias’ and ‘London, though both written by Romantic poets, have different interpretations of
human power. Romantic poets were known for their focus on the power of nature and revolution against
monarchies and the poems reflect both Blake and Shelley’s ideas. Though the poets share the same
beliefs, their presentation of the poems are different: Blake’s poem, ‘London’, has an angry tone. The
poem expresses anger at those in authority; it blames the government, monarchy and Church for the
suffering of the poor and its purpose is to essentially call for a revolution. Shelley’s poem, ‘Ozymandias’,
has an ironic mocking tone which shows the foolishness of Ozymandias. He mocks rulers who believe
their power is eternal.
As well as having different ideas, the poems have different structures. Though they start off with similar
first sentences, in ‘London’, ‘I wander through’, in ‘Ozymandias’, ‘I met a traveller’, the progression of
the poems are very different. ‘London’ has the same idea throughout the poem, the anger at those in
power, and this reflected by the regular and consistent lengths of the verse but also the ABAB rhyme
scheme. This elucidiates the Blake’s opinion of power in London being consistent. This can be further
backed up by acknowledging that Blake had written ‘London’ in a set of poems called ‘Songs of
Experience’, which had a second part called ‘Songs of Innocence’. The poems in ‘Songs of Innocence’
looked at more positive aspects of life whereas ‘Songs of Experience’ were more dark. Each poem has a
counterpart, however, ‘London’ does not have a counterpart perhaps because Blake feels there is no better
side to the situation in London at the time. There was no positive aspect of nature he could’ve written
about becauses the Thames was ‘chartered’ and the city was ‘black’ning’ due to the Industrial Revolution.
Shelley deftly structures ‘Ozymandias’ so that it reflects the passing of time. This reflects the idea that
human power depreciates over time and the power of nature overpowers of human power. The rhyme
scheme also aids this idea because the poem rhymes the best at the end where the speaker mentions nature
and forgets about Ozymandias. It is also important to mention that Ozymandias was the Greek name for
an Egyptian ruler called Rameses II, who was quite well-known. By using his Greek name, Shelley
enforces the idea of insignificance. By using structure and rhyme scheme, Shelley and Blake are able to
portray their ideas but both do this in different ways.
Blake and Shelley also utilise natural imagery in their poems but again, do this to convey different
meanings. In ‘Ozymandias’ the use of natural imagery of the ‘lone and level sands’ ‘stretch[ing] far away’
shows the insignificance of Ozymandias and this is further emphasised by the use of sybillance. However,
it can be argued that there is a different meaning: the ‘lone and level sands’ may also symbolise
democracy, what Romantic poets wanted. This links back to the purpose of ‘London’-- to call a revolution
for democracy. The use of natural imagery in ‘London’, however, is quite different. The natural imagery
is overpowered by human power. For example, ‘the chartered Thames’ uses financial language to
emphasise the human power over the River Thames, when rivers are meant to symbolise freedom. Shelley
and Blake use natural imagery in these poems for opposite reasons; one shows the power of nature over
humans whereas the other shows human power over nature.
The endings of ‘Ozymandias’ and ‘London’ are also very finite since they come to a bold conclusion. In
‘Ozymandias’ the use of alliteration in ‘lone and level’ and ‘boundless and bare’ emphasise the final
‘Ozymandias’ and ‘London, though both written by Romantic poets, have different interpretations of
human power. Romantic poets were known for their focus on the power of nature and revolution against
monarchies and the poems reflect both Blake and Shelley’s ideas. Though the poets share the same
beliefs, their presentation of the poems are different: Blake’s poem, ‘London’, has an angry tone. The
poem expresses anger at those in authority; it blames the government, monarchy and Church for the
suffering of the poor and its purpose is to essentially call for a revolution. Shelley’s poem, ‘Ozymandias’,
has an ironic mocking tone which shows the foolishness of Ozymandias. He mocks rulers who believe
their power is eternal.
As well as having different ideas, the poems have different structures. Though they start off with similar
first sentences, in ‘London’, ‘I wander through’, in ‘Ozymandias’, ‘I met a traveller’, the progression of
the poems are very different. ‘London’ has the same idea throughout the poem, the anger at those in
power, and this reflected by the regular and consistent lengths of the verse but also the ABAB rhyme
scheme. This elucidiates the Blake’s opinion of power in London being consistent. This can be further
backed up by acknowledging that Blake had written ‘London’ in a set of poems called ‘Songs of
Experience’, which had a second part called ‘Songs of Innocence’. The poems in ‘Songs of Innocence’
looked at more positive aspects of life whereas ‘Songs of Experience’ were more dark. Each poem has a
counterpart, however, ‘London’ does not have a counterpart perhaps because Blake feels there is no better
side to the situation in London at the time. There was no positive aspect of nature he could’ve written
about becauses the Thames was ‘chartered’ and the city was ‘black’ning’ due to the Industrial Revolution.
Shelley deftly structures ‘Ozymandias’ so that it reflects the passing of time. This reflects the idea that
human power depreciates over time and the power of nature overpowers of human power. The rhyme
scheme also aids this idea because the poem rhymes the best at the end where the speaker mentions nature
and forgets about Ozymandias. It is also important to mention that Ozymandias was the Greek name for
an Egyptian ruler called Rameses II, who was quite well-known. By using his Greek name, Shelley
enforces the idea of insignificance. By using structure and rhyme scheme, Shelley and Blake are able to
portray their ideas but both do this in different ways.
Blake and Shelley also utilise natural imagery in their poems but again, do this to convey different
meanings. In ‘Ozymandias’ the use of natural imagery of the ‘lone and level sands’ ‘stretch[ing] far away’
shows the insignificance of Ozymandias and this is further emphasised by the use of sybillance. However,
it can be argued that there is a different meaning: the ‘lone and level sands’ may also symbolise
democracy, what Romantic poets wanted. This links back to the purpose of ‘London’-- to call a revolution
for democracy. The use of natural imagery in ‘London’, however, is quite different. The natural imagery
is overpowered by human power. For example, ‘the chartered Thames’ uses financial language to
emphasise the human power over the River Thames, when rivers are meant to symbolise freedom. Shelley
and Blake use natural imagery in these poems for opposite reasons; one shows the power of nature over
humans whereas the other shows human power over nature.
The endings of ‘Ozymandias’ and ‘London’ are also very finite since they come to a bold conclusion. In
‘Ozymandias’ the use of alliteration in ‘lone and level’ and ‘boundless and bare’ emphasise the final
