Syntax, Metaphor, and Moral Value analysis in Ozymandias and Viva La Vida

Have you read about what Ozymandias and Viva La Vida is?

Have you read the Interpretation?
If you have not read about it yet, click here to read,

So....
Now, let's talk about the syntax part of the poem and the song. Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Both lyrics of the song and the poem have their own style in the enjambment break, verbs, sentence structure and punctuation.

What is enjambment?

Enjambment is how an end of a line of a sentence in a poem is continued to the next line wirhout any punctuation.

The Viva La Vida song has seven stanzas and 43 lines which the lyrics of the song are generally breaking after the completion of a sentence by sentence. This enjambment breaks do not make any special duality meaning in the lines, they show a text as a whole story. While the poem which is a sonnet, has fourteen lines. The poem’s lyrics has enjambment where its breakings are generally after commas or colons in each lines which shows a deep detailed-picturesque of someone’s life.

For the verbs used in the lyrics, the song is filled with many active verbs of past tense with the personal first person mood use.  This tense is consistently kept until the end and as the song’s lyrics flew by, we got sunk into the story which brings us to remind of old days. For the poem, there are no many verbs found there, it most consist of adjectives with a-b-a-b-a-c-d-c-e-d-e-f-e-f rhymes and iambic pentameter;

Metaphor and Symbolism in Viva La Vida and Ozymandias

As we know…. Poets use metaphor and symbolism in their poems, also, the songwriters. Metaphor and symbolism can be found in song are ‘I used to roll the dice’, ‘seas will rise when I gave the word’ ‘be my mirror my sword and shield’ ‘…pillars of salt and sand…’

‘I used to roll the dice’ means that the King, who loved playing gambling, was always the winner in playing gambling. So, he is a very rich king.

‘Seas will rise when I gave the word’ means that the king is so powerful and everyone bent down on him, fear him.

“Upon pillars of slat and sand’ represents that his kingdom (King Louis XVI) is actually build in a weak foundation. This foundation did not represent the mast of the palace, but how the king became a king and the people in it and also himself. King Louis was always hesitant in making decision and chose to step back when he think that the opponent is stronger than him.

In the chorus part of the song, “Be my mirror my sword and shield” has two meanings because mirror in this song means the reflection of the king’s face, while sword means authority and power, and shield means the protection. Those words are the metaphors used to describe the tale of Rinaldo and the Crusaders. The second meaning could refer to the Etats Generaux he made which consist of Noble, Priest and the citizen.

While in the poem, there are so many metaphors, such as in line ‘…the hand that mocked them the heart that fed…’ represent the statue as something built up to tell about the King’s cruelty.

In the poem; Ozymandias, there are line that also represents the appearance of the king, which is frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command and represents the anger of the king.

Conflict and Moral Value

Both song and the poem have same conflict where the king being told in the story stated that he is not the great and powerful king he used to be anymore. The moral value that being told in the song and the poem is that we, as a human and everything in the world, the successful, wealth etc. are mortal things which sometimes can be lost, disappear and forgotten.

Click the title to read the next chapters.

1. Interpretation of Viva La Vida by Coldplay

2. Interpretation of Ozymandias by Shelley

3. Comparison of Viva La Vida and Ozymandias

4. Syntax, Metaphor, and Moral Value Analysis of Viva La Vida and Ozymandias