The image and influence of power has plagued society since the day of its creation. Starting with Adam and Eve yearning to be like God, cultures across the world have desired to be recognized for the power that they possess in any possible way. In the instance of “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the arrogance of extreme power is shown in ruins as far as the eye can see. Through a peculiar point of view, desolate setting, situational irony, and stark symbolism, Shelley, provides the reader with a distinct way to view the power that so many people and nations look to possess. Percy Shelley uses a type of point of view that is not typically used in poems to convey their message. However, the point of view used tells her reader more than any other point of view can. The narrator of “Ozymandias” tells the story from the account that a traveler had told them. While this may seem as an over-complicated way to write a poem, it allows for the reader to feel distant from all of the events that occur. Shelley doesn’t tell the story nor does the narrator tell the story, the account comes...
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
Pride has been a heavily associated trait with the human race since the existence of time as if it is fused in the blood of the populations. Although not all individuals suffer from pride, it's effects can be commonly seen in a vast majority of individuals. Both Percy Shelley, author of "Ozymandias," and Dahlia Ravikovitch, author of "Pride," explore the effects of pride in relation to an individual's success or legacy. Percy Shelley wrote during the early 1800’s as a primary poet of the English Romanticism Movement. Dahlia Ravikovitch, an Israeli Poet, wrote primarily during the mid-1940s, however, “Pride” is special because it did not reflect her usual patterns. Through the use of literary techniques and tone, both authors present their poem with the intent to communicate that pride ultimately results in ruin.
Both poems ‘the last Duchess’ and ‘Ozymandias’, present power as having a negative effect on people. In the last Duchess, power is presented as something that can corrupt a mind of a person, which can lead to the person dominating other people in his life. However in Ozymandias, the poem shows the futility of power as it describes the transient nature of power.
Power is very dangerous, as shown in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The novel explores the use of power in both the hands of good and evil and for success and for failure. Also, how some characters respond to having power. An examination of William Golding’s LOTF will show how fear is powerful and how the characters use that to their advantage. Also, the power shifts between the characters and the aftermath of that.
Wielding power, however it may be done, emphasises strength and authority in a person. It evokes confidence in their voice. Adds authority to their actions, and sense of pleasure from their own accomplishments. People draw ‘power’ from an array of sources, and in the case of a southern boy named T.J, his deep understanding for the effort into the land he cultivates, is his source. In the story, “Antaeus”, the author Borden Deal suggests that, with power, you truly are your strongest. Similarly to the character that T.J plays, a greek, mythological figure, by the name of Antaeus, had drawn his strength and power from the ground beneath him. And fittingly, antaeus is also the title of this short story, which cleverly alludes
Who holds the power? Which religion is stronger? In Bless Me Ultima, a coming of age story of a young boy, the protagonist struggles with the issue of which God should be followed, worshiped, and reverenced. The theme of power in religion is portrayed throughout Anaya’s book in various ways and means such as Ultima, Mrs. Marez, the sign of the cross, and Antonio himself.
remember [her] after death, anyhow, what stays important is the good a person accomplishes during life, instead of how long they will be remembered." (Hayward,*1) Ozymandius, a poem penned by Percy Byshhe Shelley in 1817, agrees with Susan Hayward's infamous quote in all aspects. During the Revolutionary War, Ozymandius is written with the intention of addressing King George III. Within the poem, the narrator relays that the only thing left to remember of Ramses the Great, the Egyptian Pharaoh, is the eroded remains of his statue, Ozymandius. This great memorial, ordered to be erected by the conceited king to exalt himself, happens to be
When somebody abuses a great amount of power, that individual can lose all their power. The struggle against someone who abuses power is perfectly depicted in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. When someone abuses their power, they can impose certain feelings and actions onto others. If someone tries to conceal their personality, . Finally, if someone abuses power and is constantly challenged by another individual who is trying to take the power abuser’s power away from them, the power abuser will always be frightened of his or her challenger. When someone abuses power and takes full control, they can lose all their power and respect quickly.
The poem Ozymandias tells of a king who was very powerful, people feared him. He created statues of himself for people to admire. Now all that remains of his power are remains. What remains of him are memories that are now long forgotten and that the wind carries away. Sand that stretches for miles and miles until it
Often, too much power can go to that particular person’s head, and he/she can become corrupt. As readers have seen in literature, abuses of power are often harmful to the abuser and their subjects. Corrupted authority and abuses of power eventually lead to the collapse of society. This concept is shown many times throughout the novel Lord Of the Flies and the short story “I Only Came to Use the Phone”. Displayed through characters and actions, abusive power has dominated what should be morally correct in literature.
King George is “old, mad, blind, despised, and dying”; the princes have become cold and selfish draining their country dry, fighting for the throne; the people are starving, depressed, and their crops are failing; the army and church are consumed with greed and takes from its own people; the laws remain unenforced, and Parliament is “Time’s worst statute unrepealed”(“1819” 12) These are all symptoms of a failing government, which I interpret leads Shelley to his last lines, and prediction, of his poem, “Are graves, from which a glorious Phantom may/ Burst, to illuminate our tempestous day”(“1819” 13-14). I think Shelley was convinced that the only hope in humanity is through violent revolution or “a Phantom of light from graves”. I believe this poem warns humanity of handing its power to the one percent, especially when that party reaps the most benefits of its advanced nation. Again implying democracy is the only system of government that can possibly work for the whole when given the power of
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.
In his poem “Ozymandias,” Percy Bysshe Shelley depicts an incongruous scene in which a colossal stone relic lays in ruins among a vast, empty landscape. Though on the surface, the piece has a simple meaning, the ironies and tensions hidden in the lyrics and meter are often overlooked (Martin 65). In his peculiar sonnet, Shelley uses the image of an ancient Egyptian sculpture to make a statement about the relationship between an artist, their subject, and the effects of time on both.
History has proven over time that the arrogance of a country can be its greatest down fall. America has risen to became a great power in a short period of time, but their contagious ways could become its potential downfall from their own arrogant ways. The author's use of logos helps define the article by the means of describing the faults that he sees with America's arrogant ways. The world sees Americans differently and this changes depending on, if we are at home or abroad. The evidence is in the past, in that America is at a crossroad and should evaluate this necessary arrogance before it collapses.