Building Background

The Real OzymandiasOzymandias is the Greek name for Ramses II, the pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the thirteenth century B.C. He is thought to be the pharaoh portrayed in the biblical book of Exodus who mercilessly oppressed the Israelites until Moses won their freedom. Ramses is also known for sponsoring extensive construction projects to glorify his reign. Among the results, according to one ancient historian, was the largest statue in Egypt. It is the remains of this monument that Shelley contemplates in the poem “Ozymandias.”

The West WindShelley conceived and wrote Ode to the West Wind in 1819 in a forest beside the Arno River near Florence, Italy. He wrote “on a day when that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is at once mild and animating, was collecting the vapors which pour down the autumnal rains.”

The SkylarkThe European skylark is a small bird thought to have one of the most beautiful songs of all the larks, a family of birds celebrated for its singing. What’s more, the skylark sings only in flight—usually when it is too high to be seen. Typically, skylarks soar high into the sky, hover there while singing, plummet downward, and then soar upward again.

The Structure of the PoemsBoth Ode to the West Wind and To a Skylark are long poems, consisting of several stanzas. “Ode to the West Wind” is divided into five numbered sections. As you read, watch for changes in the meaning of the poem that these divisions signal and look for similar changes in To a Skylark. The rhyme schemes of both poems produce echoes. As you read, listen to the echoes of the West Wind’s blowing and the skylark’s singing. Lastly, think about what each poem’s structure contributes to its tone.

Literary analysis: rhythmic patterns

Shelley’s poetry is admired for its musicality, among other qualities. One element that makes poetry musical is meter,the regular repetition of a rhythmic unit. Each unit of meter, known as a foot,consists of one stressed syllable ( ) and one or more unstressed syllables ( ). An iambis a foot that contains an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable: regret. A trocheeis a foot that contains a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable: sorrow. The first chart shows types of feet. Meter is also expressed in terms of the number of feet in a line, as shown in the second chart.

Iambic pentameter,the most common meter in English, contains five sets of iambs:

I met a traveler from an antique land

As you read the following poems, identify the meter. Also notice departures from the regular meter and the effect they have.

Reading skill: understand historical context

The historical contextof a literary work refers to the social conditions that inspired or influenced its creation. Romanticism in 19th-century England developed in part as a reaction to the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon, the industrialization of the economy, and the poverty and oppression of workers. Shelley wrote Ode to the West Wind in 1819, the year of the Peterloo massacre, in which workers demonstrating for reform were killed by soldiers. Another poem, “England in 1819,” explicitly condemns England’s “leech-like” rulers, her army’s “liberticide,” and her “Christless” religion. As you read the following works by Shelley, written over a span of 21/2 years, consider their historical context and that they are poems of protest.

Ozymandias

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 866