It is fascinating and extraordinary how the title of a poem or the name of any piece of art gives importance to the meaning and the understanding of any artwork. This paper argues how the title gives importance to understand different development layers in the chosen poems. Ozymandias is a Greek name which defines the Pharaoh, partly referring the name of Rameses II in ancient Greece. Instead of any other possible title, Shelley picks the Greek name Ozymandias, as well as Wordsworth, choose the title of his poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge because it suits their purpose.
If one search on the internet, it can find many pieces of evidence through google or this website for Ramesses II. While Shelley chooses to hide history and make several points about time value through the past, present and future, Wordsworth depicted his title to bring different approach layers in the readers’ minds on that impulse moment by making them think for the past, present and future.
If one read for the first time, the two poems can have a meaning about the beauty of London early in the morning, and the other one is about the vanity and all glory of achievements of Pharaoh. A close analysing of form and its characteristics make the reader realise that they are both sonnet and usually, by convention, sonnets express love, which one is about momentary beauty and the other one is about reverence for itself. With this title, Shelley is focusing the love of Pharaoh on making a point about historical politics to the present day. This way of reading links Greece’s symbolism with its democracy. In a democracy, the force of rule is by the people and their vote. In other words, Shelley is looking at modern Britain and seeing it as superior to the world of the Pharaohs. Time is perceived differently because the idea of democracy brings another reason to believe that if Ramesses have been a more democratic ruler, perhaps his fame persists more long-lasting. The highlighting of language form: Stand in the desert, on the sand half sunk, frown, wrinkled lip, sneer, cold command proves this argument. All reflect on the tyrant character and how statue does not stand anymore whereby it was meant to be. Now it is fallen half sunk, decayed as well as no longer exist anymore. The time has attacked quite violently this frown ruler with wrinkled lip and such superiority. It brings out the vision of violence in his character which now is used ironically to attack him and describe how time sends back his exploitation.By contrast, There is no such boundary in Wordsworth’s poem other than his imagination. In comparison with Ozymandias, the poet is the only person and voice in this momentary image. It is ambiguous because we all know that romantics do not like cities, for example, London by Blake or even Wordsworth himself with I wandered lonely as a cloud associate their love for nature. Many people argue that this poem expresses the poet’s feelings concerning London beauty on that early morning. Despite, considering that he is only admiring nature’s beauty on that early morning because of his attachment that he has with nature. Another reason that is proving is the fact that Wordsworth gives city personification and find this splendour during that specific moment while the city is sleeping and there is no human presence. On that flash poet creates on reader’s mind a metaphoric vision of comparison between him and the dreaming sleepy city by wearing his garment fair, which has his freedom, like the poet on nature; all liberated; bare (lines 5&6). Therefore, after city’s personification poet points city’s possessions: Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie, while he gets replaced like a romantic poet with his goods which is prepared to be in nature by wearing a garment Open unto the fields, and to the sky.Furthermore, another reading of the poems looks at it as a poem about art in general. In Ozymandias the sculptor might be taken to represent any artist or indeed the poet himself. On the other hand, in Westminster Bridge poet utters on the second line that if one past by and will not dictum that amazing panoramic view, dull would be his soul, with no creativity. For example (line13): the very houses seem asleep Wordsworth is looking out on a city; Reasoning the past; Speculating on that gleam; conceiving the future. Besides that, he is waiting for London to be deep-seated again later on. Line 13 gives a theatrical impression along waiting for the garment to be raised and the action to begin after the awakening of residents. The readers empathise with his opinions in the concluding sestet: Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! (line 11). The poem is a soliloquy where the author is at entirety with the city. He witnesses calm, so he scopes calm additionally. The lyrist is alone on Westminster Bridge, but by his imagery and the use of the first-person memoir, readers are ” as it were ” tempted to be there among him. They are sharing the same perception as Wordsworth: an artistic picture created from mother earth (line 1).Regarding the art layer in Ozymandias Shelley notice that the artist witness a greater truth than Ozymandias himself. Therefore, this links the reader to the idea of Shelley intentionally excluding many historical facts which show Ramesses the seconds continuing fame. He chooses to look further in time to where only one statue remains so this antique land that the traveller comes from, is a fictional land of Shelley’s own time. It is a land that he imagines in the future when all those statues have decayed, and only one is left. The artist himself was more intelligent than the king. It is the sculptor himself who has stamped the words to put his mark on history by revealing the features of Ramesses II. The sculptor has done something extraordinary. He was mocking this King of Kings by showing his true self. Both Shelley and sculptor go even deeper in this ironic description that Ozymandias because even when he was alive, he was a lifeless being. He did not experience life fully, and the public can see it on the face of this statue.