Imagining Empire

Ancient empires were a recurring topos for the poets and artists of the nineteenth century. In reflecting on the magnificent art of a past age, they pondered the value of the humanities for present-day human beings. And in the great sweep of past human empires, they found a model for pondering the future of their own nations.

Note: we read these poems last semester. But I’m asking new questions about them.

Reading:

• Percy Bysshe Shelley and Horace Smith, two poems titled “Ozymandias,” 1817 (link)
• Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire series, 1833–1836 (link)

Writing: Respond to ONE of the following prompts. Keep your response short, posting as a reply under the appropriate heading in the comments section:

1. All three artists powerfully evoke the era of decay after the fall of a great empire. What do their visions share in common? Alternatively, how do they differ? Either way, call our attention to a particular set of details.
2. Just as in the preceding section, Shelley and Smith wrote these sonnets in response to an ancient work of art being shipped to England for display at the British Museum. Assuming that they can be read as speaking to that controversy, what do they seem to be saying? Focus on particular details from ONE poem or the other.