Question 129
HardOriginal questionI met a traveller from an land
Who said: Two vast and legs of stone
Stand in the desert...Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that wreck, and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
What is the main idea of the poem?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
A king who called himself "king of kings" has left behind only a broken statue in empty sand.
The poem shows that even the greatest power and pride are destroyed by time.
Worth noting
The sculptor's skill is admired in passing, but the poem is about the fall of power, not a contest between artists and kings.
- Concept
- Finding the central idea of a poem
- Typical timeTypical
- 55 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Poems and conversations, at your own pace.