A Comparison of Ozymandias by Percy Shelley and Suddan Hussain

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Compare and contrast Ozymandias and Saddam Hussein. The poem, written by Percy Shelley, Ozymandias is a Petrarchan sonnet compared to the second article labelled ‘Symbolic in more ways than one’ is actually a news article. This is shown through the piece as it contains a date ‘Thursday 10 April 2003', structure and content, the content is more modern so the audience know that when the subject is addressed, it will be serious rather than humorous. Ozymandias is a sonnet (a poem of 14 lines), although it doesn't have the same, simple rhyme scheme or punctuation that most sonnets have. Some lines are split by full stops and the rhyme is irregular at times. It is written in iambic pentameter, which Shakespeare used widely in his plays and sonnets. The first line and a half up to the colon are the narrator's words, the rest are those of the traveller he meets. There are no clear stanzas as such. Instead, it is one, 14-line block of text that is split up with lots of punctuation throughout. Although it doesn't have an easy, memorable rhyme scheme, the poem is powerful when read aloud. The end of lines one and three rhyme ("land / sand") but so do the first and last words of line three ("stand / sand") which gives it extra power. Lines 12 and 14 also rhyme and words such as ("decay / away") mean that the poem ends with a feeling of mystery and emptiness. The use of iambic pentameter means that it has a regular sound. Both pieces are symbolic of power, how it can be destroyed over time, slowly crumbling rather than being incinerated, like a statue. This is to show that all power soon gets destroyed over time, some forcibly quicker as they're emotive to some people, in Saddam’s case, people who wish to retaliate because he is dead. As well... ... middle of paper ... ...hat power does slowly wear off over time to become someone's legacy. They all give different connotations which all have a negative impact on the reader, ‘decay and lifeless’ give ideas of something dead, like a rotting corpse; ‘bare and antique’ give connotations that it has become old and naked so much, it contains no power or trace of Ramses and finally ‘wreck, shattered and wrinkled’ give connotations that the statue which represents Ramses’ power has shrivelled and turned into a fossilized box of bones. So overall, both pieces represent that power, when obtained, is only meaningful when the person is alive and well using it, but that’s its limitations. It never exceeds their life span as peoples true opinions are shown and their legacy is soon forgotten. They both use different points in time which have a connection to speak out the same message to the audience.

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