Ozymandias and Immortality Ozymandias expresses to us that possessions do not mean immortality.
Percy Shelley uses lots of imagery and irony to get his point across
throughout the poem. In drawing these vivid and ironic pictures in our
minds, Shelley explains that no one lives forever, and neither do
their possessions.
Shelley expresses this poem’s moral through a vivid and ironic
picture: “On the pedestal of the statue, there are these words, ‘My
name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and
despair!’”(10-11). However, all that surrounds the statue is a desert.
This poem is written to express to us that possessions don’t mean
immortality, the king who seemed to think that his kingdom would
remain under his statue’s arrogant gaze forever, ironically teaches us
this through his epitaph. Though in an opposite meaning than the king
intended, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (11) becomes
good advice because it comes to mean that despite all the power and
might one acquires in the course of their life, material possessions
will not last forever. In the end, the King’s works are nothing, and
the lines inscribed on his statue are a sermon to those who read it.
This poem is basically divided into two parts: the first eight lines
and the last six lines. The first eight lines are describing an
ancient decayed sculpture seen by a traveler. The last six lines
however talk about the words on the pedestal and the desolate
surroundings. He contrasts the great sculpture with the surrounding
emptiness, which brings a stronger feeling to the poem. When Shelley
writes about the “sneer of cold command” (5), you can imagine a very
conceited, arrogant pharaoh, commanding his people building this great
that must have gone down hill because now there is no sign of it. In
In Alan Moore's The Watchmen, Moore presents the reader with two drastically different characters who have one strikingly similar trait. Ozymandias is a handsome, rich, public, and powerful man. Rorschach is an ugly, poor, private, and almost worthless man. Despite all of these contrasts, they share a common philosophy: they believe that the ends justify the means. This is a major theme of the story, and through it Moore causes the reader the ask themselves the question - do the ends justify the means?
In The Epic of Gilgamesh the main character, Gilgamesh, is searching for immortality. This want is brought about by deep feelings held by Gilgamesh for his dead friend Enkidu. From this, Gilgamesh finds himself being scared of dying. This fear pushes Gilgamesh to search for the power of immortal life, which is believed to be held only by women because of the fact that they can reproduce. This takes him on a long and tiresome journey to a land where no mortal has gone before. The search by Gligamesh is fueled by the desire to play a part in reproduction. His journey begins at Mount Mashu, the mountain which describes a woman in the part that her "paps reach down to the underworld." Referring to two women’s breast’s hanging down. Before he may enter the mountain, he meets two half female, half dragon figures guarding the entrance. They begin asking why he has come; "No man/ born of woman has done what you have/ asked, no mortal man has ever gone into the/ mountain." This mountain is off limits to mortal beings, he should not be there Gilgamesh is alloud in and goes through twelve leagues of darkness before he reaches the golden garden of the goddesses.
Even though Death is all a part of life, it’s really a difficult thing to find in the art world. If it is dealing with death the most common idea to find is the scenarios dealing with dramatic times in history. No matter the day and age there is always the idea of death when it comes to the idea of the human body.
As Stephen Mitchell stated, “(Gilgamesh is) the oldest story in the world, a thousand years older than the Iliad or the Bible” (Mitchell, 1). Gilgamesh is the oldest text we have from the B.C./B.C.E times. Majority of scholars believe that the main theme of the book is Immortality. Therefore, it is arguable that other themes are much more important. Gilgamesh is by far the oldest known text in today’s age. Through analyzation, we know one of the main themes of the story is immortality; however, that is not the only theme nor is it the most important.The book stands the test of time because of a topical and relatable theme to today’s society. Numerous characters display that human growth is achieved through loss and journeys.
Death and Immortality in The Epic of Gilgamesh The search for immortality has been a major concern for many men and women all throughout history. True love and immortality in life would be a dream come true to many. To spend time with a special someone, the person one feels closest to, and never have to say good-bye would greatly appeal to most people. But when death steps into the picture, even with all the pain and devastation, one starts to re-evaluate themselves. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh explores the possibility of immortality following the saddening death of his friend and brother, Enkidu.
Immortality and Myth in The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton’s books are considered, by some, merely popular fiction of her time. But we must be careful not to equate popularity with the value of the fiction; i.e., we must not assume that if her books are popular, they are also primitive. Compared to the works of her contemporary and friend, Henry James, whose books may seem complex and sometimes bewildering, Wharton’s The Age of Innocence appears to be a simplistic, gossipy commentary of New York society during the last decade of the 19th century*. Instead, it is one man’s struggle with the questions of mortality and immortality.
Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ozymandias" portrays the past power of authority symbolized by the once great world power of Egypt. William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming" portrays the past power religion once had over the world, gradually lost ever since the end of Shelley's era of Romanticism. "Ozymandias" was written in a time when human rule coupled with religious guidance, but was slowly easing away from that old tradition as they entered the highly progressive era of the Victorians. In his poem, Shelley was comparing the formally powerful Egyptian pharaoh's "antique" and prideful form of rule with the unsuccessful future the "traveller" met in the desert with the ruins of the king's "shattered visage" (Longman, Shelley, p. 1710, l. 1 & 4). In a sense, Shelley was also saying that human rulership was just as easily able to fail as the once great and powerful world rule of Egypt once did, for ages. Yeats also is alluding to this idea, but imposing his view on another type of rule once great for hundreds of years of its rulership, that of Christianity or religion in general. In "The Second Coming" he envisions the "falcon" of humanity drifting away and ignoring "the falconer," Christian religions (Longman, Yeats, p. 2329, l. 2). "The falcon cannot hear the falconer;/ Things fall apart" says Yeats, depicting how human reliance on religion has become cold and disinterested in its lead anymore due to human progress of science, thus their loss of reliance and trustworthiness of religion's claims.
hilosophers have contemplated over the subject of immortality. They question if the soul, particularly, is immortal. Although Plato writes the Meno, it is supposed to be a copy of what Socrates personally encountered and “taught” in his lifetime. Even though the Meno is originally about the search for the meaning of virtue, one perspective on the immortality of the soul is introduced to us by Socrates in that play. Therefore, what Socrates thought about the immortality of the soul in the Meno is the following: “If the truth about reality is always in our soul, the soul would be immortal so that you should always confidently try to seek out and recollect what you do not know at present” (Plato, 86b) In the beginning, Meno challenges Socrates
Through the many of mankind’s tales of adventure the search for immortality is a very common theme. Many heroes have made it the objective of their travels and adventures. This is no different in The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey. The heroes in both are tempted by the offer of immortality, however each of them turns it down for their own reasons.
Have you ever thought of getting a past life regression? Probably not, many people believe that the idea of reincarnation is unrealistic. It is defined as, “a doctrine or mystic belief that some essential part of a living being survives death to be reborn in a new body” (Gadit). According to Elizabeth Fenwick, this concept is “a central part of the doctrines of Eastern religion”. Yet, many do not believe in rebirth. People tend to question reincarnation because they are unable to remember what happened in their past lives (Macintosh 154). Although rebirth is a questionable occurrence, there is a collection of evidence to prove that reincarnation is the next step for the soul after death of the physical body.
With his 1955 novel Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov invents a narrator by the name of Humbert Humbert who is both an exquisite wordsmith and an obsessive pedophile. The novel serves as the canvas upon which Humbert Humbert will paint a story of love, lust, and death for the reader. His confession is beautiful and worthy of artistic appreciation, so the fact that it centers on the subject of pedophilia leaves the reader conflicted by the close of the novel. Humbert Humbert frequently identifies himself as an artist and with his confession he hopes “to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets” (Nabokov, Lolita 134). Immortalizing the fleeting beauty and enchanting qualities of these preteen girls is Humbert Humbert’s artistic mission
It is common knowledge that every living thing must die eventually; death is inevitable. Some people die earlier than others, while some live long, prosperous lives. Death, however, does not always refer to the physical body. Many notable authors examine the many different “deaths” that are possible. Death could be used to refer to the death of the soul as evil takes over, or the death of hope as one is unable to cope with a loss of child. George Orwell is one of these authors, as he demonstrates death in various ways. Death is a complex theme in Orwell’s novel, 1984, as it examines the atypical “deaths” that humans can experience. Orwell examines the death of social order when the Party takes over in a totalitarian manner. He examines the death of the family unit, the death of rebellion, the death of individuality, and the death of language. The most evident death, however, is the death of the mind. He demonstrates this sort of death through Winston’s complex character as he meets his eventual fate. Throughout his novel, Orwell foreshadows Winston’s eventual “death” through his word choice and tone, through Winston’s childhood memories, and through Winston’s surroundings.
The loss of a loved one is an emotional and personal experience, and everyone grieves in their own way. Before the healing process can begin, the deceased must be laid to rest and this is usually accomplished with a funeral service. Many people choose a piece to be read at these ceremonies, such as W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” and Mary Elizabeth Frye’s “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep.” It is quite thought-provoking to compare the poems, since the subject matter is the same, however each of these works views death from a different perspective, one negative and the other positive.
The search for immortality is not an uncommon one in literature. Many authors and poets find contentment within the ideals of faith and divinity; others, such as Whitman and Stevens, achieve satisfaction with the concept of the immortality of mortality. This understanding of the cycle of death and rebirth dominates both Walt Whitman's "On the Beach at Night" and Wallace Stevens' "Sunday Morning" and demonstrates the poets' philosophies of worldly immortality.