Ozymandias's statue shows the king's ironic pride and arrogance, far from his intention to show grandeur. The sculptor made the art exhibiting the king's frown, wrinkled lip and sneer exposing him as the tyrant he really is. The king was so vain did not even notice the sculptor's contempt. He even brags about how he thinks the other "mighty" rulers will "despair" with his significance.
Answer:
Answers will vary but should include points similar to the following: a. The irony in the poem is that the words on the pedestal, in which Ozymandias calls himself king of kings and demands that all others who aspire to greatness should look on his works and despair, contradict the fate of the great statue, which lies in ruins in a remote, barren desert. b. The message could be as simple as "pride goeth before a fall." c. The message could be that the mighty of the world should contemplate with despair how their efforts shrink to insignificance before the works of time and nature. Some students may also note the irony in the fact that a. the sculptor's work, though broken and half-buried in sand, has outlasted all of the works of the great king who was its subject. b. not even the great king's memorial statue has fared well; all that remains standing are the pedestal and two legs, while the head is half-buried and the trunk is nowhere to be seen.
Explanation:
