This journal has two parts.
First, after reading these two poems (Shelly's and Kinnell's) on the "relics" of Ozymandias and the Twin Towers, describe any connection (or disconnection) that you may see between these pieces of literature. See the Comparison Guidelines on p.113-114 for assistance with this portion of the assignment.
Second, read these works again, actively, and explain how each poem affected your emotions and thoughts during this subsequent experience.
“Ozymandias”, by Percy Bysshe Shelly and “When the Towers Fell”, by Galway Kinnell both have similarities that make these poems unique. Both of these poems convey powerful messages using allusion, while those messages may not seem the same. Both of these poems do not rhyme, but are structured in a certain way to illustrate what the author is trying to tell the reader; but the most important similarity is the theme, destruction, is apparent in both of these works.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelly, Shelly talks about Ramses II and the time when he had a request to have a huge statue of himself erected. The quote that Shelly is particularly powerful: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” (lns 10-11). Then, Shelly proceeds to say the following: “Nothing beside remains…Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare…” This means that there is nothing to remain of what supposedly was the biggest achievement under Ramses II. This is important because it shows how things that may have been extremely important may not stick around forever.
In “When the Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell, Kinnell talks about the collapse of the Twin Towers and compares it to other detrimental events in history. However, it is hard to understand just why he would put the collapse of the Twin Towers in comparison with the likes of “…when America plunged into war with itself” (ln 121), referring to the Civil War, “…corners with Jews and Gypsies to be enslaved or gassed” (ln 81). There are countless other events that Kinnell uses, and yet this serves as an enigma to the reader from a personal standpoint. The reason why is although the collapse of the Twin Towers was a detrimental part of World History as well as American History, to say it matches up to or exceeds when twelve million people died in the concentration camps or when Americans fought with themselves is insane. First of all, it is estimated that approximately two to three thousand lives were lost. Although this did seem to creep up on the Americans at an unexpected time, there have been recent discoveries that something like this was being planned for years. The fact that nothing was done to limit this or prevent such a catastrophe like this is mind blowing. But to say that it is in line with those two other devastating times in history is just ludicrous. Yet, it does make a point: when we see tragedy, we instantly as humans think about the worst possible things that have ever happened to us.
Another thing that these two poems had in common was that they did not have a rhythmic pattern, Iambic Pentameter, or any other structural sense of form; these poems break most common conceptions that we think of initially when we see poetry. The thing is, though, that these are both very well written, and they both teach the reader very important concepts in life. They teach us that nothing lasts forever, so we must never forget what makes us unique and powerful.
Overall, I enjoyed reading these two poems. They were rather good, and it was a very exciting thing to read. Both poems had a great flow, and they both did not rhyme. But it was the message, not the absence of rhyme, which caught my attention the most.
“When The Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell and “Ozymandias”” by Percy Bysshe Shelley are both similar in that they both are powerful poems. Both poems make reference to history events that affected the people who were around when they took place. They both explain of how a figure that once was there but, when destroyed everyone around fell into despair. Although the poems do not convey the same message but, they give the audience information of events.
ReplyDeleteThe poem “Ozymandias” Percy Bysshe Shelley, explains how the speaker meets a traveler and shares a story about the destruction of a statue in the travelers native country. This story did not bring an emotion out of me as a reader. One reason because the poem may be too short for trying to convey a powerful message. There are a few parts of the poem that I find rather interesting. “The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed them” (line 8). I interpreted “the hand that mock’d them” as the government who look at the people of the city and laughs at the ignorance. The government of people tend to keep the “people” in the dark they are mostly ignorant being that they are not aware of what their government are doing.
The poem “When The Towers Fell” Galaway Kinnell, gives great detail of the tragedy of September 11,2001. Kinnell paints a vivid picture of what it was like in that moment of a to terrorist attack being in New York City. This poem brings the emotion of sadness. Kinnell poem I able able to relate being that I experienced this tragedy being a New Yorker. This poem brings my mind back to when the Twin Towers were attack and the fear I felt living here in NY. The images of the Twin Towers falling were sad but, also a feeling of defeat. The simple fact that the terrorist were able to go through and complete their goal of destroying the twin towers makes me feel unsafe as citizen of the U.S.A. Reading this poem reminded me of the fear that I lived with for about 4 or 5 years of planes and people who resemble the terrorist. One a positive note this poem reminded me not only how far we as a country have come but also myself. The U.S.A have recovered from this and have provide us citizens with the best security possible to protect. The way that I have grown from this experience was before the terrorist attack I never recognize Muslims or any other kind of religion except for Jews or Catholics. Even though it took a horrible experience for me to be able to recognize another group it allowed me to open my eyes and see all the other different people that exist in this world.
In the poem, “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the speaker remembers meeting a traveler that came “from an antique land” (l.1). The traveler told the speaker about the relics of a statue that was in the desert. The traveler describes the remains as “Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, / Tell that its sculptor well those passions read” (Shelley l.4-6). The traveler’s description of the remains creates imagery for the reader as the setting being the dessert and the physical aspects of the statue. On the pedestal of the statue it reads, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (Shelley l.10-11). The name Ozymandias is the Greek name for the Egyptian ruler Ramses II, who ordered a huge statue of himself to be created. The speaker asserts that the statue “Which yet survive[s], [is] stamped on these lifeless things,” (Shelley l.7). The poem creates a strong theme of the power nature has. Shelley demonstrates the beauty of nature’s power by implying that it can influence people to change the world in good ways. Nature and artwork can be elements that are simple and can empower less stress in the world. I found this poem to be interesting. I like the detail that was used to describe the statue, this lead to imagery being made instantly. The meaning I got from this poem is to value the little things in life.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem, “When the Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell, Kinnell is a spectator of the disaster which September 11th was. He describes the horrific scene that lead to “a ghostly whiteness” for many (Kinnell l.32). Kinnell uses alliteration emphasizing,
Some died while calling home to say they were O.K.
Some died after over an hour spent learning they would die,
Some died so abruptly they may have seen death from within it.
Some broke windows and leaned out and waited for rescue.
Some were asphyxiated.
Some burned, their very faces caught on fire.
Some fell, letting gravity speed them through their long
moment. [Kinnell l.35-42]
Kinnell uses very strong picture words to illustrate to the reader that pain these people endured. The tone of the poem is gloomy mixed with pain and sorrow. Throughout the poem Kinnel continues to describe this one scene and at one point sees it as outcome of evil, hence he states, “Seeing the towers vomit these omens, that the last century / dumped into this one, for us to dispose of” (Kinnell l.86-87). He views this “history of violent death” and the flames engulfing the towers as a symbol of evil and it’s up to us to get rid of it. I enjoyed this poem due to its extraordinary amount of emotions and imagery. I honestly feel that if I had no knowledge of the September 11th tragedy and read Kinnell’s poem, I would be able to picture it through his description. I was able to relate to Kinnell’s poem because I remember when I came home from school this was all over the news. I saw the towers collapsing and people running for life, quite literally. It just leads to think how fast your life can be taken away from you.
Both of the poems use extremely strong imagery to convey their message, but both poets do this differently. Shelley’s poem is one of the shorter pieces but the description of the statue enables you to think how it looks and the beauty of it. Kinnel’s poem, on the other hand, uses imagery to illustrate the towers collapsing, the people running, the deaths, and so on. Kinnel uses more imagery then Shelley, however I consider both to be equally as strong as the other. Shelley and Kinnel conveyed their message successfully to the reader using allusion, Shelley uses a historical figure and Kinnel uses an event in history.
“Ozymandias”, by Percy Bysshe Shelly and “When the Towers Fell”, by Galway Kinnell both have many common grounds. They are both similar in ways that they both use allusions to describe what they are talking about. Also they both use historical references. Another similarity I saw was that both of these pieces had an interesting tone and language to them as though they were written in another time frame. As similar as these pieces are they are different as well. On difference they have is that “Ozymandias” has a rhyme scheme and “When the Towers Fell” does not. “When the Towers Fell” uses more detail to paint a picture for the readers. My initial reaction towards “Ozymandias” was that I was very confused and I did not understand what the work was talking about. Then I read it again and understood it better it was about a traveler telling the speaker a story but I still don’t really understand this piece the way I would like to. “When the Towers Fell” was a very interesting poem. I was really in to this when I started to read it and there is so much detail that I could imagine everything happening as the narrator speaks. I liked “When the Towers Fell”, by Galway Kinnell much better because I knew what was happening and my imagination was at play for this poem.
ReplyDeleteIn the poems “Ozymandias”, by Percy Bysshe Shelly and “When the Towers Fell”, by Galway Kinnell they both have a lot have in common. One takes place in England around the 1800’s. If you look at the text it mentions that it’s an “antique land” Which may symbolize old land yet it has its value. When you look at both poems they both talk about an experience they both had. If you look at the first poem by Shelly it’s a sonnet and it has a rhyming which goes as ABABACDCEDEFEF. I noticed it when I read it for the second time. Also in this poem we see the life how people live. In the other poem we see it talks about the scenery, with such a description you almost feel like your there.
ReplyDeleteIn the second poem I will more connected to maybe, because I lived through it. I seen it happen. The lines that get me the most is:
“As each tower goes down, it concentrates into itself, transforms itself infinitely slowly into a black hole infinitesimally small: mass without space, where each light, each life, put out, lies down within us.”
Kinnell uses a moment and describes it as if you weren’t there you can actually feel it happen right before your eyes. Another similarity would be they are both talking about the past event that has happened to them. A difference about the second poem would be that there is no rhyming scheme. I think the second poem Kinnell affect me the most because I lived through it and I seen people go through the pain an suffering.
“When the Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell and “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley were two poems that addressed a problem. In my opinion as well, it also seemed to make a connection between both poems. “When the Towers Fell” is a poem that many Americans can relate to because we lived this painful history. As described in the poem you can feel and see the images that many saw that same day on paper. It was not anything pleasant at all let me tell you. But “Oxymandias” also expresses a negative oversee of an event, or the feelings of a person. In a sense, it is like The “traveler” is explaining what survivors of 9/11 felt. They saw life practically shatter in front of them, lies being told by the government and we are left with are the remains that stay to be told. There is more of a connection between the two poems than a comparison. They both do talk about tragic things but it seems like it can still be part of each other.
ReplyDelete“When the Towers Fell” is a poem that I can relate to because I have also lived passed this unforgettable disaster. It was a day that Americans will never forget. The poem was every touching, as well as visualizing. It gave the full effect of what happened that day, even if you weren’t there. It gave you a sense of the things you saw, heard, or even what others were thinking while experiencing it all. I was in fourth grade and I remember looking out the window and watching one of the towers collapse just as Kinnel described. It is not something people want to go back and remember but it is a history that affected all of us, somehow. On the other hand, “Ozymandias” was confusing. I did not fully understand what was going on or what it was supposed to mean. It defiantly did not capture me like the other poem. It was a very short poem talking about another period of time. I guess the fact that I could not relate to this poem it did not capture any of my attention. It left me lost, wondering what the author was trying to tell its reader.
The poems "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley and "When the Towers Fell" by Galway Kinnell both built a strong connection that was leaning towards the destruction of civilization. Both Shelley and Kinnell described how human beings can become so barbaric when it comes to fighting for power. In Shelley's poem, he speaks of a war outbreak that destroyed and shattered civilization that completely left the country in ruins because of destructive power. In Kinnell's poem he discusses the tragedy that took place on 9/11. In graphic detail he views the experience of the ones that were trapped in the towers and were left defenseless and unprepared for a sudden attack. Our civiliaztion was destroyed by invaders whom goals were to gain power from destroying part of our country in not only resulted in the lost of our towers but the lost of so many lives and shattered heart breaks of love ones that were unable to make it out on time. We can agree that part of our civilization was destroyed and left in dust surrounded by flames and smoke and the dismemberment of body parts. So when we compare Shelley's poem and Kinnell's poem we can conclude that the relationship between both poems is similar because they were descriptive of the horrors and destructive power that occurred during the battle for political power.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read these two poems I was emotional disturbed and sadden by the outcomes of each event. I mostly was emotional towards Kinnell's poem "When the Towers Fell" because the 9/11 attack happened in New York where I live and it was very terrifying when I think back of how so many people were affected and a tremendous number of lives were taken away and many more were injured. The structure of this poem caused me to have many emotional feelings because I remembered the faces of my classmates in 4th grade because they thought that their parents were seriously hurt and it was just an emotional moment for everyone because it the attack happened in our city without any warning and my sister's friend worked in one of those buildings and sadly one of those planes went through her and I had to take a minute to get back into reality after reading Kinnell's poem.
‘In the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the speaker talks about something that was once so powerful and looked upon, such as the "King of Kings" but now is nothing but a joke. Now, some statue, that he had made for himself because he thought he was so superior but now it destroyed, barely remembered and mocked. Speaker states: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone. Stand on the desert….Near them, on the send, Half sunk, a shattered visage” (line 2-4). Ozymandias was a mighty king and he was proud of himself but life shows him that nobody lives forever, evenly one day everybody will die. Now if you look to the left and to the right in the desert there is nothing left beside two hands and legs and that’s shows every human is mortal that including king too.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I read this poem, I didn’t the main point what Shelly was aiming for but when I read twice and broke down the title “Ozymandias” Ozi mean air and Mandias mean king and when you put it together it mean king of air or another word king of nothing and that’s theme of the poem.
In the poem, “When the Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell, Kinnell is a witness of 9/11 and most importantly he explains the event of 9/11 with pain and a sorrow. Kinnell speaks of relationships of family, lovers, father and child, man and wife, sister and brother, friends, and heroes who died in 9/11. Kinnell states: “Some leapt hand in hand, the elasticity in last bits of love-time letting — I wish I could say — their vertical streaks down the sky happen more lightly” (line 43-45) He used image of 9/11 victims jumping from the tower holding hand-in-hand to avoid burning to death.
First time I read this poem, I felt like this is boring because it was too long but second time I red and more details I saw it made me feel like I was there when 9/11 happened. After I read the poem I realized tragedy is something that you cannot explain in words but Kinnell did great job explaining it. 9/11 just didn’t affect American people but it effect around the world. Now we having war in Iraq and Afghanistan because of 9/11 not only that today in America Muslim people can’t even identify them as who they are because they are nothing but a terrorist according to the media.
In both poems “When the Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell and “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley have lot of thing similarities and different. In both poems author used historical reference. In “Ozymandias” Shelley talked about who talked about historical figure who thought he is nothing but an absolute power and in “When the Towers Fell” Kinnell talked about historical event which is 9/11. Both poems have strong massage and author used imagery to provide information. The different between both poems is “Ozymandias” is shorter and “When the Towers Fell” is longer. In “Ozymandias” Shelley used rhyme and “When the Towers Fell” Kinnell didn’t use any rhyme. And also in “Ozymandias” was little bit confusing because it has less details but in “When the Towers Fell” even though its longer, it has lot of details and most importantly you could relate to this story.
I think the poems “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelly and “When the Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell both share a common theme, which is the time shows unpredictable changes and it is inevitable. In the poem, “Ozymandias” the statue and the words on it that says, “MY name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” shows the power and glory of a king (Shelley l.10). And according to the description of a statue, “half shunk, shattered visage lies...” the downfall of that king was inevitable (line 4). The line, “Nothing beside remains. Round and decay…” further provides readers an image of a kingdom that once prospered. Similarly in the poem, “When the Towers Fell” once a high tower that touched “first yellow sunrise” now disappeared into a “black hole” and the historical events “in the twentieth –century history …..” all shows us the supreme time (Kinnell 976-977). The other similarity they both use is the historical references. The differences between the poems were that the poem by Shelly was short and contained lots of hidden meanings, while the poem by Kinnell was long and very descriptive. The author of the poem “Ozymandias” used14 lines, whereas the author of the poem” when the Tower Fell” used more than 14 lines to convey his message.
ReplyDeleteThe speakers in Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias” and Gallway Kinnell’s poem “When the Towers Fell” both spoke about an object or place that was greatly cared for by a person or a group of people. In “Ozymandias” in lines 10-11, it states “My name is Ozymandias, King of all Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!” To me I think this means that Ozymandias was a great king who was powerful and was feared by his people. Also I think he had once had a great kingdom but now it is no more. In lines 12-14 it states “Nothing beside me remains. Round and decay of that colossal work, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away.” This proves that that he once had a great kingdom but now all that is left of it is sand. The description of the sand in this poem reminds me of Egypt, so maybe Oziymadias was an Egyptian king who had lost his kingdom. In “ When the Towers Fell” speaker also talks about something that was destroyed, the Twin Towers. Unlike “Ozymandias” the speaker spoke of the feelings that people might have who went through the tragedy. This poem was also very descriptive, as I was reading it, I had a mental movie of what was happening. Maybe this was so because I lived and saw this event occurred.
ReplyDeleteThe speakers in “ Ozymandias” by Shelley's and “When the towers fell” by Kinnell's both describes different forms of destructions and power both are very visual and descriptive with the words that they use to help paint a clear picture of what it is you are reading. Both authors use the literary element of metaphors to help with the visual pictures that they paint in these poems. The contrast between these two works of literacy is that the “Ozymandias” is a more aged poem while “When the towers fell” is a more modern form of writing.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the two poems over and more actively I realized that “Ozymandias” didn’t really do anything for me it was sad but I was just an O.K. poem to me while “When the towers fell” made me cry a little bit, it really touched me because I can relate to some of the feelings the characters in the poem had. Feeling helpless, and worried about a loved one. Not knowing if they are O.K. it really brought back memories of the actual day. The only thing about that poem that bothered me, is the fact that I didn’t understand the italic language that Was intertwined within the poem.
From reading both poems "Ozymandias" written by Percy bysshe Shelley and "When the Towers Fell" wriiten by Galway Kinnel" a comparison can be seen. The topic of destruction, power, and change is spoken about in both poems. In the first poem an Egyptian ruler named Ramses II has power over everyone else in his country. Line 10 and 11 states :”my name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”. From reading this line I have came to the conclusion that ozymandias holds all of the power and can destruct anything if he wants. Meanwhile, in the second poem there is not really a ruler. This poem explains what happened years ago that impacted many families in America and in other countries.
ReplyDeleteEven though both poems dealt with power and destruction, I can say that the second one affected me more. I say this because I seen this happen with my own eyes while I was in school. Even though I was young I still seen the towers fall and watched people running for their lives on the news. Another reason that this one affected me more was because I actually had a relative that worked in one of the towers and never made it out alive. He never harmed anyone and was at work the same day this horrible tragedy happened. Not only did this affect me, but it also affected everyone in my family. Being able to live through such a destruction is something that I would never forget.
The poems “Ozymandias”, by Percy Bysshe Shelly and “When the Towers Fell”, by Galway Kinnell bear a few similarities, but share a common link of mortality. In Ozymandias, the narrator is in a barren desert with the remains of an old statue and what was once a great city. He reads "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (Shelley 1.10-11), which is ironic because “his works” have become overtaken by sand, "the lone and level sands stretch far away" (Shelley 1.14). There is nothing to show of the kingdom's greatness now. This poem is different from Kinnel's in that it is considerably shorter, there is somewhat of a rhythm to it, and the period of time in which they were written are different. “When The Towers Fell” is much more recent and deals with a tragedy that still affects many today. Kinnel describes in detail the pain he saw people suffer through, listing many gruesome examples. Some died while calling home to say they were O.K. Some died after over an hour spent learning they would die, Some died so abruptly they may have seen death from within it. Some broke windows and leaned out and waited for rescue. Some were asphyxiated. Some burned, their very faces caught on fire. Some fell, letting gravity speed them through their long moment” (Kinnel 1.35-42). He later alludes to past disasters and tragedies in light of the September 11th attacks, not as comparison however, but a “corollary” as he explicitly states. By recalling these past events, he says we should know what to expect of our future, “Seeing the tower vomit these omens, that the last century dumped into this one, for us to dispose of, we know they are our futures, that is our own black milk” (Kinnel 1.86-87).
ReplyDeleteBoth of these poems were interesting reads, however “Ozymandias” was the more interesting of the two overall. “When The Towers Fell” was a little too gruesome, which hampered my enjoyment of it slightly. “Ozymandias” was actually boring on the first reading of it, but became much more interesting when I realized the context and that Ozymandias was the name for the Egyptian King Ramses II.
Reading Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and When the Towers Fell by Galway Kinnell both of these coincide with the topic of tragedy. In Ozymandias the speaker and the traveler come across a sculpture of the late Egyptian ruler Ramses II (Ozymandias). One would figure that since he was King, his role was to be a mighty ruler. In the case of Ramses II, this connotation is wrong. Although he did act like a leader, his actions and power were ignored. Now that the king who should’ve been an important figure is dead, he and his name still go unnoticed. “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare”. (L. 12-13) All of the work he did and the city he “ruled” is now ruined. To me, this whole poem/scenario means that what once was supposed to have meaning is now destroyed and it still does not mean anything to the city.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Towers Fell is a very descriptive poem about the tragic events that occurred on September 11th, 2001. Kinnell sort of gives you a play by play about what happened and what went through people’s minds. I was a little confused as to why there are 3 different languages which are actually from other works inserted in the poem, doesn’t really make sense to me. Reading this poem really reminds you how horrible this day was for people.
I actually really liked Ozymandias over When the Tower’s Fell. Although there is no other way to look at it, Kinnell’s poem is rather sullen. Ozymandias interested me because it made me think, “Wow, who would’ve thought someone of high stature like a King could be treated this way.” I think that both of these poems are very imaginative. I can personally see both of these things occurring in my head. The look on the Kings statue’s face and the series of events on 9/11 are very clear to me. The difference with these poems is the appreciation of the subject. A “worthless” king who has passed, still not getting the recognition that he may deserve. The Twin Towers and the World Trade Center along with thousands of people are unfortunately gone, but people still to this day are sentimental about the ordeal.
Both "When the Towers Fell" by Galway Kinnell and "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley are extremely visual and captivating poems wherein the poets describe the surroundings in a very stark manner. The poems are different in structure as "Ozymandias" has rhyme and meter unlike “When the Towers Fell”. I thought that a similarity could be construed between the poems because of the line, "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert", in connection with the other poem describing the attacks and the destruction that occurred, thereby creating a relationship between two poems which at first seem to be disparate in setting . Both poems describe barren and macabre environments set in very different times as the poem “Ozymandias” was describing events in ancient Egypt and the other poem was set in 2001.Therefore, “Ozymandias” produced little if any emotional response from me. The poem "When the Towers Fell", resulted in a more visceral response since its events are still recent and they took place in this city; I still remember what I was doing when I found out about the attacks and so obviously I would relate more to the poem “When the Towers Fell” than to "Ozymandias".
ReplyDeleteThere are many differences between "Ozymandis" by Percy Bysshe Shelley and "when the towers fall" by Galway Kinnel. One of the differences between them would be that while " ozymandis" poem it's structure it's more like a poem like the text kinda rhymes in it's sentences meanwhile "when the towers fall" has more of a story like structure like the poem it's just telling a story but not by rhyming but by detailing the situation of 9/11. There are also similarities in the stories as in they both try to write about a situation in which a building or structure collapses and express it's downfall in alot of details.after reading the stories over again I came to realize that the details I'm the 9/11 stories were very vivid I could picture in my head what those people in there went through which was very sad.
ReplyDeleteBoth "When Towers Fall" and "Ozymandias" demonstrates how certain tragic events can have a strong impact on people emotionally. They both seem to focus on elements of unexpected change. The purposes of them seem to be that people ought not to take things for granted because they will not last forever. My opinion of "When Towers Fall" was that it provoked me to think about 9/11 and what I saw on that day. It made me realize how life is really short and everything that did not seem important at first will begin to be important to people afterwards. It reminded me of how people united on that day and mourned the loss of family and friends. "Ozymandias" confused me a lot. I couldn't understand what exactly was going on at first. But after a while, I understood it enough to realize that this powerful ruler seemed to have lost it all.
ReplyDeletePercy Shelley’s Ozymandias and Galway Kinnell’s When the Towers Fell both describe the ruins of a once great monument. These poems have similarities as well as differences. Shelley describes the broken statue of Ozymandias, better known as the Egyptian king, Ramses II. Kinnell’s poem recounts the falling of the World Trade Center, and its aftermath.
ReplyDeleteThe first similarity I noticed was in the second line of Ozymandias described two trunk less legs of stone. The Twin Towers is another name for the World Trade Center, can also be described as two legs of stone. There is a visual similarity between these two images. These poems also describe destroyed faces; Ozymandias describes the ruined face of a proud king; When the Towers Fell describes the burning faces of the victims of the terrorist attack. The desert in the poem Ozymandias is akin to the dust that fell with the Towers. These poems both describe the destruction of the symbol of a great civilization.
However, these poems are very different. The setting of Ozymandias is in the distant past, while When the Towers Fell is set in the recent past. While it seems good that the cruel king’s reign was over, the fall of the twin towers is a devastating tragedy.
Percy Bysshe Shelley is the author of the poem "Ozymandians", which is about the remnants of a historic sculture from an antique land. Galway Kinnel's the author of the poem "When the Towers Fell". Her poem is about the tragic demolition of the World Trade Center. Both poems share common ties under the themes of destruction, unpredictability and loss.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem "Ozymandias", the remains of the ruler's once glorified statue is destroyed and left behind in the middle of the dessert. It's visual description of having a wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command shows the ruler as a high and mighty character who was fearless. Similarly to the words on his pedestal he saw himself as a dominant force who's destine to rule forever. However his belief, pride and status in power, just like his statue all seem to fade over the passing of time. The scultures which symbolized his power outlasted his supreme reign and even they too were destroyed.
Kinnel's "When the Towers Fell" focuses more on how mankind's destructive ways can often times have a severe reaction. He starts off saying "from our high windows we saw the towers with their bands and blocks of light brighten against a fading sunset". The towers appear as an important figure in the heart of the city to all. You can almost imagine people looking up to it as if it was a beautiful sculpture. Yet without warning they were demolished, taking down with them many lives and pride people once had. This massive demolition leaves on the memories of love ones behind, and everything it once symbolizes is gone, lost.
Both poems are similar being the fact that the people and the ruler all together were happy to have towering structures to identify their power. They both felt that these creations would last forever. Ironically they don't. In each poem destruction takes place and neither man nor people could stop it from happening.
“Ozymandias," by Percy Bysshe Shelly and “When the Towers Fell," by Galway Kinnell are both similar in many aspects. For example, both works of literature depict the destruction of symbols of great nations. In "Ozymandias," the base of the statue barely intact was all that remained from Ozymandias' reign. Similarly, in "When The Towers Fell," the twin towers, which are a symbol for New York,are reduced to nothing more than rubble. Both poems show us that nothing is eternal. And as people we are nothing more than footprints in time, easily erased by the simplest gust of wind. "Nothing beside remains.Round the decay
ReplyDeleteOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away" (Shelley 12-14). Both also contain very vivid description that make it easy to envision what they are trying to portray.
Although similar these two works of art do share important differences. While the statue of Ozymandias symbolizes the strength of his kingdom, it is truly about him, while the Twin Towers represent the power and stability of New York and its people. Also it is evident that the people were not too happy about their ruler
(At least the sculptor). "The hand that mocked them" (line 8). Whereas Americans, as depicted in the piece, love their existence. "City of the world!" (Kinnell, 4.122)
Even though this poem refers to a time period of no particular relevance to me, "Ozymandias" does contain a message that makes me realize how fragile life is. It is apparent to me that he wanted nothing more than to leave a name for himself with future generations. His statue was supposed to serve as a reminder to the future, that he was a man to be respected and remembered. I sometimes think about what affect if any i will have after i pass. You never know what someone will remember about you after you die, let alone whether or not you left a positive or negative impact on the world; if any.
Since i was born and raised in New York "When The Towers Fell" had a profound effect on me. I dont remember much from that day and i dont remember much about how the towers looked but due to the vivid description provided by Kinnell i feel more connected than i ever did.
After reading both poems, I came across some similar details. In Shelley’s poem, he mentions “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone in the dessert”. This can be compared to the twin towers because they were 2 vast man-made structures that were once the tallest buildings in the world. Also mentioned in Shelley’s poem was “My name is Ozymandias, kings of kings”. Now it seems that the Egyptian ruler was the ruler of all the land during his time. The Twin towers can be considered the main financial center of the world during it’s time. It was known as the World Trade Center. The Twin Towers and the Egyptian ruler Ozymandias both were dominate in their time. Both in Shelley and Kinnel’s poems are about the falling of the statue of Ozymandias and the falling of the Twin Towers. Shelley mentions “Nothing beside remains” and “Colossal wreck”. In Kinnel’s poem, 2 airplanes that were hijacked by terrorist crashed into the Twin Towers which also ended up as a “Colossal wreck” and nothing was remained except for the debris from the buildings. Kinnel’s poem is much more detailed compare to Shelley but the outcome was the same.
ReplyDeleteBoth the poem by “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley and “When the Towers Fell” by Galway Kinnell deal with the aftermath of a catastrophic event that has left the surrounding region in either a physical or emotional devastation. Both discuss with varying detail the consequences of violence, such as an emotional scar being cast on the survivors and family members of victims of the September 11 attacks. Just as the only reminder of the great statue that stood in the desert in “Ozymandias” is ruined statue, the emotional reminder of the attacks are instilled in the minds of those of us who remember the 9/11 attacks.
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