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1. Racism

[Abuse, Oppression, and Inequality ]

“Master Harold"…and the Boys, written by Athol Fugard, is set in the apartheid era of South Africa. The play discusses the theme of racism, and the characters Hally, Sam and Willy each confront this issue in their way throughout the play. Fugard uses symbolism as a way to explore racial tensions. He uses four key symbols to establish the themes of racism and division, as well as hope, freedom, and harmony. These symbols include the meaning of the segregated bench, the flying kite, the ballroom dancing, and the crippled father.

Hally's cherished childhood memory is of flying a kite with Sam in the park. The act of flying the kite symbolizes the power to overcome racial barriers between black and white people. Sam creates the kite for Hally to help him overcome his feelings of shame caused by his father's alcoholism. The kite is made from simple materials such as "tomato-box wood and brown paper, flour and water for glue. Two of [his] mother's old stocking for a tail and pieces of string." (Fugard 29) Initially, Hally is sceptical and has no faith in the kite. He is apprehensive that they will make fools of themselves. However, taking the step to be a white person who disagrees with racism requires courage and determination. For Hally to treat Sam as an equal, he must learn to rise above his shame. The kite represents the unity between black and white people, working together and being equal. They fly the kite together, and while doing so, they are on the same level. It is also significant that the kite flies beautifully.

2. Ignorance vs. Learning,

[Education, and Wisdom]

“Master Harold"… and the Boys presents different models of education and experience to its audience and readers. The official education Hally receives at school and his entitled attitude towards it is in contrast to the self-motivation and humility Sam shows during his private lessons with Hally after school. The lines between teacher and student are blurred, making it difficult to determine who is the student and who is the teacher. Is Sam, the middle-aged black man who is ignorant of his country's geography, the pupil of the privileged and often morally and emotionally blind white schoolboy, Hally? Or is it the other way around, with Hally learning from Sam, the wise philosopher? Willie, on the other hand, seems satisfied with his current situation and is not interested in formal education. However, it appears that the teachings of Sam's wisdom are more effective than Hally's inherited facts, even in Willie's case.

In his role as a philosopher, Sam advises Hally to keep his eyes and ears open and to see the world as a classroom. When Hally becomes dejected and claims he "doesn't know anything anymore," Sam wisely guides him, and the audience, back to attention by saying, "...it would be pretty hopeless if that were true. It would mean nothing has been learnt in here this afternoon, and there was a hell of a lot of teaching going on… one way or the other." By the end of the play, Willie acknowledges that beating Hilda was wrong and resolves not to do it again, which weakens the chain of abuse and oppression. However, the state of Hally's heart and mind remains uncertain. Will he become a good, kind, just, and loving man who stands against the crimes of his country and culture, or will he become a bitter racist who continues the cycle of oppression?

A Major Theme to Master Harold and the Boys is that of Education. How do the respective Authors use symbols toshow this.

Education is a major part of Fugard’s “Master Harold”and the Boys. Fugard explores different executions of education to show the inequalities that dominate the play. Hally’s boredom with the structured schooling he receives differs from the pride and slight superiority he takes in imparting to Sam. Willie educates a critical Hally on the healing illusion and beauty of ballroom dancing, momentarily energizing Hally towards his boring homework. The final act of education comes when Willie opens Hally’s eyes to what he’s ignoring about their situation.

The character of Hally is established as intellectually curious, but, to be clich “not challenged enough” by his classes. When Willie asks him: “Schooling okay today?” He replies with a noncommittal: “Yes, okayNo, not really. Ag, what’s the difference” His boredom of the day is what he sees as a trivial paper topic. He reads aloud to Sam: “‘Write five hundred words describing an annual event of cultural or historical significance” Sam answers, practically: “That should be easy enough for you” A frustrated Hally says, “And also plain bloody boring. You know what he wants, don’t you? One of their useless old ceremonies”

His lack of enthusiasm for his monotonous school routine contrasts with the enthusiasm he takes in teaching and debating with Sam. The audience learns that Sam has been absorbing Hally’s lessons since the fourth grade. He reads them aloud and Hally provides approachable synonyms when Sam doesn’t understand the word. Fugard uses their arrangement to touch on the inequality that separates them and Hally’s simultaneous knowledge and ignorance of it. Sam reads aloud about Napoleon’s contribution:

“‘Napoleon regarded all people as equal before the law and wanted them to have equal opportunities for advancement. All ves-ti-ges- of the feu-dal system with its oppression of the poor were abol-ished.’ Vestiges, feudal system, and abolished. I’m all right on oppression”

In their quest to find a “man of magnitude,” Hally first accuses Sam of bigotry when he refuses to accept Charles Darwin‘s writing as a “benefit to mankind” then scolds him for picking Abraham Lincoln. “Don’t get sentimental, Sam, You’ve never been a slave, you know. And anyway we freed your ancestors here in South Africa long before the Americans” This reveals that Hally interprets apartheid as near to equality.

Willie eventually corrects Hally’s assumption that ballroom dancing is a “simple-minded” entertainment, but first must break through Hally’s intellectual snobbery. When Hally mocks, “so much for trying to give you a decent education, I’ve obviously achieved nothing” when Sam asks him to take ballroom seriously. His tutelage on the importance of ballroom progresses until Hally concedes that Willie has a “vision”. In Willie’s vision of world peace he asserts that, “To be one of those finalists on that dance floor is likelike being in a dream about a world in which accidents don’t happen.”

The final lesson taught in this play is the exchange between Master Harold and the boys. Hally viciously vents about his father’s horrible qualities and Sam tries to stop him from saying ugly things about his father that he can’t take back. Hally, still filled with rage turns on Sam, telling him that he’s overstepped his bounds: “you’re only a servant in here, and don’t forget it” and that his father is “a white man and that’s good enough” to be his boss. The argument escalates, with Hally not holding back on any deeply held racist beliefs, partly to hurt Sam. Sam reacts by teaching Sam that some words and actions, like demanding he be called Master Harold or spitting in Sam’s face, can change relationships forever.

Sam relates the story of the day the flew the kite, To teach Hally that he has a choice in what he believes, how treats people and what he’ll stand by and let happen Sam goes back to the day they flew the kite and he had to leave Hally alone on the bench:

“I couldn’t sit down there and stay with you. It was a “Whites Only” bench. You were too young, too excited to notice then. But not anymore. If you’re not careful Haroldyou’re going to be sitting up there by yourself for a long time to come don’t have to sit up there by yourself. You know what that bench means now, and you can leave it anytime you choose. All you’ve got to do is stand up and walk away from it.”

3. Friendship

“Master Harold” …and the Boys is the title of a play written by Athol Fugard, a South African playwright. Its plot is based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in the year 1950 (Fugard 4)—famously known as the period of Apartheid in the history of South Africa. In this time of history of institutionalized racism, blacks and whites lived in severe bipolar conditions. However, against all social norms, the play is based on the close friendship between three people: Sam, Willie, and Hally.

Create a PEEAL paragraph on the themes in 'Master Harold and the Boys', using the attached checklist to improve your analysis. Ready. Set. Go!

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I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Lets Analyse it!

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Poem Analyzed by Jamie Jenson

English Teacher, with a B.A. Honors in English and a M.Sc. in Education

'Ozymandias' is written by one of the greatest 19th-century British poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was first published in 1818 in The Examiner of London under Shelley's pen name, "Gilrastes." In this sonnet, Shelley's speaker encounters a traveler from an antique land. The traveler describes the colossal wreckage of a great pharaoh's statue. He not only notices how the parts of the statue stand on the sand but also depicts the surroundings. Collectively, the desert and the worn-out statue hint at the central idea of the sonnet, the futility of human actions. It also taps on the themes of the impermanence of power, fate, and the inevitability of rulers' fall.

OzymandiasPercy Bysshe Shelley

'Ozymandias' by Percy Bysshe Shelley describes a traveler's reaction to the half-buried, worn-out statue of the great pharaoh, Ramses II.

In this poem, the speaker describes meeting a traveler "from an antique land." The title, 'Ozymandias,' notifies the reader that this land is most probably Egypt since Ozymandias was what the Greeks called Ramses II. He was a great and terrible pharaoh in ancient Egypt.

The traveler tells a story to the speaker. In the story, he describes visiting Egypt. There, he saw a large and intimidating statue of Ramses in the desert. He can tell that the sculptor must have known his subject well because it is obvious from the statue's face that this man was a great leader, but one who could also be very vicious.

He describes his sneer as having a "cold command." Even though the leader was probably very great, it seems that the only thing that survives from his realm is this statue, which is half-buried and somewhat falling apart.

'Ozymandias' carries an extended metaphor throughout the entire poem. All around the traveler is desert - nothing is green or growing; the land is barren. The statue, however, still boasts of the accomplishments this civilization had in the past. The desert represents the fall of all empires - nothing powerful and rich can ever stay that strong forever. This metaphor is made even more commanding in the poem by Shelley's use of an actual ruler. He utilizes an allusion to a powerful ruler in ancient Egypt to show that even someone so all-powerful will eventually fall.

Structure and Form

'Ozymandias' is considered to be a Petrarchan sonnet, even though the rhyme scheme varies slightly from the traditional sonnet form. Structurally all sonnets contain fourteen lines and are written in iambic pentameter.

The rhyme scheme of 'Ozymandias' is ABABACDC EDEFEF. This rhyme scheme differs from the rhyme scheme of a traditional Petrarchan sonnet, whose octave (the first eight lines of the poem) usually has a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA. Its sestet (the final six lines of the sonnet) does not have an assigned rhyme scheme, but it usually rhymes in every other line or contains three different rhymes.

Shelley's defiance of this rhyme scheme helps to set apart 'Ozymandias' from other Petrarchan sonnets, and it is perhaps why this poem is so memorable. The reason he did this may have been to represent the corruption of authority or lawmakers.

Literary Devices

Shelley plays with a number of figurative devices in order to make the sonnet more appealing to readers. These devices include:

Enjambment: Shelley uses this device throughout the text. For example, it occurs in lines 2-8. By enjambing the lines, the poet creates a surprising flow.

Metaphor: The "sneer of cold command" contains a metaphor. Here, the ruler's contempt for his subjugates is compared to the ruthlessness of a military commander.

Irony: Shelley uses this device in the following lines, "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!/ Nothing beside remains." The following lines also contain this device.

Synecdoche: In the poem, the "hand" and "heart" collectively hint at the pharaoh, Ozymandias, as a whole. It is a use of synecdoche.

The line "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings" is an allusion to the actual inscription described in the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus's Bibliotheca historica.

Detailed Analysis

Line 1

I met a traveller from an antique land,

The text of 'Ozymandias' reads more like a story than a poem, although the line rhymes do help to remind the reader that this is not prose. The speaker in the poem, perhaps Percy Bysshe Shelley, tells the story from his point of view, using the pronoun "I."

In the first line, he talks about meeting a traveler from an antique country. At first, this line is a tad ambiguous: Is the traveler from "an antique land," or did he just come back from visiting one? The reader also does not know where the speaker first met this sojourner. The title indicates which land the traveler has visited. Greeks called Ramses II a powerful Egyptian pharaoh, Ozymandias. So, it is easy for the reader to recognize the "antique land" is Egypt, one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

Lines 2-4

Who said-"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

These lines are much clearer than the first, however, and it is clear to the reader what, exactly, is occurring in the sonnet. The rest of the poem is actually written in dialogue; the traveler recounts his experiences in Egypt to the poet's persona.

Lines two through fourteen are only one sentence in length, as well. These lines also contain some of the most vivid and beautiful imagery in all of poetry. Shelley was such a masterful writer that it does not take much effort on the reader's part to imagine the scene in this piece clearly.

In lines two through four, the traveler describes a statue he saw in Egypt. Through the eyes of the traveler, the reader sees two massive legs carved from stone lying in the desert sand. Nearby, the face of the statue is half-buried. The face is broken, but the traveler can still see the sculpture is wearing a frown and a sneer. From this, he is able to tell that this ruler probably had absolute power, and he most definitely ruled with an iron fist. It is also easy to interpret that this ruler probably had a lot of pride as the supreme leader of his civilization.

Lines 5-8

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

The traveler then turns his attention to the sculptor who made the statue. He comments that whomever the sculptor is, he knew his subject very well. Anyone could say that the artist had exceptionally captured the passions of the ruler. Though the pharaoh is long dead, he exists through the creation of a mere sculptor. So, who is more powerful in this case? Undoubtedly, it is the sculptor.

He also seems to be commenting in line seven that while there is an end to living beings, art is eternal-it survives. The gracious carves and the master's touch live past the remnants of history. In the next line, the traveler provides interesting insight into the leader here. First, his hands show that the pharaoh mocked his people, yet his heart was not all bad: he fed and cared for his people, as well. The hand that held the rod fed not only the citizen but also mocked their pettiness. This line provides an interesting dichotomy often found in the most terrible of leaders. Besides, the "hand" stands for Ozymandias as a whole. It is a use of synecdoche.

Lines 9-14

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Lines nine through eleven give more details about the sculpture, and the latter ones include words that have been etched into the ruler's pedestal. The words carved on the pedestal, on which the leader sits, also tell of Ozymandias' personality. He is ordering those who see him to look upon all that he has created but do not appreciate what he has done. Instead, the speaker has to despair and be afraid of it. These words perfectly depict the leader's hubris.

The last three lines, however, take on a different tone. Now, the leader is gone, and so is his empire. Shelley implements irony into these lines to show that even though this broken statue remains, the leader's civilization does not. It has fallen, much like the statue, and has turned to dust.

These lines are really powerful. The traveler almost seems to be mocking the ruler. Besides, Shelley's diction here is important. He uses words such as "decay" and "bare" to show just how powerless this once-mighty pharaoh has become. There is absolutely nothing left. The leader, much like his land, and much like the broken statue depicting him, has fallen. It is in these lines that the theme of the poem emerges: all leaders will eventually pass, and all great civilizations will eventually turn into dust.

Shelley makes use of a number of themes in this sonnet. The most important theme is the impermanence of a ruler's glory and his legacy. It is an implicit hint at the idea of futility. No matter how hard a man tries to rivet his name, at some point, people will forget him. For example, Ozymandias tried to become greater than God. He declared himself the "King of Kings." If we look at history, every ambitious ruler declared them, more or less, by the same title. In their pursuit of greatness, they forgot about their very nature: every living thing must die. Besides, the sonnet also utilizes the themes of vainglory, the power of art, the decline of power, etc.

The overall theme of 'Ozymandias' is serious and awe-inspiring. For instance, the line, "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone," arouses both fear and pity in the readers' hearts. The size of the statue undoubtedly makes us wonder about the greatness and power of the ruler. Yet, they also take pity on the decaying depiction of the statue. It makes them think about the nature of human achievement. In the next lines, the tone becomes more serious and fearful. As the poem progresses to the end, it seems the tone softens a bit. The speaker somehow sympathizes with the faded glory of the great ruler, Ozymandias. He emotionally speaks about the inevitability of death and decay.

Historical Context

It is an understatement to say that Shelley was a clever man. While one can read this poem to be about an ancient leader of Egypt, the poem could also be read as a criticism for the world in which Shelley lived. Ever the political critic, Shelley perhaps warns the leaders of England that they, too, will fall someday. Their overarching ambition might lead them to their own downfall.

There is an interesting story behind the composition of the poem. In Shelley's literary cycle, the members would challenge each other to write poems about a common subject. In 1817, Horace Smith spent his Christmas at Shelley's house. They both chose a passage from Diodorus Siculus's book Bibliotheca historica that contained the inscription:

King of Kings Ozymandias am I. If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work.

They challenged one another to write a sonnet out of it. In Shelley's sonnet, the "traveller from an antique land" is the historian Siculus. The poem was published in The Examiner on 11 January 1818. Explore Shelley's 1817 draft and the published versionfrom The Examiner.

You can read Horace Smith's sonnet below and compare it with Shelley's poem.

Ozymandias

IN Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desart knows:-
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
"The wonders of my hand."- The City's gone,-
Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.

We wonder,-and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.
Horace Smith

About Percy Bysshe Shelley

Though Shelley was one of the important Romantic poets, he never achieved fame while he was alive. However, he did keep company with some extremely talented writers. His good friends include Lord Byron and John Keats. Besides, he was married to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. Shelley's best-loved poems include 'Ozymandias,' 'To a Skylark,' and 'Ode to the West Wind,' which is perhaps his most lauded work.

Born into a well-to-do family, Shelley eventually attended Oxford, where he first started his writing career. He was expelled, however, when he refused to admit that he was the author of an anonymous text, " The Necessity of Atheism."

Shelley met and fell in love with a young Mary Godwin, even though he was already married. He abandoned his family to be with her; they married after his first wife committed suicide, and Mary changed her surname to Shelley.

Tragically, Shelley died young, at the age of 29, when the boat he was sailing got caught in a storm. His body washed to shore sometime later.

Why was 'Ozymandias' written?

Who is Ozymandias?

When was 'Ozymandias' published?

What does Ozymandias mean?

What is Ozymandias?

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Similar Poems

Readers who liked Shelley's 'Ozymandias' could also find the following poems interesting. These poems tap into similar themes.

by Francis Duggan - This poem straightforwardly deals with the human ego and pride.

'Dust If You Must' by Rose Milligan - This piece is about the futility of life and the impermanence of human achievements.

'To A Louse' by Robert Burns - In this poem, Burns gives a satiric overview of human vanity.

You can also explore these thought-provoking poems about human life.

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Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley - Poem Analysis

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'Ozymandias' is about the nature of power. It is an important piece that features how a great ruler like Ozymandias, and his legacy, was prone to impermanence and decay.