Compare and Contrast Death, be not Proud and Ozymandias Anya Chen 11th Grade

Two poems, Ozymandias and Death, be not proud are similar because they both share the themes of time leading to a downfall. But the difference is that in Ozymandias the King has his downfall from being proud and arrogant, while in Death, be not proud Death has his downfall from being proclaimed as not mighty or dreadful. Another difference is that the King was conquered by Death, while Death was conquered by the people. In the Death poem, Death loses his power and people aren’t afraid of him because the poem is mocking death, personifying death as a person who also dies. In the poem it says, “Poor Death… shalt die” This is taking away Death’s power and mocking him because it says “poor Death,” not mighty and strong death. It also says Death will die, which is ironic because Death can’t really die, but when death is personified, he can die. It strips death of his power and makes him not dreadful because people just go into a long sleep and then live eternally. They don’t really die. In the poem about the King, the king was an arrogant, proud man ruling over a land, as well as the rest of the kings, seeing as he says he is the “King of Kings.” This arrogance also strips him of his power and all of him that remains is a broken...