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Vsuresh Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Ozmandias

Hi,

In the poem Ozymandias by P B Shelley, there is a line which tells us about the arrogant nature of Ozymandias.

I have a question on that line.

"The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed."

I am not sure with the meaning of the part in bold.

Can any one help?
  

Top answer

Hi, You'll find some detailed analysis of the poem, including that line, here. com/2009/04/01/shelleys-sonnet-ozymandias / Clive

— Clive

  • Hi, You'll find some detailed analysis of the poem, including that line, here.
  • com/2009/04/01/shelleys-sonnet-ozymandias / Clive
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5 Answers
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Hi,

You'll find some detailed analysis of the poem, including that line, here.

http://poemshape.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/shelleys-sonnet-ozymandias/

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Thank you, Clive.

I went through the notes. It is very helpful.
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I think that it is the hand of the sculptor and the heart of Ozymandias.

The sculptor sculpted the statue gaining inspiration from Ozymandias's feelings of arrogance, contempt etc.( which were from his heart ).
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This is the most difficult to fathom line in the poem: "...its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive...the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed." Most of the poem seems to criticize Ozymandias, but in this line, at least, Ozymandias does have the upper hand in a way because his statue is still there and the sculptor is gone, and no one remembers him.

The sculptor
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Anonymous In the phrase "the heart that fed", the word "that" means the sculptor's (mocking) hand.
You mean to say that the sculptor's heart and hand fed this. But it was the heart of Ozymandias that gave the sculptor the necessary information to sculpt the statue without which the statue couldn't have been sculpted. So it has to be the heart of Ozymandias.
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