Ozymandias

Teaching materials for this poem include questions, prompts, and activities that can be used after students read the poem independently or as a group, and as formative or summative assessment tools. The materials can also be utilized in poetry lesson planning and unit design, for class discussion, Entrance and Exit “tickets,” small group seminars, and writing activity ideas. 

Use the writing options in lessons to create opportunities for finding evidence and support in the text, employing critical thinking skills, and practicing test-taking skills. Fulfill requirements for IEP/GIEP learners, early finishers, independent study, varied learning styles, and more.

1. Who gives the description of the statue in the desert?

A) the speaker

B) a traveler

C) the poet

D) the sculptor

2. Who is credited with rendering the statue’s lifelike features?

A) Ozymandias

B) the speaker

C) a traveler

D) the sculptor

3. Where are Ozymadias’s words found?

A) on the statue’s legs

B) on the statue’s face

C) on the statue’s trunk

D) on the statue’s base

4. What can be found in the area surrounding the statue?

A) remains of a city

B) ancient pyramids

C) nothing but sand

D) additional monuments to the pharaoh

5. What expression does the statue’s face bear?

A) a warm smile

B) a cold sneer

C) a wince of pain

D) an angry grimace

1. B. Lines 1-2 reveal that the speaker is hearing the account of the statue secondhand, from a traveler.

2. D. Line 6 credits the lifelike expression of the monument to the sculptor’s skill.