Answer: 1. The poem describes Ozymandias as a ruler who was proud and commanding, with a "frown" and "sneer of cold command" on his face. The poem also says that the sculptor well understood the passions that survived in Ozymandias, indicating that the ruler was not only proud but also had a heart that was full of ambition and drive. The inscription on the pedestal, "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings," suggests that he considered himself to be the ultimate authority and ruler of all other kings. These details indicate that Ozymandias was a powerful and confident ruler, who had a strong sense of his own importance.
2. This line is likely meant to be an expression of Ozymandias's ambition and pride. By calling himself "King of Kings," he is declaring himself to be the ultimate ruler and the greatest of all other kings. The phrase "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" is likely meant to be a challenge to other rulers and a declaration of his own greatness. The tone of this line is one of arrogance and confidence, as if Ozymandias is daring others to compare themselves to him.
3. The poem does not specifically state what happened to Ozymandias's kingdom, but the overall tone of the poem is one of decline and decay. The image of the "two vast and trunkless legs of stone" and the "shattered visage" lying in the desert suggest that something has gone terribly wrong and that Ozymandias's once-great works have crumbled into ruin. The "lone and level sands" stretching "far away" in all directions further suggest the emptiness and desolation that now surround the once-great kingdom. The poem's focus on the impermanence of things and the idea that "nought may endure but Mutability" also suggest that even the greatest of works and accomplishments are eventually lost to time.
4. The speaker makes two comparisons in "Mutability" to develop the main theme of constant change in human beings. The first comparison is to clouds that veil the midnight moon: "We are as clouds that veil the midnight moon; / How restlessly they speed and gleam and quiver / Streaking the darkness radiantly! yet soon / Night closes round, and they are lost forever." The second comparison is to forgotten lyres whose strings give a different response to each blast of wind: "Or like forgotten lyres whose dissonant strings / Give various response to each varying blast, / To whose frail frame no second motion brings / One mood or modulation like the last." These comparisons illustrate the idea that everything is subject to change and that nothing endures forever.
Step-by-step explanation: