NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English: Ch 10 Ozymandias
NCERT Solutions for Class 10th: Chapter 10 Ozymandias Literature Reader English
2. Write a letter to your friend about the sight you saw and your impression of it.
Answer
Dear Friend,
Hey, I am writing to you to describe something quite interesting. The other day I was going through ‘Literature Reader’ where I saw a picture of a sculpture of two legs and a beheaded face lying on the floor in the desert. The impression of the same, on me, was very horrifying because it seemed to talk of a very powerful ruler who was no longer alive. Who might have guessed that years after his death…
ABC
4. Answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.
(a) The poem is set in ____________________________________________
i. the wilderness
ii. an ancient land
iii. a palace
iv. a desert
Answer
iv. a desert
(b) The expression on the face of the statue is one of ____________________
i. admiration
ii. anger
iii. despair
iv. contempt
Answer
iv. contempt
(c) This poem throws light on the _________________ nature of Ozymandias.
i. cruel
ii. arrogant
iii. boastful
iv. aggressive
Answer
iii. boastful
(d) The sculptor was able to understand Ozymandias’ ___________________
i. words
ii. expression
iii. feelings
iv. ambition
Answer
ii. expression
(e) The tone of the poem is ________________________________________
i. mocking
ii. nostalgic
iii. gloomy
iv. gloating
Answer
iv. gloating
Page No: 108
5. Answer the following questions briefly.
(a)”The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.” Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to in this line?
Answer
The hand is the sculptor’s hand who made the statue and the heart of the King Ozymandias which fed on the passions of his people.
(b) “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:” Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as King of Kings? What quality of the king is revealed through this statement.
Answer
Ozymandias is the mighty king who has defeated almost all the kings and their empires around him. He is proud of his glory and power. So, he calls himself ‘King of Kings’. This statement shows that the king must be very proud of his achievements. He is a real snob.
(c) “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Who is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?
Answer
Ozymandias refers to all the other rulers to come after his reign. They should despair, because according to him, they can’t surpass his glory and power.
Answer
Ozymandias was very powerful ruler. No ruler in that time withstand against him. He was all high and mighty king. But now, his statue is present in broken pieces and has mixed with the dust and sand. Here is irony.
(e) ‘Nothing beside remains.’ What does the narrator mean when he says these words?
Answer
When the narrator says these words, he emphasises on the fact that human life is time bound. The power and popularity of the ruler descended with the descent of the ruler. Nothing is immortal and immutable in this world.
(f) What is your impression of Ozymandias as a king?
Answer
Ozymandias was a great powerful king as he had defeated almost every king in his empire. His achievements could be seen throughout the empire. But his boastful nature, his arrogance, and his nature of showing others down make him a weak person.
(g) What message is conveyed through this poem?
Answer
Through this poem a very important message is conveyed that time is all powerful. No king or his power can defeat time. All the achievement, in the end, leads to grave as nothing lives in the world forever. So, the pride and the showcase of power are useless. The greatness of a man is known by his good deeds.
Page No: 109
6. Identify and rewrite the lines from the poem spoken by the narrator, the traveler and Ozymandias:
The Narrator: ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
The Traveller: ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Ozymandias: ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Answer
The Narrator: The narrator starts the poem with the introduction as to how the traveller had narrated his trip to the ancient land.
Page No: 110
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Poetic Device
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Lines from the poem
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Alliteration
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…and sneer of cold command
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Synecdoche (substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to
stand for a part)
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the hand that mock’d them
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Poetic Device
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Lines from the poem
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Alliteration
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…and sneer of cold command
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Synecdoche (substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to
stand for a part)
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the hand that mock’d them
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Repitition
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King of Kings
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Personification
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the hand that mocked them
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9. Imagine that Ozymandias comes back to life and as he sees the condition of his statue, realisation dawns on him and he pens his thoughts in a diary. As Ozymandias, make this diary entry in about 150 words. You could begin like this: I thought I was the mightiest of all but…
Dear Diary,
In both the sonnets, ‘Ozymandias’ and ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’ time is presented in different way by the poets. In ‘Ozymandias’, Percy Byshhe Shelley presents time more powerful than the most of the powerful king. On the other hand, in ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’, Shakespeare present time as powerful but not as powerful and long lasting as his words for his friends. In ‘Ozymandias’ it is seen that even a great king is forgotten in the course of time if his deeds are bad. But if you love someone more than anything else in the world, as mention in ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’, your love for that person lives forever. In such case, one doesn’t need to make a statue to make the memory live forever. Time can be won only by love not by hate.