Question

Ozymandias



I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer 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 pedestal 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 colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.



("Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley)

Question
What is the source of irony in this poem?

Answer options with 4 options
1.
the comparison of the wisdom of the traveller to the curiosity of the speaker

2.
the comparison of the boredom of the speaker to the passion of the sculptor

3.
the contrast of the commanding subject of the statue with the peacefulness of the desert

4.
the contrast of the arrogant language on the pedestal with the barren land surrounding it

Answer 1

Correct answer: 4.

Explanation: The poem’s irony comes from the proud inscription commanding others to "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" while in reality there is nothing left but a shattered statue and endless barren sand ("Nothing beside remains"). The boastful, arrogant language on the pedestal is sharply undercut by the ruin and desolation around it.