Topic > Discussion of the limited nature of life in Ozymandias and London

In both “Ozymandias” and “London,” both poets highlight the theme of mortality as a way to convey the key message of human power. This is conveyed in “London” where Blake talks about the death and suffering of people through the regular rhyme scheme which could reflect the regularity of oppression by my powerful beings “behind the palace walls”. Similarly, in "Ozymandias" Shelley speaks of the death of a civilization by overthrowing Rameses; As suggested by "a destroyed face". However, despite this, due to the semantic fields shown by the poet, it is implied that human power is eroded to the point of uselessness (like the existing statue of the king/pharaoh) and human power is no match for the power of the elements.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Besides this, both poets convey the feeling of someone dominating; thus emphasizing the extent of human power and as a result, in both poems one finds someone with greater power. In "London" the rich have this advantage over the poor, which highlights how the rich control the poor. “How chimney sweeps cry” suggests it (which is almost a mocking tone). The purpose of this pathos created by the poet regarding Ozymandias is to show how, on the one hand, human power can put an end to the reigns of dictators, but on the other hand, human power can harm society and create barriers between classes, such as is reflected in the context. of the French Revolution. Furthermore, in "Ozymandias" the great leader (Rameses) is said to have this strength over his enemies and his own people, but the fact that the poem is written as an indirect first-person narrative, i.e. "I met a traveler" , creates the impression that humans as a whole have so much power, that they have made the reign of Ramesses a very distant memory in the "ancient land" (the desert). In my opinion, both poets highlight the power of humans as a way to express anguish how this power has been abused to create fascist societies. In "Ozymandias" Shelley writes of a fallen empire, a civilization that must have gone into decline because there is now no trace of it, as suggested by the alliterative language of "boundless and naked." In "London" Blake tells us that the poorer people of this city are going through a bad time and their empire has fallen like Ozymandias', but in this case London has not fallen. Blake suggests that because the rich hide 'behind palace walls', there is a colossal moral decline with 'prostitutes' and an overall melancholic, gothic, i.e. 'hearse' tone. Furthermore, Blake writes about how London has slipped into a period of poverty and disease due to the human power of dictators who are cowardly to see what their city has become, i.e. "signs of weakness, signs of trouble". Connected to this quote, human power is also interpreted here as evil by the poet as it is an example of degradation and the oxymoron of "marriage funeral". While the powerful are happy, as indicated by "marriage", the oppressed are sad, as indicated by "hearse", and this is a recurring motif suggesting that the poor deserve to be and will always be despised. two poems, both give a feeling of depression and melancholy to the reader, suggesting that excessive human power results in a complete scarring of an environment. Shelley emphasizes different types of imagery to create this effect, such as: "The hand that mocked them and the hearts that fed them", thus suggesting that people were almost forced to perform acts they did not want, just so the king could become more strong. corrupt due.