Ozymandias - AQA - teaching resource

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley – AQA GCSE Power and Conflict Poetry Teaching Resource

This detailed two-lesson mini-unit explores Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Ozymandias, featured in the AQA GCSE English Literature Power and Conflict poetry anthology. Designed to develop students’ analytical skills and exam confidence, this resource provides an in-depth study of the poem’s context, language, imagery, structure, and themes, alongside guidance on comparing it effectively with other anthology poems.

The teaching pack includes a 47-slide fully editable PowerPoint presentation and three accompanying worksheets with engaging and exam-focused activities.

Lesson One:

• Context: Introduction to Shelley, Romanticism, and the inspiration behind Ozymandias

• First Reading: Guided reading of the poem with discussion questions and initial impressions

• Language & Imagery: Analysing Shelley’s vivid imagery, symbolism, and vocabulary choices, supported by model answers

• Essay Writing: A practice essay-style question to assess initial understanding, complete with a sample response

Lesson Two:

• Themes: Exploring key ideas including human power, ambition, the permanence of art, and the destructive force of nature

• Structure & Form: Examining Shelley’s use of sonnet form, rhyme scheme, stanza structure, and rhythm

• Exam Focus: Comparing Ozymandias with Excerpt from The Prelude by William Wordsworth and London by William Blake, with strategies and model answers for writing effective comparative essays

Fully editable and easy to adapt, this resource is ideal for classroom teaching, homework, revision, and intervention, helping students prepare thoroughly for the AQA GCSE English Literature exam.

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