Blog Entry #1 - Unit 9

Discuss how the poem "Ozymandias" develops the theme that "nothing lasts":

How does the imagery in the poem reinforce this theme?
In line one, the speaker makes reference to "antique land" which means that it's getting old. Something getting old makes a reader realize that "nothing lasts." In line two of this poem, the speaker says, " Two vast and trunkless legs of stone..." and by reading the information after the poem, the reader finds out that this line means that the statue had shattered in the desert, which the word shatter implies that the statue indeed did not last. In line four, the speaker states, "...a shattered visage lies..." again using shattered to imply that not even the visage (being the appearance of a human or even animal) does not last. In line seven the speaker says, "which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things..." which to the reader means that at that moment things are surviving, but maybe they find themselves asking at that point, how much longer will they survive? Also, this line allows the reader to acknowledge the fact that there are already "lifeless" things around. Both of these points imply that "nothing lasts." In line twelve the speaker says, "Nothing besides remains." This to the reader implies that "nothing remains." Also in this same line (line 12), the speaker makes reference to the word "decay" which means there has been some deterioration whcih also means that "nothing lasts."

How do the various speakers in the poem contribute to this theme?
It is hard to explain by writing or typing, but what a reader gets out of a piece of literature, especially poetry, has a lot to do with how the reader reads it. Changing how the reader reads the poem, gives them a different perspective and interpretation on the tone of the work, even on the imagery and irony they get out of the literature.

Though "nothing lasts" the poet seems to suggest some things outlast others. What outlasts what in this poem?
A reader might think to themselves after reading this poem that monuments outlast lives of any living thing because monuments are meant to last "forever." Living things are meant to reproduce and then die. That's how the world works.