Othello initial Qs

1. Iago and Roderigo wake Brababtio to inform him that his daughter has married the moor.
2. Brabantio believes Othello won Desdemona by using magic.
3. Othello believed he won Desdemona through the tales of his war victories.
4. Othello appeared before the senate as they were under the assumption that he had abducted Desdemona because he is needed for a military decision.
5. He was a slave in Africa.
6. Othello is described as ‘the moor’ by his own wife. He is also called ‘more fair than black’.
7. Brabantio’s rhyming couplet ‘Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee’ gives a sense of foreboding for the audience because Othello is convinced by Lago that Desdemona does betray him and has an affair with Cassio.
8. The dramatic irony is ‘my life upon her fate’ because Othello ends up killing Desdemona instead of protecting her.
9. Iago persuades Roderigo to give him money.
10. The audience/reader learns character traits of Iago; for example his spitefulness and manipulation, also his determination to seek revenge against Othello.

Othello Act 1 Scene 1 Task

Act 1



1. How does Shakespeare present the world of Venice in the first act, and how does he construct the interactions of his central characters (Iago, Othello, and Desdemona) with that Venetian world and with each other. How are these interactions complicated by the fact that Othello is a Moor and that Desdemona is a young women?


2. What sort of person is Iago, as he appears in act 1? Are you satisfied by the reasons he gives for hating Othello? What is Iago's relationship with Roderigo?


3. What sort of language does Iago use? What sort of language does Othello use? What might be the significance of this difference?



1. Venice is depicted to be a relatively quiet and orderly place by Shakespeare. This is apparent in the first act as Barbantio is shocked at the idea of him being robbed; hence "What tellâst thou me of robbing? This is Venice; My house is not a grange." Shakespeare constructs the interactions of his central characters with the Venetian world as Roderigo's foolish behaviour would not be tolerated on the streets of Venice in the night; hence why Iago is quick to escape the scene before Barbantio and his guards appear outside. It would not be socially acceptable to awake (and insult) a powerful man without adequate reasoning in the Venetian world. The fact that Othello (moor) has now married Desdemona (young woman) causes complications as this would be frowned upon within society. Barbantio immediately tries to find an excuse for such a thing to occur by using the mention of 'witchcraft' to imply his daughter could not possibly be truly in love with a black man without being under some kind of spell.

2. In Act 1 Iago appears to be a false and cunning character. This is highlighted through the line 'I am not what I am' - Roderigo fails to recognise this as a warning. Iago himself even knows he has a dishonest soul as he states 'such a one do I profess myself'. We also learn here that he is very manipulative as causes chaos throughout the play, often by deceiving characters.
I don't believe Iago has satisfactory reasons for hating Othello, despite Othello promoting Cassio in his place when Iago wanted it and considered himself more superior than Cassio. Iago also believes Othello's relationship with his wife is illegal and he is not capable of being the spouse to such a beautiful and caring woman, predominantly because of his race. However, he should have overcome past indifferences with Othello and befriended him by now - Othello is undeserving of his fate.

Iago's relationship with Roderigo is merely bonded by their joint hate for Othello. Iago only uses Roderigo rather than aiming to be his companion - this is depicted by his soliloquy that summarises is attitude towards Roderigo 'thus do I ever make my fool my purse'. Roderigo is cleverly used by Iago as it is him who takes the blame for the shouting in the street, when in fact it is Iago who makes the most unpleasant and crude comments towards Barbantio.



3. Othello has such confidence in his skill with language at the beginning of the play, his pride becomes visible here as he is exceptionally proud of his achievements and his public stature. As well as this he is proud of his wife's affection for him, which he reiterates by saying how he would not give up their unique bond 'for the seas' worth'. Iago's duality is shown through his language as his tone changes between friendly and sour as soon as Othello moves away. Iago pretends to be supportive of Othello's marriage to Desdemona, but upon Cassio's arrival his uncomplimentary metaphor to describe the coupling suggests otherwise - 'he tonight hath boarded a land carack'. Iago's diction and metaphor choice here depict Othello as some kind of pirate whom is stealing Desdemona's love, while reducing Desdemona into a mere prize. The difference between the two characters language in this act may be a reflection of the difference in character traits shining through as Iago is cunning hence his duplicity, as opposed to Othello's confident and caring nature at first.

Classical Tragedy

Classical Tragedy

Classical tragedy preserves the unities -- one timespan, one setting, one story -- as they originated in the Greek theatre. It also defines a tragic plot as one with a royal character losing, through his own pride, a mighty prize. Modern tragedy redefines the genre, with ordinary protagonists, realistic timelines and settings, and multiple plots.

The genre of tragedy originates from ancient Greece. 5^th century BCE Athens had a sophisticated theatrical culture.

Earliest examples of classical tragedies include;

Oedipus Rex – first performed in 429 BCE,

Prometheus Bound – first performed 430 BCE,

The Oresteia  - first performed 458 BCE,

Aristotle

Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.) numbers among the greatest philosophers of all time. He was judged solely in terms of his philosophical influence. He was also sent to Athens and studied under Plato for 20 years. His work (through translation) became the basis of western education for centuries.

Aristotle wrote his study of tragedy entitled Poetics

Aristotle noted tragedies should excite the emotions of pity and fear by bringing about catharsis. Its action should be simple and complete; presenting a reversal of fortune. It should involve persons who are ‘held in great esteem’.

According to Aristotle there were 6 essential components of a tragedy;

Six main elements: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle (scenic effect), and song (music), of which the first two are primary.

Aristotle goes on to discuss the structure of the ideal tragic plot and spends several chapters on its requirements. He says that the plot must be a complete whole — with a definite beginning, middle, and end — and its length should be such that the spectators can comprehend without difficulty both its separate parts and its overall unity. Moreover, the plot requires a single central theme in which all the elements are logically related to demonstrate the change in the protagonist's fortunes, with emphasis on the dramatic causation and probability of the events.

Aristotle has relatively less to say about the tragic hero because the incidents of tragedy are often beyond the hero's control or not closely related to his personality. The plot is intended to illustrate matters of cosmic rather than individual significance, and the protagonist is viewed primarily as the character who experiences the changes that take place. This stress placed by the Greek tragedians on the development of plot and action at the expense of character, and their general lack of interest in exploring psychological motivation, is one of the major differences between ancient and modern drama.

 

Since the aim of a tragedy is to arouse pity and fear through an alteration in the status of the central character, he must be a figure with whom the audience can identify and whose fate can trigger these emotions. Aristotle says that "pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves." He surveys various possible types of characters on the basis of these premises, then defines the ideal protagonist as. . . a man who is highly renowned and prosperous, but one who is not pre-eminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity but by some error of judgment or frailty; a personage like Oedipus.

Define the following elements/ingredients of Classical Tragedy:

1.Hamartia – the idea that the tragic hero makes a mistake- they cannot be someone who is completely all good or bad.

2.Tragic flaw - It is worth noting that some scholars believe the "flaw" was intended by Aristotle as a necessary corollary of his requirement that the hero should not be a completely admirable man.

3.Hubris – not listening to people and doing as you please anyway. A kind of excessive pride that causes the hero to ignore divine or important warnings, and to break moral codes. Thereby committing hamartia.

4.Peripeteia – opposite of hamartia; where the opposite of what was planned or hoped for by the protagonist takes place

5.Anagnorisis (recognition) - the point when the protagonist recognizes the truth of a situation, discovers another character's identity, or comes to a realization about himself. This sudden acquisition of knowledge or insight by the hero arouses the desired intense emotional reaction in the spectators.

6.Catharsis – should purge the pity and fear brought about by the tragic action being performed. The audience should feel content at the end and satisfied with how the plot ends.

Potential essay questions

J Peck and A Coyle state within Literary Terms and Criticisms ‘A crude Marxist might simply dismiss all literature as a bourgeois luxury in which middle-class authors write about their middle-class problems’.

To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to Angela Carter’s A Bloody Chamber?

 

Pierre Macherey ‘stresses the gaps in a text, arguing that the reader can see what the text is hiding from itself’.

Using ideas from your critical anthology and Philip Larkin’s Whitsun Weddings collection of poems, to what extent do you agree with this view?

 

Larkin has been criticised of being "The Poet of Dirty Words" (Bert, Stephen May 2004) as he is concise in his language choice and depicts the miserable plight of the modern man.

Using ideas from your critical anthology and Philip Larkin’s Whitsun Weddings collection of poems, to what extent do you agree with this view?

New and improved Larkin essay

Philip Larkin

Larkin's poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariat "are deluding themselves" rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them" To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make close reference to FOUR Larkin poems.

Philip Larkin’s ‘Whitsun Weddings’ collection (published in 1964) provides a host of examples of depictions in which the proletariat are deluding themselves. As opposed to exceeding society’s limits by breaking free of the consumerism that engulfs them into a sense of false consciousness. Larkin uses his cynicism and satiric stanzas to present an image to the reader of the capitalist society the proletariat inhabit.

Larkin attempts to create a relatable voice for the general public by using blunt, simplistic, often monosyllabic words in his poems. The opening lines of his poem ‘This Be The Verse’ provide a clear example of this. ‘They fuck you up, your mum and dad’ is concise and consolidates the purpose of his poem quickly. The use of ‘fuck you up’ is very uncommon within the realms of poetry; colloquial language has connotations with informality from critics, therefore deeming it inadequate to be categorised as high literature.  Burt, Stephen stated on 27^th May 2004 that Larkin was "The Poet of Dirty Words" perhaps because of his unique qualities when expressing himself without trying to moderate his language choices. Within this poem Larkin exposes the continuous circle of children inheriting their parents’ bad habits, despite how much they attempt to avoid it. Children tend to emulate their parents; causing a legacy of defects. It could be argued that Larkin goes on to offer an escape of the blame in lines 5-8 as current parents have only acquired their parents’ bad habits too, highlighting the universal tradition that isn’t necessarily down to personal fault. ‘Old-style hats and coats’ alludes to those of previous generations (e.g. parents/grandparents) – showing this collective blame on the history of all parents. Alternatively, it could be seen that ‘Old-style hats and coats’ offers an alternative reading as hats and coats may reflect wealth and power of the past generations of bourgeois. It is this group that have ‘fucked up’ the current proletariat who Larkin aims his poems at, and their fate is inevitable due the inequalities within the capitalist society, and the power the bourgeoisie possesses.  Although Larkin offers a form of escapism of the blame for the proletariat he makes it evident they constantly are accepting of the status quo and fail to disentangle themselves from the monotonous day to day routine they live by – this therefore agrees with the initial statement; illustrating their delusion. This work of Larkin’s contradicts the marxist view that it is inevitable that society will evolve into socialism due to the repetitive qualities within the poem. The influx of generations simply repeating themselves allows no opportunity for potential change, thus concluding that capitalism will dominate the lifestyle of populations for generations to come. Larkin’s ideas and works are not ‘internally inconsistent’ (Paul Sweezy) as critics argue Marx is  – Larkin’s cynicism empowers him and reflects a deliberate ploy by the controlling bourgeoisie to create a sense of futility and despondency in attempt to make the proletariat remain docile and compliant. This is necessary for the bourgeoisie as their puppets (the proletariat) need to be under complete control at all times in order to withhold the superstructure.

This idea of monotony within the lives of the proletariat is maintained throughout several of Larkin’s works. Larkin’s background of deriving from a middle class family and going on to acquire three years of education at Oxford University allowed him to discover the repetitive lifestyle of the lower classes. Another poem in which this is demonstrated is ‘The Large Cool Store’. The predominant impression the poem gives is that there is a clear inequality between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The working class desire to gain the lifestyle of the bourgeois class by aiming to dress in a similar sense to them, however, they fail to realise some similar styled clothes do not escape their day to day ‘drab’ lives and they will never gain the equality they desire.  A repetitive, monotonous society is exemplified through the description of the store. Similarly, simplistic language is used here which reflects the monotonous lives of the proletariat – predominantly the use of monosyllabic words are used to evoke the look and feel of department stores.  This use of dull language reflects the empty, materialistic workers that shop there. In this poem the proletariat are, again, deluding themselves as they delve into a sense of false consciousness by believing they will appear equal to the upper class by dressing in a similar way to them. This therefore agrees with the initial statement again as the workers fail to exceed the boundaries higher realms of authority have set for them.

Similarly, in the poem ‘Sunny Prestatyn’ the concept of purchasing something in attempt to gain and reflect your authority or equality is used here, as it is in The Large Cool Store. Advertisements are used to delude to lower class into believing that by buying something, they will achieve a better quality of life as a result. Larkin essentially explores social discontent and aspects of society’s mental and social brutality. The girl who appears on the poster for example (advertising this holiday destination) is vandalised despite not doing anything wrong; reflecting the uncaring world Larkin depicts. She is initially presented as a happy figure due to ‘laughed the girl on the poster’ and persuades the audience that they too will achieve happiness by visiting this holiday destination. Thus illustrating how the working class are led to believe, by adverts created by the bourgeois class, that if power is what they desire within society they must obtain the materialistic items that the bourgeoisie has deemed acceptable for them to own. However, this is merely a sense of false consciousness that has been developed by the proletariat – similar to theme presented in The Large Cool Store, buying these items only strengthens the authority of the bourgeois, and merely wastes the little disposable income the working class have access too, as opposed to gaining them any form of personal power. A man’s status within society is of utmost importance, it is evident Marx supports this as in his foreword to his 1859 Towards a Critique of Political Economy he states ‘It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness’. This consolidates the ideology that regardless of the mental strength of a person, if they do not belong to the ‘elite’ class (bourgeoisie) their talents are rendered useless as they cannot ever be respected in the same way an upper class member of society would be treated. In contrast to this, a myriad of readers believe the use of ‘laughed the girl’ is a reflection of the bourgeoisie physically humouring themselves at the belittling and exploitation of the proletariat. The proletariat are unaware of the dominative figures in society oppressing them, and so they continue in conducting their monotonous daily lives completely oblivious to the unequal system that forces them into having this lifestyle of full time, hard, manual labour. This point still however supports the statement in relation to the proletariat ‘deluding themselves’.

The theme of exploitation can also be argued to arise in more of Larkin’s poems. Mr Bleaney for example creates the idea of the proletariat being puppets owned, and controlled by the bourgeoisie. This idea of puppets derives from the dehumanising that occurs within the poem as Mr Bleaney’s character is merely represented as a body. Subsequently, Mr Bleaney is lacking characteristics or life which can be supported by the fact ‘Mr Bleaney remained in the room until 'they moved him'’ – he simply cannot function without the oppressive bourgeois controlling him as Mr Bleaney (representing the proletariat) has never known anything different. Larkin predominantly uses irony within this poem in order to depict the miserable plight of the modern man. Similarly his colloquial language (as seen in This Be The Verse) features in this poem, examples include ‘frigid wind’. This tone gives the poem an intimate, conversational feel. The enjambment used could also reflect the on-going, never ceasing nature of life. The nature of life for the proletariat however is repetitive, as seen in The Large Cool Store, Philip Larkin expresses the empty, monotonous and boring lifestyle Mr Bleaney had once lived. The ABAB rhyming scheme conveys a regular pattern, which is supported further by "I know his habbits" depicting a regular, mundane lifestyle. This lack of activity could be seen to be reflected within Mr Bleaney’s opinions; "Flowered curtains, thin and frayed fall to within five incges of the sill, whose window shows a strip of building land". His view is boring as is his lifestyle; both lack potential to achieve anything worthy of credit in the world due to his societal position. This could relate to Bertens’ idea from Literary Theory: The Basics stating ‘capitalism alienates them (labourers) from themselves by seeing them in terms of production… Capitalism turns people into things, it reifies them’. By reifying a human being and diminishing a form of human life into merely an object it becomes evident that this being will lack personality and the ability to form an opinion of their own. This quality is recognised within Mr Bleaney, The Large Cool store, This Be The Verse and Sunny Prestatyn as the proletariat continually fail to break free of the boundaries society sets for them. Bertens goes on to say ‘in our mind we can always be free. Wrong, says Marxism, minds aren’t free at all, they only think they are’. Thus supporting the ideology highlighted in the initial statement that the proletariat are in fact deluding themselves, as they are constantly entrapped by their own false consciousness which blinds them from the inequalities within society.

Larkin's poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariat "are deluding themselves" rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them" To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make close reference to FOUR Larkin poems.

Philip Larkin

Larkin's poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariat "are deluding themselves" rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them" To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make close reference to FOUR Larkin poems.

Philip Larkin’s ‘Whitsun Weddings’ collection published in 1964 provides a host of examples of depictions in which the proletariat are deluding themselves, as opposed to exceeding society’s limits and breaking free of the consumerism that engulfs them into a sense of false consciousness. Larkin uses his cynicism and satiric stanzas to present an image to the reader of the capitalist society the proletariat inhabit.

Larkin attempts to create a relatable voice for the general public by using blunt, simplistic, often monosyllabic words in his poems. The opening lines of his poem ‘This Be The Verse’ is a clear example of this. ‘They fuck you up, your mum and dad’ is concise and consolidates the purpose of his poem quickly. The use of ‘fuck you up’ is very uncommon within the realms of poetry; colloquial language has connotations with informality from critics, therefore deeming it inadequate to be categorised as high literature. Within this poem Larkin exposes the continuous circle of children inheriting their parents’ bad habits, despite how much they attempt to avoid it. Children tend to emulate their parents; causing a legacy of defects. It could be argued that Larkin goes on to offer an escape of the blame in lines 5-8 as current parents have only acquired their parents’ bad habits too, highlighting the universal tradition that isn’t necessarily down to personal fault. ‘Old-style hats and coats’ alludes to those of previous generations (e.g. parents/grandparents) – showing this collective blame on the history of all parents. Alternatively, it could be seen that ‘Old-style hats and coats’ offers an alternative reading as hats and coats may reflect wealth and power of the past generations of bourgeois. It is this group that have ‘fucked up’ the current proletariat who Larkin aims his poems at, and their fate is inevitable due the inequalities within the capitalist society, and the power the bourgeoisie possesses.  Although Larkin offers a form of escapism of the blame for the proletariat he makes it evident they constantly are accepting of the status quo and fail to disentangle themselves from the monotonous day to day routine they live by – this therefore agrees with the initial statement; illustrating their delusion.

This idea of monotony within the lives of the proletariat is maintained throughout several of Larkin’s works. Larkin’s background of deriving from a middle class family and going on to acquire three years of education at Oxford University allowed him to discover the repetitive lifestyle of the lower classes. Another poem in which this is demonstrated is ‘The Large Cool Store’. The predominant impression the poem gives is that there is a clear inequality between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The working class desire to have gain the lifestyle of the bourgeois class by aiming to dress in a similar sense to them, however, they fail to realise some similar styled clothes do not escape their day to day ‘drab’ lives and they will never gain the equality they desire.  A repetitive, monotonous society is exemplified through the description of the store. Similarly, simplistic language is used here which reflects the monotonous lives of the proletariat – predominantly the use of monosyllabic words are used to evoke the look and feel of department stores.  This use of dull language reflects the empty, materialistic workers that shop there. In this poem the proletariat are, again, deluding themselves as they delve into a sense of false consciousness by believing they will appear equal to the upper class by dressing in a similar way to them. This therefore agrees with the initial statement again as the workers fail to exceed the boundaries higher realms of authority have set for them.

Similarly, in the poem ‘Sunny Prestatyn’ the concept of purchasing something in attempt to gain and reflect your authority or equality is used here, as it is in The Large Cool Store. Advertisements are used to delude to lower class into believing that by buying something, they will achieve a better quality of life as a result. Larkin essentially explores social discontent and aspects of society’s mental and social brutality. The girl who appears on the poster for example (advertising this holiday destination) is vandalised despite not doing anything wrong; reflecting the uncaring world Larkin depicts. She is initially presented as a happy figure due to ‘laughed the girl on the poster’ and persuades the audience that they too will achieve happiness by visiting this holiday destination. Thus illustrating how the working class are led to believe, by adverts created by the bourgeois class, that if power is what they desire within society they must obtain the materialistic items that the bourgeoisie has deemed acceptable for them to own. However, this is merely a sense of false consciousness that has been developed by the proletariat – similar to theme presented in The Large Cool Store, buying these items only strengthens the authority of the bourgeois, and merely wastes the little disposable income the working class have access too, as opposed to gaining them any form of personal power. A man’s status within society is of utmost importance, it is evident Marx supports this as in his foreword to his 1859 Towards a Critique of Political Economy he states ‘It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness’. This consolidates the ideology that regardless of the mental strength of a person, if they do not belong to the ‘elite’ class (bourgeoisie) their talents are rendered useless as they cannot ever be respected in the same way an upper class member of society would be treated. In contrast to this, a myriad of readers believe the use of ‘laughed the girl’ is a reflection of the bourgeoisie physically humouring themselves at the belittling and exploitation of the proletariat. The proletariat are unaware of the dominative figures in society oppressing them, and so they continue in conducting their monotonous daily lives completely oblivious to the unequal system that forces them into having this lifestyle of full time, hard, manual labour. This point still however supports the statement in relation to the proletariat ‘deluding themselves’.

The theme of exploitation can also be argued to arise in more of Larkin’s poems. Mr Bleaney for example creates the idea of the proletariat being puppets owned, and controlled by the bourgeoisie. This idea of puppets arises from the dehumanising that occurs within the poem as Mr Bleaney’s character is merely represented as a body. Subsequently, Mr Bleaney is lacking characteristics or life which can be supported by the fact ‘Mr Bleaney remained in the room until 'they moved him'’ – he simply cannot function without the oppressive bourgeois controlling him as Mr Bleaney (representing the proletariat) has never known anything different. Larkin predominantly uses irony within this poem in order to depict the miserable plight of the modern man. Similarly his colloquial language (as seen in This Be The Verse) features in this poem, examples include ‘frigid wind’. This tone gives the poem an intimate, conversational feel. The enjambment used could also reflect the on-going, never ceasing nature of life. The nature of life for the proletariat however is repetitive, as seen in The Large Cool Store, Philip Larkin expresses the empty, monotonous and boring lifestyle Mr Bleaney had once lived. The ABAB rhyming scheme conveys a regular pattern, which is supported further by "I know his habbits" depicting a regular, mundane lifestyle. This lack of activity could be seen to be reflected within Mr Bleaney’s opinions; "Flowered curtains, thin and frayed fall to within five incges of the sill, whose window shows a strip of building land". His view is boring as is his lifestyle, both lack potential to achieve anything worthy of credit in the world due to his societal position. This could relate to Bertens’ idea from Literary Theory: The Basics stating ‘capitalism alienates them (labourers) from themselves by seeing them in terms of production… Capitalism turns people into things, it reifies them’. By reifying a human being and diminishing a form of human life into merely an object it becomes evident that this being will lack personality and the ability to form an opinion of their own. This quality is recognised within Mr Bleaney, The Large Cool store, This Be The Verse and Sunny Prestatyn as the proletariat continually fail to break free of the boundaries society sets for them. Bertens goes on to say ‘in our mind we can always be free. Wrong, says Marxism, minds aren’t free at all, they only think they are’. Thus supporting the ideology highlighted in the initial statement that the proletariat are in fact deluding themselves, as they are constantly entrapped by their own false consciousness which blinds them from the inequalities within society.

Brief description of Ozymandias from a Marxist lens

Ozymandias – Marxist lens

Shelley initially begins this poem by introducing a single narrator – the first lines depict a scene which is now desolate but was once populated with a civilisation now viewed as ancient. The reader automatically becomes aware the poem is in relation to Egypt as Ozymandias is the Greek pronunciation of Ramesses II who reigned from 1279-1213 BC. This relates to the poem as a whole as ‘Ramessuem’ means house of a million years. The change in Ramesses’ name to Ozymandias highlights that the general European population had lacking knowledge in relation to Egyptian history or anything else Oriental and they therefore felt more comfortable naming things by the names that others who were more familiar to them had conjured up. The concept of a long-lasting object for example relates to Ozymandias himself as he aimed to ensure his legacy would live on for eternity. From a Marxist perspective, this concept is unobtainable and unreal to most people as the bourgeoisie dominate all elements of the superstructure and have the power to dictate what is remembered and what is not due to their influence on society. The name change for example by Europeans might not have been done with malicious intent, but it triggered the ideology of an acceptable practice in which westerners applied their own views and judgments onto eastern cultures. A Marxist would highlight this as an act by the bourgeoisie to control the superstructure and all elements of society. This society has many inequalities as it is unjust that figures of authority have power to dictate what is considered memorable and what can be forgotten. Everything we know is only what the bourgeois class decide to inform us, our whole lives could merely be an illusion cast upon us by higher powers.

The poem begins with the introduction of ‘a traveller from an antique land’ – it is unclear whether this traveller is a native to the ancient land or merely a returning tourist. The use of ‘antique’ evidently illustrates an incredibly old or ‘ancient’ land. For this reason, the traveller introduced may be viewed as a time-traveller as he now stands alone in this vast dessert; he appears more modern in comparison to his surroundings. It could be argued that Shelley represents this man as he is returning from a more modern society of his time (19th century) and he understands the historical context of Ozymandias himself due to Shelley’s broad education at Eton and Oxford.

Shelly derived from an aristocratic family, but this did not make him the type of man who favoured monotony. By the age of eighteen, he had collaborated with a friend to produce a pamphlet about Atheism which eventually resulted in his expulsion from Oxford University (Greenblatt 1732). Shelley’s history of rebellion against the norm, makes it easy to believe that he would begin to produce poetry about far off and interesting places that only he might have only ever heard of. Ozymandias is a sonnet, although it does not have the same, simple rhyme scheme or punctuation that most sonnets have. Some lines are split by full stops and the rhyme is irregular at times. Many people may argue that Shelley was rejecting the generic social conventions of accepting the status quo and adhering to what ‘should’ be done by disobeying basic rules like this. His acts of rebellion as a Romantic exemplify his objection to the inequalities within society. Marxists may respect Shelley for recognising the unfair social order, however Shelley himself was a member of the bourgeoisie and so a host of opposing Marxists do not believe his opinion was valid.