The differences of power between poems Ozymandias and The River God free essay sample

Despite them having the same theme, there are many differences along with similarities between the poems. ‘Ozymandias’ is a sonnet poem about how leaders seem so powerful when they’re alive, however their achievements fade over time. Even a ruler, will be forgotten. Whereas ‘The River God’ is a dramatic monologue, about a beautiful woman who drowns in a river. The river is presented as an old god, who maybe doesn’t understand life or death. An Immediate difference between the poems that are linked to power would be how the poets have presented the character with power. In ‘Ozymandias’ we are immediately told of â€Å"two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. † These are the remains of a statue of Ozymandias when he was a ruler, we can immediately tell he is a man of power by the fact he had a large stone statue made of him. We will write a custom essay sample on The differences of power between poems Ozymandias and The River God or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Whereas with ‘The River God’ his appearance does not immediately show power, in fact it shows the complete opposite. The first two lines of ‘The River God’ read â€Å"I may be smelly and I may be old, Rough in my pebbles, reedy in my pools†. Here we are hearing the voice of the river god describing his appearance; which does not strike us with powerful motives. In many cases power is usually associated with greed, possessiveness and arrogance. In the River God, The River God is portrayed as a very possessive man throughout, with the repeat of the words ‘my’ and ‘I’ Another feature of ‘The River God’ that can be linked to power is the arrogance in which he shows towards human death. The quote â€Å"But I can drown the fools† shows a real carelessness for his power and ability to kill a human, treating the woman almost like a toy, he potentially considers human life rather insignificant. Furthermore; ‘The River God’ seems desperate to keep the woman on the river bed, despite treating her like a toy. This shows us power and objectification within ‘The River God’. He repeatedly calls her beautiful and values her appearance, and example of this is line 14 â€Å"To be my beautiful dear†. There is a repetitive tone to the word beautiful, with it being used again in Line 16 and line 19. Yet in Ozymandias we are shown not so much possessiveness, but instead; arrogance and vanity. In the pedestal of what is left of the statue there are lines that read â€Å"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my words, ye mighty, and despair! ’’ not only is he arrogant in himself, but he is challenging other rulers by claiming that he is the ‘king of kings’’. This is also a sign of his powerful nature; Ozymandias is using angry language, which is showing the tyranny of the ruler. Furthermore, Percy Shelley uses irony to get across the motive of power in ‘Ozymandias, which we do not see in ‘The River God’. The first use of irony comes in line 4, â€Å"a shatter’d visage lies,†. Irony is being shown here in which even a powerful human, such as Ozymandias, cannot repel nor control the effect of time passing by. The second use of Irony comes towards the end of the poem in lines 11 and 12. â€Å"Nothing beside remains – the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. This is showing the ruins are the only thing left of his ruling, and that he no longer possesses any power.