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What are the poetic devices used in the poem Ozymandias?

What are the poetic devices used in the poem Ozymandias?

1 Answer

    • Synecdoche – Synecdoche is a figure of speech that uses a part of something to represent the whole thing. Ozymandias condenses the image and conveys the pharaoh’s strength and ambition by using the “hand” and “heart” to symbolize the entire person.
    • Imagery – The use of words or figures of speech by a writer or speaker to evoke a strong mental image or visceral feeling is known as imagery. The poem uses terms like “vast,” “trunkless,” “sunk,” and “boundless” to vividly describe the barren desert and the broken statue. They give off an air of deterioration and emptiness.
    • Alliteration – The term “alliteration” refers to the practice of starting words in a phrase with the same letter or sound. It occurs in “an antique,” “stone/ Stand,” “sunk a shattered,” “cold command,” etc.
    • Enjambment – Lines frequently overlap one another, reflecting the unrelenting march of time and generating a sense of forward momentum.
    • Irony – Irony is a rhetorical device that refers to the difference between expectations and reality. The arrogant tone of the inscription highlights the transience of human accomplishments by standing in sharp contrast to the reality of the destroyed statue.

    Ozymandias Summary

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