- The Oxford Companion to English Literature: This resource provides both brief biographies of the authors, but also a reference to other occurrences during the time the author was alive. Some of the key events during Shelley's life time. A few items that I found interesting was the fact that "Ozymandias" was written in 1818, a period in which English Romanticism was alive and well. Atheism and Industrialism was also on the rise. "Ozymandias" reflects these attitudes with its rejections of power and idea of having a lasting impact on the world. This could easily be referencing the growing materialism of the time especially in regards to industrialism and the dubious, tyrannical practices common to the period.
- The Norton Anthology World Literature: This resource provides a compilation of important pieces of world literature as well as a timeline at the end that includes all of the major works in an era as well as major events. What serves as perhaps the most relevant piece of information gained from this was the massive movement towards empire building. A few years before the creation of this poem, Napoleon had attempted to expand his own empire. The British Empire was also growing rapidly, now having gained control over central India.
The context provided by these two sources helps to greatly expand on the meaning of the poem in my opinion. It can now be set most likely as a response to the expanding imperialistic mindset, but also can be a reflection on the pushback of older ideas of the world, both as Atheism became more prominent and as industrialism grew. The reason it is still studied however is that these same trends continue to apply today. Imperialism remains a concern and the growth of technology rapidly expands.
This context is super helpful and interesting! Atheism was a big part of Shelley's beliefs.
ReplyDeleteConsidering it's a poem about the fall of a "King of Kings" and his statue, during a time when building empires was in political demand, is actually really interesting. Says a lot about how he might have felt towards imperialism when it was a hot topic, and why he might have felt inspired to write the poem.
ReplyDeleteI recently read "Beowulf" for another class, and there it contains lots of foreshadowing about communities being destroyed because of internal discord. "Ozymandius" may be Shelley's way of foreshadowing what he sees is the ultimate result of imperialism-- complete decay.
ReplyDeleteNorton Anthology is a great way to really compare pieces with it's contemporaries. I know in a few of my English classes that we are able to read works side by side. This is especially helpful with reading Blake's works both from his books of "innocence" and "Experience". Because of this, I know that comparing contemporaries or being able to compare works side by side, is really important in fully understanding the work.
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