My assignment requires that I find a particular resource to help in the study of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias." I have been tasked with discovering genre reference works, in the hopes that knowing more about the typical conventions of this type of poetry will aid me in discussing Shelley's work with better understanding and meaning. The following sources are what I have found:
William Harmon, A Handbook to Literature
Since this book is a good starting reference for all things literature-related, it is here that I began my search. Several copies of this book may be found on the fifth floor of our university’s library. This resource includes several helpful entries not only on poetry, but also on the sonnet as a subgenre of poetry as well as insight on Romanticism as a creative period. Broadly speaking, poetry “adds to our store of knowledge or experience” by expressing thoughts in rhythmic, imaginative, and concrete ways. As a form of poetry, the sonnet has developed from two different types, the Petrarchan (or Italian) and the Shakespearean (or English) sonnet. Its form was first practiced in the thirteenth century in Italy, and increased in popularity throughout the Renaissance. The Romantic movement in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is characterized by rather poetic social values; the imaginative, natural, primitive, and mystical aspects of life were more greatly emphasized in the arts, and a deepened “sympathetic interest in the past” arose.
Though at first sight strikingly similar to the first, this source not only willingly revealed the differences between the Italian and the English sonnet, but also expanded a bit on the history of the form. I found this resource while searching the databases on the BYU library website. The entry I found describing the specifics of sonnets details the various changes made over the centuries to this type of poetry. The Italian Petrarch established this style of writing poetry in the fourteenth century, with the subject matter typically centering around love, especially courtly love. It was so popular that the sonnet expanded to Spain, France, and England during the Renaissance, and eventually to Germany. During the succeeding eighteenth century, the sonnet’s popularity waned, but was again brought forth by the hands of some of the Romantic poets, including Keats and Wordsworth.
I think it is rather interesting that this particular form of poetry fell in popularity during the eighteenth century and then resurfaced with the Romantics, the time period that Shelley wrote in. Given this context, perhaps "Ozymandias" could be seen as an ode to what once was in view of the dawning century.
You said, "'Ozymandias' could be seen as a ode to what once was . . ." I like that! It's a very different way of looking at things. Romanticists, as you said, have a "sympathetic interest in the past." I wonder if Shelley was intentionally departing from this norm. Perhaps he was criticizing the past through Ozymandias?
ReplyDeleteI also think it's rather interesting that sonnets fell in popularity but that Shelley used "Ozymandias" as an ode perhaps. This makes me think of Kayla's research however that said Shelley was a revolutionary. Do you think that maybe perhaps Shelley using a sonnet was some subtle reference to better times? Or was he using a sonnet to reference a constraint and regulation much like Ozymandias' rule.
ReplyDeleteGood question!! If I had to guess, I would think it was the latter option, that he was using a sonnet to reference a constraint and regulation. This is a very metaphoric and interesting way to look at it! Either way, I definitely think he did it on purpose.
DeleteIt's interesting the different effect that poetry has on people as opposed to other forms of writing. I wonder how the effect of this work would've changed if it had been written as something like a short story or an essay?
ReplyDeleteSomething that I recently heard about sonnets was that they typically have a turn, or like a defining moment or line. Because this is a sonnet, it makes me wonder where the defining moment is and if Shelley chose this style because of this.
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