StudySync Lesson Plan Ozymandias Objectives 1. Engage students in the figurative language, imagery, diction, sounds, and themes of Percy Bysshe Shelley s Ozymandias so that they may develop an understanding of the poem s meaning and are prepared to discuss and write, both critically and creatively, about the contents of the poem. 2. Practice and reinforce the following Grades 9-10 ELA Common Core Standards for reading literature, writing, and speaking and listening: Time READING: LITERATURE RL.9-10.1-6, 10 WRITING W.9-10.1-10 SPEAKING AND LISTENING SL.9-10.1-6 130 minutes (with up to an additional 240 minutes of extension possibilities) Materials SyncTV Premium Lesson on Percy Bysshe Shelley s Ozymandias Overview One of the most renowned and well-regarded of the English Romantic poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 1822) ran with a circle of writers and thinkers that included luminaries such as Lord Byron, William Goodwin, Leigh Hunt, and his own wife Mary, best known as the author of Frankenstein. Considered too radical to inherit his father s Parliament seat, Percy Shelley did not see much critical or commercial success during his lifetime, but future generations recognized him as a pioneer in the emergence of 19 th century lyric poetry and one of the finest writers of his time. One of his most famous poems, Ozymandias was written in a competition to commemorate the transport of a statue of Pharaoh Ramses II to a museum in London. Shelley uses this as a framework to comment on the ephemeral nature of power and the lasting nature of art. Close examination of this poem will offer students the opportunity to consider Shelley s use of poetic devices as they prepare to discuss and write in-depth responses to the poem, consistent with the ELA Common Core Standards for Grades 9 and 10. Page 1
Background (10 minutes) 1. Watch the Preview (SL.9-10.1-2). As a group, watch the video preview of the premium lesson. After viewing, use the following questions to spur a discussion: a. Who were the Pharaohs and when did they live? Why were grand statues built in honor of them? What do you know, generally speaking, about the beliefs and traditions of ancient Egyptian culture? b. What are the general properties of a sonnet? Have you read any sonnets before? What name(s) do you generally associate with the writing of sonnets? c. The preview states that this poem is about the inevitable decline of all leaders and their empires, no matter how great. What causes leaders and empires to fall? Why is this decline viewed as inevitable? What will happen to the leaders and empires of today, and why? Extension (additional 80 minutes) d. Research (W.9-10.7-8 and SL.9-10.1, 4). Who were some of the other English Romantic poets? For a homework assignment, have students research English Romantic poetry and some of the names most closely associated with this movement. Discuss, as a class, the major tenets of this artistic movement. e. Read (RL.9-10.2, 4 6 and W.9-10.7, 9). Tell students to find another sonnet by a noteworthy English poet (Shakespeare, Keats, etc.) and analyze it as a homework assignment. Assign each student to write a short paragraph-analysis of the sonnet. f. Present (SL.9-10.4-6). Now have students present their assigned sonnets to the class. Have them read aloud each particular sonnet and give a short analysis of the sonnet s background and perceived meaning. Engaging the Text (120 minutes) 2. Read the Text (30 minutes) a. Read and Annotate (RL.9-10.1-2, 4 6). Ask students to read the introduction and the poem Ozymandias. Be sure to give them enough time to both read and annotate the text. If your classroom has a projector, you may want to model notetaking skills by reading and annotating the first paragraph as a class. If students are completing this as a homework assignment, ask them to write any questions they have into the annotation tool these questions are visible to you after the students submit their writing assignments or beforehand if you use the Mimic function to access the students accounts. i. Read. Ask the students to read the introduction and have a student volunteer to read the poem aloud. Each student should have the poem in front of them and, if possible, it should also be projected on the board. ii. What do you notice? After hearing it for the first time, ask the students, What do you notice? This should be a free-form discussion; anything that attracts attention in the poem is worth mentioning. If the conversation is having a hard time getting started, tell the students to pretend you ve Page 2
taken the poem away from them after the first reading and you just want to know what they remember about it. iii. Read again with a pencil. Have another student read the poem aloud a second time or use the audio feature on the site. This time students should underline any image, phrase, or line that appeals to them. Anything goes: something that sounds nice, a phrase that rings true, or something that is clearly stated. Ask that they underline at least three things as they listen to the poem. At the same time, they should circle any words or phrases that are unfamiliar to clarify later. iv. Ask questions. Each student should write at least two specific questions he or she has about this poem. b. Discuss (SL.9-10.1). Have students get into small groups or pairs and briefly discuss the questions and inferences they had while reading. As a class, examine the formal characteristics of this poem. Using a pencil, have students write a letter at the end of each line denoting the rhythmic pattern (A, B, A, B, A, C, D, C, E, D, E, F, E, F) Next, discuss the meaning of the poem. What message is Shelley trying to communicate? Extension (additional 20 minutes) c. Listen and Discuss (SL.9-10.1-2). As a class, listen to the audio reading of the text and watch this video reading, complete with images and background sound effects: http://ccss1.watchknowlearn.org/video.aspx?videoid=25084&categoryid=6953 Ask students to share how their understanding of the text changed after listening and watching. What additional images came to mind? What words did the author use to develop the setting? d. Comprehend (RL.9-10.1-2, 4 6). Have students complete the multiple-choice questions. Collect papers or discuss answers as a class. 3. Watch SyncTV (30 minutes) a. Watch. Either watch the SyncTV discussion as a class or ask students to watch it on their individual computers. b. Focus (SL.9-10.1-3 and RL.9-10.6). First, consider the discussion from 1:43-2:11 regarding the irony in this poem. Why does Liam consider the poem to be ironic? c. Focus (SL.9-10.1-3 and RL.9-10.1 2). From 2:11-3:30, the SyncTV students talk about some of the historical context of Shelley s poem. Pay attention to this discussion and how the context helps us to better understand the poem s meaning. d. Focus (SL.9-10.1-3 and RL.9-10.4). Finally, use the portion of the episode from 5:30-6:33 wherein the SyncTV students analyze a particular phrase from Ozymandias as a model of how to do an effective close reading of a poetry text. e. Discuss (SL.9-10.1-4 and RL.9-10.1-6, 10). After watching the model discussion, have a conversation with the class about the ideas discussed in the SyncTV episode. What new thoughts do they have after hearing the students' discussion? Next, divide students into small groups (3-4 students). Move around the room Page 3
monitoring groups as students follow the SyncTV episode as a model to discuss some of the following questions: i. What do you think is the message of this sonnet? What is Shelley communicating, either directly or indirectly, about the nature of power and the passage of time? ii. Consider the role of interpretation in this sonnet: the sculptor interprets Ozymandias in his work; the sculpture is then interpreted by the traveler, whose story is then interpreted by the poet. What meaning can we derive from these different interpretations on display? By giving us these different perspectives, what do you think Shelley is trying to say? iii. The sonnet is constructed around a single image. What is that image? How is this image metaphorical? In other words, what deeper ideas or truths does this single image convey? iv. Compare the temporary versus the permanent in this sonnet. Based on this comparison, what things in life are ephemeral and what things last forever? v. Analyze the poem s most ambiguous line, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. Whose hand and heart is the poem referring to? What is being mocked, and by whom? vi. Is this poem ironic or tragic? What is the irony or tragedy implicit in this poem? Discuss different ways in which the image at the heart of Ozymandias is either ironic or tragic (or both), especially in regard to the nature of power. Extension (additional 60+ minutes) f. Create (SL.9-10.1, 4-6). Use imovie (or similar multimedia program) to create a short video/audio re-telling of Ozymandias. Have students record a dramatic reading of the poem and sync it with corresponding images, similar to the video from earlier. (http://ccss1.watchknowlearn.org/video.aspx?videoid=25084&categoryid=6953) Present the videos before the class and publish them online, if desired. g. Write Creatively (W.9-10.3, 7-9). Using the database of Blast! Topics, have students choose a particular issue or focal point of debate and write a sonnet in its honor! An easy introduction to sonnet-writing can be found at http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/howto-write-a-sonnet.php. Once familiar with the form, compose sonnets akin to Shelley s Ozymandias, using a single image or metaphor as the basis for a larger idea or truth. 4. Think (10 minutes) a. Respond (W.9-10.1, 4). Ask students to read the Think questions, watch the corresponding video clips, and respond to the questions, either in class or for homework. Page 4
5. Write (50 minutes) a. Discuss (SL.9-10.1). Read the prompt you have chosen for students, and then solicit questions regarding the prompt or the assignment expectations. Whichever prompt you have chosen, make sure you are clear about the assignment expectations and the rubric by which you and the other students will be evaluating them. b. Organize (RL.9-10.1-6, 10 and W.9-10.1-2, 5). Ask students to go back and annotate the text with the prompt in mind. They should be organizing their thoughts and the points they ll address in their writing as they make annotations. If you ve worked on outlining or other organizational tools for writing, this is a good place to apply them. c. Write (W.9-10.1-2, 4-6, 9 10). Have students go through the writing process of planning, revising, editing, and publishing their writing responses. d. Review (W.9-10.4-6). Use the StudySync Review feature to have students complete one to two evaluations of their peers work based on your chosen review rubric. Have the students look at and reflect upon the peer evaluations of their own writing. What might you do differently in a revision? How might you strengthen the writing and the ideas? Extension (additional 80 minutes) e. Write (W.9-10.1-2, 4-6, 9-10). For homework, have students write an essay using one of the prompts you did not choose to do in class. Students should publish their responses online. f. Write Persuasively (W.9-10.1, 4, 7-9). Percy Bysshe Shelley was aligned with many controversial writers and thinkers of his time, and many of his ideas were decidedly radical for the early 19 th century. Having read Ozymandias, write a short essay response of 300 words analyzing how Ozymandias was a radical poem for its time, both in terms of its message and its form. Do outside research if necessary, and be sure to cite examples from the text of how Shelley s poem stood apart from many conventions of its time. Page 5
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS Key Vocabulary 1. antique (adj.) ancient 2. visage (n.) A person s face 3. sneer (n.) An expression on a person s face that shows a lack of respect 4. pedestal (n.) The base of a tall object, e.g. a large statue 5. despair (v.) To abandon hope that a situation will get better 6. colossal (adj.) Huge; resembling the Colossus, a giant statue 7. boundless (adj.) Unlimited, without boundaries, vast Reading Comprehension Questions 1. The two vast and trunkless legs of stone (line 2) belong to. a. the sculptor b. the traveler c. the shattered statue d. none of the above 2. Line 3 contains an example of. a. metaphor b. alliteration c. internal rhyme d. personification 3. The shattered visage (line 4) refers to. a. the broken-off head of the statue b. a terrible sight near the base of the statue c. the traveler s foggy memory of what he saw d. the two vast and trunkless legs of the statue 4. Which of the following best interprets the meaning of: A shattered visage lies, whose frown / And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command / Tell that its sculptor well those passions read (line 6)? a. Ozymandias chose the sculptor because he understood his passions. b. The sculpture s face is evidence that its sculptor understood Ozymandias nature. c. The face of Ozymandias does not tell us the whole story of this great leader. d. Ozymandias was likely upset by the sculptor s interpretation of his visage. 5. The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed (line 8) The underlined word in this passage is most likely referring to. a. the vast and trunkless legs b. the viewers of the statue c. these lifeless things d. Ozymandias passions Page 6
6. In the statement Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! (line 11) Ozymandias is speaking to. a. the sculptor of the statue b. gods and/or other powerful figures c. the traveler d. Percy Bysshe Shelley 7. Ozymandias quoted statement in question 6 is ironic because. a. none of Ozymandias works remain b. the sculptor s statue is the only work in sight c. the statue is buried in a desert where no one can read his statement d. all of the above 8. Based upon a close reading of the sonnet, with which of the following statements would Percy Bysshe Shelley most likely NOT agree? a. Power and material possessions are temporary. b. Desert travelers are frequently not to be trusted. c. Leaders are only remembered by how they are depicted. d. Art will outlast the empires it comes from. 9. The description of the statue s visage tells us that Ozymandias was probably. a. benevolent b. cruel c. handsome d. powerful 10. These lifeless things (line 7) refers to. a. the hand and the heart b. Ozymandias works c. the pieces of stone d. the desert Answer Key 1. C 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. D 6. B 7. D 8. B 9. B 10. C Page 7
Further Assignments 1. Have students read some of Percy Bysshe Shelley s other poems: Hymn to an Intellectual Beauty, England in 1819, Ode to the West Wind, and more. How are these poems similar to or different than Ozymandias? What do these poems tell you about the interests, themes, and language of Shelley s larger body of work? (RL.9-10.1-6, 10 and W.9-10.7-9) 2. Research the life and reign of Pharaoh Ramses II and write a short essay summary of his life. Why was he considered the most powerful of Pharaohs? At the height of his reign, what did he control? How did he live and how did he die? What does his story tell you about life in ancient Egypt? (W.9-10.2, 4, 7-8) 3. Who could be a modern-day Ozymandias figure? Have students pick a more contemporary figure (living or dead) and write a short paragraph response comparing this leader (or other figure) to Shelley s Ozymandias. (W.9-10.2, 7, 9) 4. Create a class sonnet anthology! Using sonnets written for the earlier Extension exercise (or a topic of your own choosing), have students write and revise a sonnet of their choosing for submission. If students are willing to share, make a booklet or handout of their sonnet submissions, inviting authors to read their work. (W.9-10.3-6, 9) 5. What are some other kinds of poetry? What kinds have you read and/or written before? Introduce students to other variations of poetry (e.g., limerick, haiku, epic, etc.) and the specific standards of each. What are the elements of these different forms, and how does this make some forms more suited to certain topics or styles? (SL.9-10.1, 4 and W.9-10.7, 9) 6. For language learners or students who struggle with poetry, assign a re-write of Ozymandias as a descriptive paragraph. Keep the same ideas and descriptions but rewrite it in prose, making sure not to lose any elements in translation of Shelley s original. (ELL) Page 8