NCERT Solutions class-10 English Comm Poem ch04 Ozymandias

Page No: 107

2. Write a letter to your friend about the sight you saw and your impression of it.
Ans:
Dear Friend,
Hey, I am writing to you to describe something very interesting. The other day I was going through ‘Literature Reader’ where I saw a picture of a sculpture of two legs and a beheaded face lying on the floor in the desert. The impression of the same, on me, was very horrifying because it seemed to talk of a very powerful ruler who was no longer alive. Who might have guessed that years after his death…
XXX

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4. Answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.

(a) The poem is set in ______
i. the wilderness
ii. an ancient land
iii. a palace
iv. a desert
Ans: iv. a desert

(b)The expression on the face of the statue is one of ______
i. admiration
ii. anger
iii. despair
iv. contempt
Ans: iv. contempt

(c)This poem throws light on the ______ nature of Ozymandias.
i. cruel
ii. arrogant
iii. boastful
iv. aggressive
Ans: iii. boastful

(d)The sculptor was able to understand Ozymandias’ ________
i. words
ii. expression
iii. feelings
iv. ambition
Ans: ii. expression

(e)The tone of the poem is ______
i. mocking
ii. nostalgic
iii. gloomy
iv. gloating
Ans: iv. gloating

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Page No: 108

5. Answer the following questions briefly.
(a) “The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.” Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to in this line?
Ans: The hand is the sculptor’s hand who made the statue and the heart of the King Ozymandias which fed on the passions of his people.

(b) “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:” Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as King of Kings? What quality of the king is revealed through this statement.
Ans: Ozymandias is the mighty king who has defeated almost all the kings and their empires around him. He is proud of his glory and power. So, he calls himself ‘King of Kings’.This statement shows that the king must be very proud of his achievements. He is a real snob.

(c) “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Who is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?
Ans: Ozymandias refers to all the other rulers to come after his reign. They should despair, because according to him, they can’t surpass his glory and power.

(d) Bring out the irony in the poem.
Ans: Ozymandias was very powerful ruler. No ruler in that time withstand against him. He was all high and mighty king. But now, his statue is present in broken piecesand has mixed with the dust and sand. Here is irony.

(e) ‘Nothing beside remains.’ What does the narrator mean when he says these words?
Ans: When the narrator says these words, he emphasises on the fact that human life is time bound. The power and popularity of the ruler descended with the descent of the ruler. Nothing is immortal and immutable in this world.

(f) What is your impression of Ozymandias as a king?
Ans: Ozymandias was a great powerful king as he had defeated almost every king in his empire. His achievements could be seen throughout the empire. But his boastful nature, his arrogance, and his nature of showing others down make him a weak person.

(g) What message is conveyed through this poem?
Ans: Through this poem a very important message is conveyedthat time is all powerful. No king or his power can defeat time. All the achievement, in the end, leads to grave as nothing lives in the world forever. So, the pride and the showcase of power are useless. The greatness of a man is known by his good deeds.

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Page No: 109

6. Identify and rewrite the lines from the poem spoken by the narrator, the traveler and Ozymandias:
The Narrator:
The Traveller:
Ozymandias:
Ans: The Narrator: The narrator starts the poem with the introduction as to how the traveller had narrated his trip to the ancient land.

The Traveler: Two huge yet without the upper part of the body sculptures stood in the desert. Near them lay a shattered face, which had a frown and a wrinkled expression on his face. The face also held a hostile expression of cold command. The expression could be read very well on these lifeless things because of the sculptor’s artistry. On the pedestal appeared the words of the king himself. It read that his name was Ozymandias, king of kings, who commanded the forthcoming rulers to look up to him, and be saddened by the fact that they can never beat the glory he had achieved.

Ozymandias: I am Ozymandias, king of all kings: look upon my work and be despaired by my might, which you can never surpass.

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Page No: 110

8. Complete the table listing the poetic devices used by Shelley in Ozymandias.

Poetic Device	Lines from the poem
Alliteration	…and sneer of cold command
Synecdoche(substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to stand for a part)	the hand that mock’d them

Ans:

Poetic Device	Lines from the poem
Alliteration	…and sneer of cold command
Synecdoche(substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to stand for a part)	the hand that mock’d them
Repetition	King of Kings
Personification	the hand that mocked them

9. Imagine that Ozymandias comes back to life and as he sees the condition of his statue, realisation dawns on him and he pens his thoughts in a diary. As Ozymandias, make this diary entry in about 150 words. You could begin like this: I thought I was the mightiest of all but…

Ans:

Dear Diary,

Traversing over the desert, I was dumbfounded withgreat shock when I discovered that my statue was lyingbroken, without head and b