Compare and contrast the ways that power is depicted in 'Ozymandias' and 'My Last Duchess'

In the poems Ozymandias by Percy Shelley, and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning, power is depicted as unstable and easily lost, creating a tone of mockery. Moreover, it is shown to be unreliable, due to the layers of narration which are implemented by the poets. This essay will analyse how the poets use these layers of narration alongside other tools, such as metaphor and imagery, as well as structural and formal devices, in order to reinforce their portrayals of power.Arguably, the use of the speaker is most significant in shaping our interpretations of power in the poems. The poems are similar in their use of layers of narration; in both Ozymandias and My Last Duchess, the legacy of the subject is told through the voice of another person. This diminishes and mocks the power of the subject, as a reader would understand that the ability to communicate is the most vital form of power. In Ozymandias, the story is told not through one, but two voices. Shelley begins by writing "I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said -". In using two voices, the power of Ozymandias becomes minuscule, as his story is reduced to merely a passing folk-tale, with little reliability or truth to it. Moreover, in calling it an "antique land", the reader even questions if the land existed at all; it is almost an allusion to "in a land far far away". This is ironic, as it contradicts the power that we are told Ozymandias had in his past life - "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!". The poem My Last Duchess is different in its use of the dramatic monologue - the Duke of Ferrara - however, it is similar in the sense that the Duchess does not have the agency to speak for herself. We know that the story is unreliable, as we learn that the Duke was plagued with jealousy during their relationship. This is shown most significantly in the lines, "she liked whate'er / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere"; the repetition of the word "looks" signals the Duke's suspicious nature, suggesting that a simple look was a sign of the Duchess' infidelity.