Ozymandias
From the first line, the narrator identifies the place where the action of the poem takes place, namely in the deserts of Egypt. In that place, the narrator sees a ‘’gigantic leg’’, the only visible thing in the desert around. The leg starts talking, claiming to be Ozymandias, the great pharaoh who lived a long time ago and who is still remembered today for his great military actions and for the many buildings he erected.
In the second part of the poem, the narrator presents the leg from the view of a modern person, who may walk by the place where the leg was without knowing who ruled there and the power the man once possessed. Through this, the narrator suggests that power and fame are short lived and even the strongest man may one day be forgotten completely, no matter what his past achievements were.
Prologue to a Charade
The poem has the purpose of presenting how things have been in the past in regards to plays and how they were constructed. The narrator mentions Ben Johnson as one of the representative writers of the age and his common use of prologues in the introduction of his plays. The narrator continues his poem by claiming that those practices are still in place today, proving thus that they are timeless,
The Curate to his Slippers
The poem mentioned above is a short one, having only eight lines. It is told from the perspective of a first person narrator who returns home and is eager to take off his shoes and replace them with comfortable slippers. However, even though the slippers are extremely comfortable, the narrator agrees they serve no practical purpose, thus making them worthless.
To the Reverend in the Country from his Friend in London
The poem is composed of three stanzas, in the first one the narrator urging his friend to not be afraid and to go and visit him as soon as possible. The narrator is aware that the friend may be afraid of the train which he will have to take to the city and afraid of the houses which he will see but the narrator advises his friend not to be afraid, assuring him life in the city is just the same as life in the country.
Love and Liberty
The first line describes the escape of a bird from the cage which held it closed and which, upon tasting freedom, started to sing. Still, the narrator implies the bird would have had a better life should it remain in its cage and give up liberty in favor of love. The second stanza describes the bird’s first night on its own and the challenges it had to face during the long and cold night. During that first night, the bird remembered the safety of the room it left behind and how warm it was.
The third stanza presents other dangers, this time in the form of other creatures which put the life of the little bird in grave danger. An eagle appears during the night but the little bird does not dare to fly away, scared of what will happen. Other birds appeared and they started attacking the little bird until it left it almost dead. The last stanza presents the last words of the bird, as it wishes to be back in its cage, safe and sound but realizes it is unfortunately too late.
