thesis of ozymandias

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Ozymandias Summary & Analysis by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
• Poetic Devices
• Vocabulary & References
• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
• Line-by-Line Explanations

“Ozymandias” is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley wrote “Ozymandias” in 1817 as part of a poetry contest with a friend and had it published in The Examiner in 1818 under the pen name Glirastes. The title “Ozymandias” refers to an alternate name of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. In the poem, Shelley describes a crumbling statue of Ozymandias as a way to portray the transience of political power and to praise art’s ability to preserve the past. Although the poem is a 14-line sonnet, it breaks from the typical sonnet tradition in both its form and rhyme scheme , a tactic that reflects Shelley’s interest in challenging conventions, both political and poetic.

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The Full Text of “Ozymandias”

1 I met a traveller from an antique land,

2 Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

3 Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

4 Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

5 And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

6 Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

7 Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

8 The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

9 And on the pedestal, these words appear:

10 My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

11 Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

12 Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

13 Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

14 The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

“Ozymandias” Summary

“ozymandias” themes.

The Transience of Power

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The Power of Art

Man Versus Nature

Line-by-line explanation & analysis of “ozymandias”.

I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said

—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Lines 12-14

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

“Ozymandias” Symbols

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“Ozymandias” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

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Alliteration

“ozymandias” vocabulary.

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Ozymandias”

Rhyme scheme, “ozymandias” speaker, “ozymandias” setting, literary and historical context of “ozymandias”, more “ozymandias” resources, external resources.

British Library's "Introduction to Ozymandias" — The British Library has a short introduction to "Ozymandias" that includes excerpts of potential sources for the poem, historical information about Ramses II (Ozymandias), as well as details about Shelley's radical politics.

Draft of "Ozymandias" — The Bodleian Library at Oxford University digitized and transcribed an early draft of "Ozymandias" from 1817 and made it available online. 

"Ozymandias": Original Printing — Shelley first published "Ozymandias" in The Examiner in 1818, under the name "Glirastes." This is a scan of the first edition printing.

British Museum: The Younger Memnon — This website shows the statue of Ramses II (Ozymandias), the discovery of which may have inspired Shelley's poem.

Breaking Bad and Ozymandias — The tv show Breaking Bad featured the poem "Ozymandias" in a trailer for the final season. The BBC explains why and embeds the trailer in the webpage. 

LitCharts on Other Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley

England in 1819

Love’s Philosophy

Music, When Soft Voices Die

Ode to the West Wind

Song to the Men of England

Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples

The Question

To a Skylark

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P.B. Shelley’s Ozymandias: A Complete Analysis

June 28, 2024 | by poemread.com

“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley is a timeless poem that touches the themes of power, legacy, and the inevitable decline of all empires. Written in 1817 and published in 1818, this sonnet remains a powerful reflection on the transient nature of human achievements. In this article, we will explore the various literary aspects of the poem, providing a comprehensive analysis of its subject, context, theme, tone, and structure. Let’s dive in and discover what makes “Ozymandias” a timeless masterpiece.

About the Author: P.B. Shelley

• Subject of "Ozymandias"
• Context of "Ozymandias"

Rhyme Scheme and Meter

Stanzas and line breaks, punctuation and pauses, rhyme and consistency, line length and variation.

• Line-by-Line Analysis of "Ozymandias"
• Poetic and Literary Devices Used in "Ozymandias"

What is the main theme of “Ozymandias”?

• What is "Ozymandias" about?

Why did Shelley write “Ozymandias”?

Who is ozymandias, how does the poem reflect the romantic era.

• What is the significance of the statue in "Ozymandias"?
• Implications and Meanings of "Ozymandias"

Interactive Summary

Percy Bysshe Shelley, often called P.B. Shelley, was a key figure in English Romantic poetry. Born on August 4, 1792, in Horsham, Sussex, England, he was the eldest son of Timothy Shelley, a member of Parliament. He received a privileged education at Eton College and Oxford University but was expelled from Oxford for his radical views.

Shelley’s poetry reflects his strong opposition to oppression, inequality, and institutionalized religion. He used vivid imagery and lyrical language to convey his ideas. His major works include “Prometheus Unbound,” “Adonais,” and “To a Skylark.”

Shelley’s personal life was turbulent. His first marriage to Harriet Westbrook ended in separation, and he later married Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, the author of “Frankenstein.” Despite financial difficulties and social ostracism, Shelley remained a prolific writer.

Shelley died in a boating accident in 1822 at age 29. His works continue to be celebrated for their artistic brilliance and powerful advocacy for social and political change.

Subject of “Ozymandias”

“Ozymandias” revolves around the discovery of a ruined statue in the desert, once a grand monument to a powerful ruler named Ozymandias. The poem begins with a traveler recounting his encounter with the remnants of this statue. The statue’s legs still stand, but the rest of it lies shattered and half-buried in the sand. The face of the statue, with its frown and sneer, suggests the ruler’s arrogance and authority.

The inscription on the pedestal reads, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” This grandiose proclamation is deeply ironic, as the surrounding desolation contrasts with the ruler’s boastful claim. The once-mighty king’s works have crumbled, and all that remains is a decaying monument in an empty desert.

Through this imagery, Shelley highlights the transient nature of power and the futility of human pride. The poem serves as a reminder that no matter how great one’s achievements are, time will eventually erode them, leaving behind only memories and ruins. The subject of “Ozymandias” is a powerful reflection on the impermanence of human endeavors and the inevitable decline of even the most formidable empires.

Context of “Ozymandias”

Shelley wrote “Ozymandias” in the early 19th century, a period when significant interest in ancient civilizations thrived. During this time, many European explorers uncovered the remnants of great empires, such as Egypt, which captivated the public’s imagination. Consequently, his poem reflects this fascination with the past and serves as a commentary on the transient nature of human power.

The Romantic era, which shaped Shelley’s writing, emphasized the awe-inspiring and powerful aspects of nature. This context appears in the poem’s depiction of the vast, unchanging desert that has reclaimed the remains of Ozymandias’s statue. Shelley’s work often explores themes of political change and personal freedom. Thus, “Ozymandias” fits within this framework by questioning the permanence of political power and human accomplishments.

Additionally, contemporary events and ideas influenced Shelley. The early 19th century experienced significant political upheaval, including the fall of Napoleon, which may have informed the poem’s themes. By setting the poem in a distant, antique land, Shelley universalizes the message, making it relevant to any era or civilization. Ultimately, the poem challenges readers to reflect on their own legacies and the lasting impact of their actions.

Theme and Tone of “Ozymandias”

The central theme of “Ozymandias” is the inevitable decline of all human achievements and the fleeting nature of power. Shelley uses the ruined statue of Ozymandias to illustrate how even the mightiest rulers and their grandest works are subject to the ravages of time. The poem underscores the hubris of those who believe their legacy will last forever, only to be proven wrong as their monuments crumble and their names fade into obscurity.

Another significant theme is the contrast between human pride and the indifferent forces of nature. The vast, empty desert surrounding the statue symbolizes the relentless passage of time and the ultimate insignificance of human endeavors. This theme resonates with the Romantic era’s fascination with the sublime and the power of nature over human creations.

The tone of “Ozymandias” is both ironic and melancholic. Shelley uses irony to contrast Ozymandias’s proud inscription with the current state of his statue, which is now surrounded by emptiness and decay. This highlights the king’s futile pride and ambition.

The melancholic tone is seen in the imagery of the ruined statue and the vast, empty desert. The poem conveys a sense of loss and the unstoppable passage of time, reminding readers that human achievements are fleeting. This reflection on the temporary nature of power adds depth to the poem’s message.

Additionally, the traveler’s narrative adds a thoughtful tone, encouraging readers to reflect on Ozymandias’s fate and their own legacies. Shelley’s precise language and imagery ensure that the poem resonates intellectually and emotionally, intensifying its themes of impermanence and arrogance.

Persona, Setting, and Narrative of “Ozymandias”

The persona, or speaker, in “Ozymandias,” is a narrator who recounts a traveler’s story. This narrative choice creates a layered storytelling effect, adding depth to the poem. The speaker remains detached and objective, merely relaying the traveler’s tale without personal commentary or emotion. This neutrality allows the poem’s themes and imagery to stand out more vividly.

The traveler, as described by the speaker, serves as a key witness to the decayed statue of Ozymandias. The traveler’s perspective provides a sense of discovery and wonder, enhancing the poem’s impact. Through this layered narrative, Shelley effectively distances the reader from Ozymandias, reinforcing the theme of the inevitable decline of all human achievements.

The setting of “Ozymandias” is a vast, desolate desert where the remnants of a once-grand statue lie in ruins. This barren landscape demonstrates the themes of decay and the impermanence of human achievements. The desert, with its endless stretches of sand, symbolizes the relentless passage of time and the insignificance of human efforts in the face of nature’s vastness.

The imagery of the “antique land” and the “lone and level sands” creates a sense of timelessness and isolation. The setting is crucial in conveying the poem’s message, as it contrasts sharply with the grandeur and power that the statue once represented. The desolation of the desert highlights the futility of Ozymandias’s pride and ambition, reinforcing the poem’s ironic tone.

The narrative of “Ozymandias” unfolds through the retelling of the traveler’s story by the speaker. This indirect narration creates a sense of distance and objectivity, allowing readers to focus on the poem’s themes and imagery. The traveler recounts finding the remains of a massive statue, detailing its ruined state and the inscription on its pedestal.

This narrative structure emphasizes the passage of time and the impermanence of human endeavors. The traveler’s description of the “vast and trunkless legs of stone” and the “shattered visage” conveys the extent of the statue’s decay. The inscription, once a proud proclamation of Ozymandias’s greatness, now stands as an ironic testament to the futility of his arrogance.

The layered narrative also invites readers to reflect on the nature of storytelling and history. By presenting the tale through the eyes of a traveler, Shelley suggests that all human achievements are ultimately subject to interpretation and decay. This narrative choice reinforces the poem’s themes and enhances its emotional and intellectual impact.

Structure and Form of “Ozymandias”

“Ozymandias” is a sonnet, a poetic form traditionally consisting of 14 lines. However, Shelley deviates from the conventional sonnet structure in several ways, adding to the poem’s unique impact.

The poem follows an unconventional rhyme scheme: ABABACDCEDEFEF. This departure from the traditional Petrarchan or Shakespearean sonnet forms reflects the poem’s theme of disrupted power and decay. The rhyme scheme creates a sense of fragmentation, mirroring the broken statue described in the poem.

Shelley employs iambic pentameter, a common meter in English poetry, where each line typically has ten syllables with a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables. This rhythmic structure gives the poem a steady, flowing cadence, enhancing its reflective and contemplative tone.

“Ozymandias” is written as a single stanza, which contributes to its compact and intense narrative. The lack of stanza breaks ensures that the reader’s attention remains focused on the unfolding description and the poem’s central message.

Shelley uses enjambment, where sentences and phrases run over from one line to the next without terminal punctuation. This technique creates a sense of continuity and movement, reflecting the ongoing passage of time and the gradual decay of the statue. For example:

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

The poem features a mix of punctuation, including commas, periods, and ellipses, which guide the reader’s pace and emphasize certain images and ideas. The ellipsis in the third line (“Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,”) creates a pause that highlights the desolation and emptiness of the scene.

The rhyme scheme, though unconventional, is consistent throughout the poem. This consistency contrasts with the fragmented imagery of the ruined statue, reinforcing the theme of enduring decay. The rhyme scheme also adds a musical quality to the poem, making it more engaging and memorable.

Shelley maintains a regular line length of ten syllables, typical of iambic pentameter. This regularity provides a rhythmic foundation that supports the poem’s reflective tone. The variation in sentence structure and the use of enjambment prevent the poem from becoming monotonous, keeping the reader engaged.

Line-by-Line Analysis of “Ozymandias”

“i met a traveler from an antique land,”.

The speaker introduces a tale that a traveler has told in the opening line. The phrase “I met” immediately draws readers into a personal encounter, creating a sense of immediacy and intimacy. The traveler comes from an “antique land,” suggesting a place rich in history and ancient civilizations. This description evokes curiosity and sets the stage for a tale of historical significance. The use of “antique” hints at something old and valuable, heightening the sense of wonder and mystery.

“Who said—’Two vast and trunkless legs of stone”

The traveler begins his account by describing a pair of enormous legs made of stone. These legs are “trunkless,” indicating that the torso and upper body of the statue are missing. This detail immediately signals that the statue has suffered significant damage and decay over time. The word “vast” emphasizes the grand scale of the original statue, suggesting that it was once a monumental work of art designed to convey power and authority.

“Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,”

The legs are located in a desert, a setting that symbolizes desolation and the relentless passage of time. The vast, empty expanse of the desert underscores the isolation of the ruins, highlighting their insignificance amidst nature’s vastness. The ellipsis (“…”) creates a pause, allowing readers to visualize the barren landscape and feel the weight of the scene’s emptiness. The phrase “on the sand” further emphasizes the fragile and transient nature of human creations, as sand can easily shift and cover what once stood proudly.

“Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,”

The traveler then describes a “shattered visage” or face, partially buried in the sand. Despite being broken and “half sunk,” the face retains a “frown,” indicating the expression of the statue. This detail reveals the character of Ozymandias as stern and possibly tyrannical. The fact that the face remains recognizable despite its damaged state suggests that the sculptor effectively captured the ruler’s emotions and personality. This line begins to uncover the story of Ozymandias, whose pride and authority are reflected in his stern expression.

“And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,”

The shattered face of the statue retains a “wrinkled lip” and a “sneer of cold command.” These features suggest that Ozymandias was a ruler with a harsh, authoritarian demeanor. The “wrinkled lip” conveys disdain, while the “sneer” indicates arrogance and superiority. The phrase “cold command” emphasizes the ruler’s detached and uncompassionate nature, suggesting that he ruled with an iron fist and little empathy. This description helps paint a vivid picture of Ozymandias’s character, making his fall from power more poignant.

“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read”

The traveler observes that the sculptor who created the statue understood and accurately captured the ruler’s emotions and personality. The phrase “well those passions read” indicates that the artist was able to see and convey the true nature of Ozymandias through his craft. This line highlights the skill and insight of the sculptor, who immortalized the ruler’s essence in stone. It also suggests that the artist’s work outlasts the ruler’s actual power, adding an ironic twist to the poem.

“Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,”

Despite the statue being broken and lifeless, the emotions and personality of Ozymandias still “survive” through the remnants. The word “stamped” implies that the ruler’s essence is permanently imprinted on the stone, even though the physical structure has decayed. This line underscores the irony that while Ozymandias’s empire has crumbled, his arrogance and authority remain preserved in the statue’s ruins. It also suggests a certain immortality achieved through art, contrasting with the volatile nature of political power.

“The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;”

This line refers to the sculptor’s dual role in creating the statue. The “hand” represents the sculptor who “mocked” or skillfully imitated the ruler’s passions and expressions. The “heart that fed” refers to Ozymandias himself, whose powerful emotions and commanding presence inspired the artwork. The word “mocked” can be interpreted in two ways: as an artistic imitation or as a subtle critique of the ruler’s arrogance. This duality adds depth to the poem, suggesting that art can both reflect and challenge authority.

“And on the pedestal, these words appear:”

The traveler shifts focus to the pedestal of the statue, where an inscription is carved. This line sets the stage for Ozymandias’s own words, which are meant to immortalize his legacy. By highlighting the inscription, Shelley emphasizes the king’s attempt to assert his dominance and authority even in death.

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;”

The inscription proudly proclaims, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings.” This title suggests supreme power and unparalleled greatness, indicating that Ozymandias saw himself as the most powerful ruler of all. The repetition of the word “king” reinforces his sense of superiority and grandiosity.

“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

Ozymandias commands other powerful figures to “look on” his accomplishments and “despair.” He believes his works are so magnificent that they will inspire awe and hopelessness in other rulers. This statement is deeply ironic because the surrounding scene shows ruins and desolation, not grandeur. The boastful tone of this line contrasts sharply with the reality of the decayed statue.

“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay”

The traveler notes that nothing else remains beside the ruined statue. This stark statement underscores the contrast between Ozymandias’s proud proclamation and the current state of his monument. The phrase “round the decay” shifts the focus back to the broken, decaying remnants, highlighting the inevitable decline of all human creations.

“Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare”

The statue is described as a “colossal Wreck,” indicating its once-great size and current ruined state. The surrounding desert is “boundless and bare,” emphasizing the vast emptiness and isolation of the scene. This imagery reinforces the poem’s themes of decay and the insignificance of human achievements compared to the endless expanse of nature.

“The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

The poem concludes with an image of the “lone and level sands” stretching into the distance. This final line underscores the desolate and unchanging nature of the desert, driving home the message that human power and accomplishments are ultimately insignificant in the face of time and nature. The use of “lone” and “level” emphasizes the emptiness and monotony of the scene, contrasting sharply with Ozymandias’s once-mighty empire.

Poetic and Literary Devices Used in “Ozymandias”

Shelley uses vivid imagery to paint striking pictures in the reader’s mind. When he describes the “trunkless legs of stone” and the “shattered visage,” he provides a clear visual of the fragmented statue. This image immediately communicates the statue’s ruin and decay.

Further, the “lone and level sands” stretching far into the distance evoke a sense of endless desolation. The use of such detailed and evocative imagery helps to emphasize the themes of transience and the inevitable decline of human creations, making the desolate scene more impactful for the reader.

Irony is a central literary device in “Ozymandias.” The inscription on the pedestal reads, “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” This statement is meant to assert Ozymandias’s unparalleled power and achievements. However, the surrounding ruins and empty desert starkly contrast with this boastful claim. The grand declaration loses its grandeur when contrasted with the setting of decay and abandonment. This irony emphasizes the poem’s theme about how power fades and human pride proves futile in the end.

Alliteration

Shelley uses alliteration to create a rhythmic quality and to draw attention to particular phrases. In lines like “boundless and bare” and “lone and level,” the repetition of the initial consonant sounds enhances the desolate, monotonous atmosphere of the desert landscape. This sound pattern not only adds to the musical quality of the poem but also reinforces its themes by emphasizing the endless, unchanging nature of the scene.

Personification

The poem uses personification to imbue the statue and the landscape with human-like qualities. The “frown,” “wrinkled lip,” and “sneer of cold command” on the statue’s face reflect Ozymandias’s authoritative and disdainful personality. Additionally, phrases like “the hand that mocked them” and “the heart that fed” personify the sculptor’s creation and Ozymandias’s passions, making them more relatable and vivid. By attributing human characteristics to these elements, Shelley deepens the emotional impact of the poem and helps convey its themes.

Several elements in the poem serve as symbols to convey deeper meanings. The desert symbolizes the relentless passage of time and the insignificance of human efforts against nature’s vastness. The ruined statue represents the inevitable decay of all human creations, regardless of their former grandeur. Ozymandias himself symbolizes the hubris of rulers who believe their power and achievements will endure forever. Through these symbols, Shelley communicates a timeless message about the impermanence of human accomplishments.

Shelley employs metaphors to convey complex ideas concisely. The “colossal Wreck” of the statue is a metaphor for the downfall of Ozymandias’s empire and the unstable nature of political power. This metaphor highlights the theme that all human efforts are ultimately futile. By comparing the statue to a “colossal Wreck,” Shelley shows the contrast between Ozymandias’s once-mighty empire and its current state of ruin.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is used effectively to contrast different elements within the poem. Shelley places the grandiose claims of Ozymandias’s inscription alongside the reality of the ruined statue. This contrast between Ozymandias’s intended legacy and the actual state of his monument emphasizes the themes of impermanence and the futility of pride. The juxtaposition of the once-mighty statue with the desolate desert landscape further establishes the poem’s message about the impermanent nature of human achievements.

Enjambment, or the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, is used throughout the poem to create a flowing, seamless narrative. This device reflects the ongoing, unstoppable passage of time, reinforcing the poem’s themes. By using enjambment, Shelley ensures that the reader’s attention moves swiftly from one line to the next, mirroring the relentless march of time that ultimately leads to the decay of all things.

Shelley’s choice of words, or diction, is crucial in conveying the poem’s themes and tone. Words like “shattered,” “decay,” “colossal Wreck,” and “boundless and bare” create a sense of ruin and desolation. These carefully selected words enhance the imagery and highlight the themes of impermanence and the futility of human pride. By using specific, evocative language, Shelley effectively communicates the poem’s central message and creates a lasting impact on the reader.

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole. In “Ozymandias,” the “trunkless legs of stone” and the “shattered visage” are parts of the statue that represent the entirety of Ozymandias’s fallen monument. These fragments symbolize the incomplete and ruined state of what was once a grand and imposing figure, emphasizing the impermanence of human achievements.

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. The phrase “cold command” in the poem is an oxymoron that highlights the paradox of Ozymandias’s power. While command suggests authority and control, the word “cold” implies a lack of warmth or compassion, showing the tyrannical and detached nature of his rule.

Caesura refers to a deliberate pause or break within a line of poetry. Shelley uses caesura to create a moment of reflection and emphasize certain phrases. For example, in the line “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay,” the pause after “remains” allows the reader to absorb the significance of the emptiness before continuing to the description of the surrounding decay.

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement used for emphasis. Ozymandias’s boastful claim, “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” is an example of hyperbole. The exaggerated confidence in his own achievements serves to highlight the irony of the situation when contrasted with the actual desolation surrounding his statue.

A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself but reveals a deeper truth. The poem’s depiction of Ozymandias’s fallen statue serves as a paradox: the remnants of a once-great ruler’s empire now lie in ruins, illustrating the truth that all power is ultimately transient.

Euphony and Cacophony

Euphony refers to the use of harmonious and pleasant sounds, while cacophony involves harsh and discordant sounds. Shelley uses a mix of euphony and cacophony to reflect the dual nature of Ozymandias’s legacy. The smooth, flowing sounds of “boundless and bare” contrast with the harsher sounds in “shattered visage” and “wrinkled lip,” mirroring the juxtaposition of Ozymandias’s former glory and current ruin.

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one thing is represented by something closely associated with it. In the poem, “hand” and “heart” represent the sculptor’s skill and Ozymandias’s emotions, respectively. This use of metonymy helps convey the connection between the artist and the ruler, as well as the lasting impact of their actions.

Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines. Although not heavily used in “Ozymandias,” the repetition of “and” in the lines “And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command” and “And on the pedestal, these words appear” creates a rhythmic and emphatic effect, drawing attention to these descriptions and emphasizing their significance.

FAQ on P.B. Shelley’s “Ozymandias”

The main theme of “Ozymandias” is the impermanence of power and the inevitable decline of all human achievements. The poem highlights the futility of human pride and ambition, showing how even the mightiest rulers and their grand monuments are subject to the ravages of time.

What is “Ozymandias” about?

“Ozymandias” is a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley that tells the story of a traveler who comes across the ruins of a statue in the desert. The statue represents Ozymandias, a once-powerful king whose empire has long since crumbled. The poem explores themes of the impermanence of power and the inevitable decay of human achievements.

Shelley wrote “Ozymandias” as part of a friendly competition with his contemporary, Horace Smith, who wrote a similar sonnet on the same theme. The poem also reflects Shelley’s interest in the transient nature of power and the inevitable decline of even the greatest empires.

Ozymandias is the Greek name for Ramses II , a powerful pharaoh of ancient Egypt. In the poem, he represents the archetype of a proud and ambitious ruler whose legacy has crumbled into ruins.

“Ozymandias” reflects the Romantic era’s fascination with the past, particularly ancient civilizations and their legacies. The poem’s themes of nature’s power over human creations and the inevitable decline of empires are characteristic of Romantic poetry.

What is the significance of the statue in “Ozymandias”?

The statue in “Ozymandias” symbolizes the fleeting nature of human power and the inevitable decay of even the most formidable empires. The broken and scattered pieces of the statue, along with the grand but ironic inscription, signify the theme that all human endeavors are ultimately impermanent.

Implications and Meanings of “Ozymandias”

The transience of power.

“Ozymandias” conveys the idea that all power is fleeting. Ozymandias, once a mighty king, believed his empire would endure forever. The ruined statue, however, tells a different story. It shows how time erodes even the most powerful rulers and their achievements. This message serves as a reminder that no matter how great one’s power or accomplishments, they will eventually fade.

The Futility of Human Ambition

Shelley’s poem also highlights the futility of human ambition. Ozymandias’s grand proclamation on the pedestal was meant to instill awe and fear in other rulers. Instead, it now stands as a testament to his hubris and the ephemeral nature of human endeavors. The broken statue in the vast desert illustrates how human efforts, no matter how grand, can ultimately prove insignificant in the grand scheme of time and nature.

The Enduring Power of Art

While Ozymandias’s empire has crumbled, the sculptor’s work endures. The “shattered visage” still bears the “frown” and “sneer of cold command,” capturing the essence of the king’s personality. This suggests that art has a lasting power that outlives the subjects it depicts. The sculptor’s ability to convey Ozymandias’s character through the statue highlights the enduring nature of artistic expression.

The Inevitable Passage of Time

The endless desert surrounding the statue symbolizes the relentless passage of time. Time continues to move forward, indifferent to human achievements and failures. This imagery reinforces the idea that all things, including the most powerful empires, are subject to decay and oblivion. The poem encourages readers to reflect on their own lives and legacies, reminding them of the universal truth that time spares no one.

Reflection on Legacy

“Ozymandias” prompts readers to consider their own legacies. The poem’s depiction of the fallen statue serves as a warning against excessive pride and arrogance. It suggests that true legacy lies not in material accomplishments or power but in the impact one leaves on others. By contemplating the fate of Ozymandias, readers are encouraged to think about how their own actions will be remembered and what kind of legacy they will leave behind.

Human Pride and Hubris

The poem is a critique of human pride and hubris . Ozymandias’s arrogant inscription, juxtaposed with the desolate ruins, serves as a powerful statement against belief in one’s invincibility. Shelley suggests that such pride is ultimately hollow and self-defeating. The king’s attempt to immortalize himself through a grand statue only underscores the emptiness of his boast, as time and nature reduce his achievements to nothing.

Universal Message

Though “Ozymandias” is set in an ancient, distant land, its message is universal and timeless. Shelley’s portrayal of the fallen statue speaks to all civilizations and eras, reminding us that the rise and fall of power is a constant throughout history. This universality makes the poem relevant to readers across different contexts, encouraging a reflection on the broader human condition and the cyclical nature of history.

“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley is a powerful poem that explores the themes of impermanence, hubris, and the inevitable decline of human achievements. Through the vivid imagery of a ruined statue in a desolate desert, Shelley illustrates how even the mightiest rulers and their grand monuments are subject to the ravages of time.

The poem begins with a traveler recounting his discovery of the broken statue. The statue, once a grand monument to Ozymandias, now lies in fragments, symbolizing the fall of the once-great king. The inscription on the pedestal, “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” is deeply ironic. It highlights the futility of Ozymandias’s pride and ambition, as nothing remains of his works except the decaying statue.

Shelley’s use of poetic devices, such as irony, imagery, and alliteration, enhances the poem’s themes and creates a stark visual contrast between the statue’s former glory and its current ruin. The poem’s structure, with its unconventional rhyme scheme and use of enjambment, reflects the fragmented and transient nature of human power.

“Ozymandias” serves as a reminder of the impermanence of human endeavors and the enduring forces of time and nature. It invites readers to reflect on their own mortality and the limits of human power. Through its timeless message and masterful use of language, the poem continues to resonate with readers today.

In essence, “Ozymandias” is a reflection on mortality and the impermanence of human achievements. It reminds us that while empires may rise and fall, the lessons from their ruins remain as lasting reminders of the nature of power and legacy.

If you liked “Ozymandias,” you’ll find our analysis of “Time” by Allan Curnow equally captivating. Both poems explore the fleeting nature of human achievements and the relentless march of time, offering insightful reflections on culture and existence.

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Understanding Ozymandias: Expert Poem Analysis

General Education

With its heavy irony and iconic line, "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" "Ozymandias" is one of the most famous poems of the Romantic era. It was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817 and eventually became his most famous work. The poem describes the half-buried remnants of a statue of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II and contrasts the pharaoh's proud words with his ruined likeness.

In this guide, we give the background on how "Ozymandias" was created, explain the key Ozymandias meaning, and discuss the poetic devices used in this poem. By the end of this article, you'll have a complete understanding of "Ozymandias."

Ozymandias Poem: Full Text

Below is the complete text of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias."

How Was "Ozymandias" Created?

There are actually two Ozymandias poems, and they were written as part of a friendly writing competition. The poet Horace Smith spent the end of 1817 with Percy Shelley and his wife Mary Shelley (the author of Frankenstein ). During this time, Percy Shelley and Smith challenged each other to a poetry competition. The Shelleys moved in literary circles, and they and their friends would often challenge each other to writing competitions, so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

For this competition, Shelley and Smith wrote about the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ozymandias" is the Greek name for Ramesses II). Earlier in 1817, it was announced that archaeologists had discovered the remains of a statue of Ramesses II and were sending the fragments to the British Museum. This may have been the inspiration behind the theme of the competition. Ancient Egypt in general was also very much in vogue among the British upper classes, and many of Shelley's contemporaries took a great interest in the period and any new archaeological discoveries in Egypt.

In writing his poem, Shelley was highly influenced by ancient Greek writings on Egypt, particularly those of a historian named Diodorus Siculus. In his Bibliotheca historica , Diodorus states that the following phrase was inscribed at the base of a statue of Ramesses II: "King of Kings Ozymandias am I. If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work." Diodorus is the "traveler from an antique land" Shelley refers to in the poem's opening line.

Shelley's poem was published under the pen name "Glirastes" on January 11, 1818, in the weekly paper The Examiner. (Smith's poem was published in the same paper several weeks later). Shelley later republished the poem in 1819 in his collection Rosalind and Helen . Although it didn't receive much attention when it was published, "Ozymandias" eventually became Shelley's most well-known work, and the phrase "look on my works, ye mighty, and despair" is often referenced in popular culture.

What Is the Meaning Behind "Ozymandias"?

What message was Shelley trying to convey with the poem Ozymandias? The major theme behind "Ozymandias" is that all power is temporary, no matter how prideful or tyrannical a ruler is.

Ramesses II was one of the ancient world's most powerful rulers. He reigned as pharaoh for 66 years, led the Egyptians to numerous military victories, built massive monuments and temples, and accumulated huge stores of wealth. He eventually became known as Ramesses the Great and was revered for centuries after his death.

Throughout the poem, Ramesses' pride is evident, from the boastful inscription where he declares himself a "king of kings" to the "sneer of cold command" on his statue. However, "Ozymandias" makes it clear that every person, even the most powerful person in the land, will eventually be brought low, their name nearly forgotten and monuments to their power becoming buried in the sand.

Although the poem only discusses Ozymandias, it implies that all rulers, dynasties, and political regimes will eventually crumble as well, as nothing can withstand time forever. At the time the poem was written, Napoleon had recently fallen from power and was living in exile, after years of ruling and invading much of Europe. His fate is not unlike Ozymandias'. When Ozymandias orders "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" he meant to cause his rivals despair over his incredible power, but he may have only caused them despair when they realized their ignominious end was as inevitable as his.

The fallen statue of Ramesses II in Luxor, Egypt that Shelley is said to have based his poem on

What Poetic Devices Does "Ozymandias" Include?

For a fairly short poem, "Ozymandias" is full of poetic devices . A poetic device is a linguistic tool that a poet can use to help convey their message, as well as make the poem more interesting to read or hear. In this section we discuss the key poetic devices in the Ozymandias poem.

"Ozymandias" is a sonnet, which is a type of poetic structure. All sonnets, including "Ozymandias" are fourteen lines long and written in iambic pentameter. The iambic pentameter sounds more natural than many other rhythms, but it still has a purposeful enough rhythm to easily differentiate it from normal speech (even in the 1800s no one would naturally speak the way "Ozymandias" was written).

Contrary to many other sonnets though, "Ozymandias" has an unusual rhyming scheme, following the pattern ABABA CDCEDEFE. Most sonnets follow the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and CDECDE or CDCDCD.

Sonnets have been a standard poetry format for a long time—Shakespeare famously wrote sonnets—and it would have been an obvious choice for Shelley and Smith to use for their competition since sonnets have a set structure but still allow the poet a great deal of freedom within that structure.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a sound or letter at the beginning of multiple words in a sentence or paragraph. There are several instances of alliteration in "Ozymandias" including the phrases "cold command" and " boundless and bare."

The repetition in alliteration often makes a poem sound more interesting and pleasant, and it can also create a soothing rhythm in contrast to the tension caused by enjambment (see below).

An apostrophe is a poetic device where the writer addresses an exclamation to a person or thing that isn't present. In "Ozymandias" the apostrophe occurs in the inscription on the statue's pedestal: "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" This isn't being spoken to anyone in particular, just whoever happens to come across the statue.

Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence beyond a line break, couplet, or stanza without an expected pause.

In "Ozymandias" there are numerous examples of enjambment, including "Who said—"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand," and "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay/Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare" In both examples, the line break occurs in the middle of a sentence.

Enjambment is a way for the poet to build action and tension within a poem. The tension comes from the fact that the poet's thought isn't finished at the end of a sentence. Each line with enjambment is a mini-cliffhanger, which makes the reader want to keep reading to learn what happens next. Enjambment can also create drama, especially when the following line isn't what the reader expected it to be.

Irony is when tone or exaggeration is used to convey a meaning opposite to what's being literally said. The Ozymandias meaning is full of irony. In the poem, Shelley contrasts Ozymandias' boastful words of power in with the image of his ruined statue lying broken and forgotten in the sand. Ozymandias might have been powerful when he ordered those words written, but that power is now long gone, and his boasts now seem slightly silly in the present time.

What's Next?

Are you also learning about Edgar Allen Poe's " The Raven " in class? Read our guide to learn all about this famous poem, including its meaning, literary devices, and what that raven actually stands for.

There are many poetic devices that are crucial to know, and you can become an expert on them by checking out our guide on the 20 most important poetic devices.

Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," is another extremely famous poem. Our article will give you some in-depth information on the meaning of Dylan Thomas' poem , including how to analyze it!

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Shelley’s Ozymandias

Analysis of Shelley’s Ozymandias

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on April 7, 2021 • ( 0 )

Written sometime in late 1817 and published on January 11, 1818 in Leigh Hunt’s Examiner, “Ozymandias” is a poem that bears the Greek name for the Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramses II (13th century B.C.). In addition to his wars with the Hittites and Libyans, Ramses is known for his extensive building projects, as well as the many colossal statues of him throughout Egypt. His reign marked the height of Egypt’s imperial power. According to Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian of the 1st century B.C., the largest statue in Egypt bore the inscription, “I am Ozymandias, king of kings; if anyone wishes to know what I am and where I lie, let him surpass me in some of my exploits.” A controversy continues today regarding the 19th-century’s unquestioning reliance on the identity of Diodorus’s sources; few of his sources survive outside his own work, making it difficult to ascertain who or what is being quoted verbatim.

The 19th century developed a great interest in the ancient Egyptian culture, and that interest was the beginning of modern Egyptology. In the 1820s, Jean-François Champollion deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing on the newly discovered Rosetta Stone. Prior to Champollion’s discovery, the historical events of the early 19th century helped to awaken an interest in this ancient culture. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, he was accompanied by a group of 150 scientists and artists who came along to survey the newly conquered territory. Furthermore, in 1806 Mohammed Ali, a soldier of fortune, installed himself as pasha (a man of great rank) of Egypt, and during his long reign, he encouraged artistic competition between the French and English, resulting in a flood of Egypt artifacts in both Europe and America.

Shelley’s own interest in Egyptology is manifested in many of his poems, such as Alastor; or, the Spirit of Solitude, where the young poet, who has gone in search of the origin of things, journeys to Egypt and Abyssinia, to the origin of writing. “His wander step, / Obedient to high thoughts, has visited / The awful ruins of the days of old: . . . Of Babylon, the eternal pyramids, Memphis and Thebes, and whatsoe’er of strange / Sculptured on alabaster obelisk, . . . or mutilated sphinx.

Ancient Egyptian culture was a civilization obsessed with death and personal survival, an obsession indicated by its foremost occupation—the construction of inscribed funerary monuments— pyramids, tombs, obelisks, stelae, and sarcophagi. It was a culture obsessed with time, and its fascination with the afterlife influenced all its earthly work and effort. These themes are prominent in “Ozymandias.” It is simultaneously a poem concerned with poetic effort and the anxiety of whether that effort will be remembered.

The most significant key to understanding Shelley’s agenda in “Ozymandias” resides in the verb “to mock.” To mock most frequently means to treat an object, person, or idea with contempt or ridicule. It also means to imitate that object, usually for derision, or to produce an insincere or counterfeit version of the original object. Interestingly, a rather obscure meaning of the word “mock,” the origin of which is unknown, identifies the word with a stump and root of a tree, or refers to a large stick of wood, especially that burned at Christmas. Thus, Shelley’s play on the word “mock” makes this poem, in one sense, a pun—a rhetorical device that depends on similarity of sound for a multiplicity of meaning. This device, like the subject matter of the poem, was familiar to the classical world and much discussed and written about in its rhetorical treatises. As will be seen, “Ozymandias” utilizes puns to explore a variety of issues concerning the ravages of time and the effacement of memory.

Beginning with the first line, the narrating voice creates doubt as to the chronological time in which his poem is set, stating that “I met a traveller from an antique land.” The word antique creates the first ambiguity in the poem. Is the traveler a tourist living in the 19th century who merely refers to Egypt as the ancient world or is there some time warp in which the narrator meets with an actual inhabitant of antiquity? At the very least, we are left a bit disconcerted as to the temporal location of this poem.

In the next two lines, we see Shelley’s adept and very oblique application of a “mock” as a stump of a tree, when the strange visitor reports that “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone / Stand in the desert.” At the same time, Shelley also introduces us to the multifaceted symbols and images he will employ to convey the erosive effects of time. First, time has “amputated” this monument so that its representational value, a sculpture of a former ruler of this very same country, is seriously curtailed. Second, this sculpture is to be found in the desert, an arid and lifeless terrain, and as it is made of stone, it is also very much of the desert as well, its stony composition reminding us that its physicality is inextricably linked to the same disintegrative processes that cause rocks to turn into silt. And finally, we are given additional details of this “amputation,” in a series of disturbing images: “Near them, on the sand, / Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command.” Indeed, time has now grown violent, determined to annihilate any physical evidence that this person ever lived.

Most interesting is Shelley’s use of the word “visage” in reference to Ozymandias’s face, a word derived from the Latin visus, meaning sight or appearance, and in English defined not only as the front part of the face, but an aspect of the person’s true character and emotions. Through the multiple meanings of this word, Shelley introduces the theme of a former leader whose monument has fallen into ruin and disgrace, one who was arrogant, mean-spirited, and tyrannical. These images of Ramses II are all appropriate. He was a king of nonroyal origin, appointed at a very young age by his father Seti I; his reign was the last peak of Egyptian imperialism, an important fact for the radical Shelley, who opposed all forms of political tyranny and aggrandizement, most notably Napoleon’s political agenda.

Finally, Shelley uses one further meaning of the word visage, referring to something done merely for outward show, a falsehood of sorts. This indicates two important points: First, as the traveler tells us, the ancient sculptor did a brilliant job reading Ramses II (“its sculptor well those passions read / Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, / The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed”). Thus, art remains the repository of truth; despite Ramses’ obsessions with public works to celebrate his achievements, the artist captured his real character. Second, though the statue is in a state of ruin, the truth nevertheless remains with a tenacity that is as irrepressible as the one it represents, and this truth will indeed withstand all attempts to obliterate it. (“And on the pedestal, these words appear: / My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings, / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains.”)

And so Ozymandias’s decaying statue, exposed to the elements and to human scrutiny, is left “boundless and bare / The lone and level sands stretch[ing] far away.” This very same sand, commonly used to measure time, has curiously lost that ability in a poem that is ultimately timeless. Indeed, for a powerful political leader, such as Ramses II and Napoleon, what is recorded and memorialized in the chronicles of history are the deeds they performed and the character traits that motivated those actions.

Further Reading Allot, Miriam, ed. Essays on Shelley. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes and Noble, 1982. Baker, Carols. Shelley’s Major Poetry. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1948. Curran, Stuart. Poetic Form and British Romanticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. Duerksen, Ronald. Shelley’s Poetry of Involvement. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. Hall, Jean. The Transforming Image: A Study of Shelley’s Major Poetry. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1980. Schulze, E. J. Shelley’s Theory of Poetry: A Reappraisal. The Hague: Mouton, 1966. Sperry, Stuart. Shelley’s Major Verse: The Narrative and Dramatic Poetry. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988. Source: Harold, Bloom, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1985.

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By Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘Ozymandias’ is about the nature of power. It is an important piece that features how a great ruler like Ozymandias, and his legacy, was prone to impermanence and decay.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Nationality: English

He was born in 1792 and died in 1822 at twenty-nine.

Key Poem Information

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Central Message: Even the most powerful rulers and their legacies are subject to time.

Themes: Aging , Death , Immortality

Speaker: An unnamed traveler

Emotions Evoked: Pride , Satisfaction

Poetic Form: Sonnet

Time Period: 19th Century

This poem is a powerful meditation on the fleeting nature of power and the importance of humility, showcasing Shelley's poetic talents and the enduring relevance of its message.

Poem Analyzed by Jamie Jenson

English Teacher, with a B.A. Honors in English and a M.Sc. in Education

‘Ozymandias’ is written by one of the greatest 19th-century British poets , Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was first published in 1818 in The Examiner of London under Shelley’s pen name, “Gilrastes.” In this sonnet , Shelley’s speaker encounters a traveler from an antique land. The traveler describes the colossal wreckage of a great pharaoh’s statue. He not only notices how the parts of the statue stand on the sand but also depicts the surroundings. Collectively, the desert and the worn-out statue hint at the central idea of the sonnet, the futility of human actions. It also taps on the themes of the impermanence of power, fate, and the inevitability of rulers’ fall.

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Explore Ozymandias

• 3 Structure and Form
• 4 Literary Devices
• 5 Detailed Analysis
• 8 Historical Context
• 9 About Percy Bysshe Shelley
• 11 Similar Poems

‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley ( Bio | Poems ) describes a traveler’s reaction to the half-buried, worn-out statue of the great pharaoh, Ramses II.

In this poem, the speaker describes meeting a traveler “from an antique land.” The title, ‘Ozymandias,’ notifies the reader that this land is most probably Egypt since Ozymandias was what the Greeks called Ramses II. He was a great and terrible pharaoh in ancient Egypt.

The traveler tells a story to the speaker. In the story, he describes visiting Egypt. There, he saw a large and intimidating statue of Ramses in the desert. He can tell that the sculptor must have known his subject well because it is obvious from the statue’s face that this man was a great leader, but one who could also be very vicious.

He describes his sneer as having a “cold command.” Even though the leader was probably very great, it seems that the only thing that survives from his realm is this statue, which is half-buried and somewhat falling apart.

‘Ozymandias’ carries an extended metaphor throughout the entire poem. All around the traveler is desert — nothing is green or growing; the land is barren. The statue, however, still boasts of the accomplishments this civilization had in the past. The desert represents the fall of all empires — nothing powerful and rich can ever stay that strong forever. This metaphor is made even more commanding in the poem by Shelley’s use of an actual ruler. He utilizes an allusion to a powerful ruler in ancient Egypt to show that even someone so all-powerful will eventually fall.

Structure and Form

• Form: Sonnet
• Rhyme Scheme : ABABACDC EDEFEF
• Meter : Iambic Pentameter

‘Ozymandias’ is considered to be a Petrarchan sonnet , even though the rhyme scheme varies slightly from the traditional sonnet form . Structurally all sonnets contain fourteen lines and are written in iambic pentameter .

The rhyme scheme of ‘Ozymandias’ is ABABACDC EDEFEF. This rhyme scheme differs from the rhyme scheme of a traditional Petrarchan sonnet, whose octave (the first eight lines of the poem) usually has a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA. Its sestet (the final six lines of the sonnet) does not have an assigned rhyme scheme, but it usually rhymes in every other line or contains three different rhymes.

Shelley’s defiance of this rhyme scheme helps to set apart ‘Ozymandias’ from other Petrarchan sonnets , and it is perhaps why this poem is so memorable. The reason he did this may have been to represent the corruption of authority or lawmakers.

Literary Devices

Shelley plays with a number of figurative devices in order to make the sonnet more appealing to readers. These devices include:

• Enjambment : Shelley uses this device throughout the text. For example, it occurs in lines 2-8. By enjambing the lines, the poet creates a surprising flow.
• Alliteration : It occurs in “ a n a ntique,” “ st one/ St and,” “ s unk a s hattered,” “ c old c ommand,” etc.
• Metaphor : The “sneer of cold command” contains a metaphor. Here, the ruler’s contempt for his subjugates is compared to the ruthlessness of a military commander.
• Irony : Shelley uses this device in the following lines, “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!/ Nothing beside remains.” The following lines also contain this device.
• Synecdoche : In the poem, the “hand” and “heart” collectively hint at the pharaoh, Ozymandias, as a whole. It is a use of synecdoche.
• Allusion : The line “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings” is an allusion to the actual inscription described in the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus’s Bibliotheca historica .

Detailed Analysis

I met a traveller from an antique land,

The text of ‘Ozymandias’ reads more like a story than a poem, although the line rhymes do help to remind the reader that this is not prose . The speaker in the poem, perhaps Percy Bysshe Shelley ( Bio | Poems ) , tells the story from his point of view , using the pronoun “I.”

In the first line, he talks about meeting a traveler from an antique country. At first, this line is a tad ambiguous : Is the traveler from “an antique land,” or did he just come back from visiting one? The reader also does not know where the speaker first met this sojourner. The title indicates which land the traveler has visited. Greeks called Ramses II a powerful Egyptian pharaoh, Ozymandias. So, it is easy for the reader to recognize the “antique land” is Egypt, one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

These lines are much clearer than the first, however, and it is clear to the reader what, exactly, is occurring in the sonnet. The rest of the poem is actually written in dialogue ; the traveler recounts his experiences in Egypt to the poet’s persona .

Lines two through fourteen are only one sentence in length, as well. These lines also contain some of the most vivid and beautiful imagery in all of poetry. Shelley was such a masterful writer that it does not take much effort on the reader’s part to imagine the scene in this piece clearly.

In lines two through four, the traveler describes a statue he saw in Egypt. Through the eyes of the traveler, the reader sees two massive legs carved from stone lying in the desert sand. Nearby, the face of the statue is half-buried. The face is broken, but the traveler can still see the sculpture is wearing a frown and a sneer. From this, he is able to tell that this ruler probably had absolute power, and he most definitely ruled with an iron fist. It is also easy to interpret that this ruler probably had a lot of pride as the supreme leader of his civilization.

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

The traveler then turns his attention to the sculptor who made the statue. He comments that whomever the sculptor is, he knew his subject very well. Anyone could say that the artist had exceptionally captured the passions of the ruler. Though the pharaoh is long dead, he exists through the creation of a mere sculptor. So, who is more powerful in this case? Undoubtedly, it is the sculptor.

He also seems to be commenting in line seven that while there is an end to living beings, art is eternal—it survives. The gracious carves and the master’s touch live past the remnants of history. In the next line, the traveler provides interesting insight into the leader here. First, his hands show that the pharaoh mocked his people, yet his heart was not all bad: he fed and cared for his people, as well. The hand that held the rod fed not only the citizen but also mocked their pettiness. This line provides an interesting dichotomy often found in the most terrible of leaders. Besides, the “hand” stands for Ozymandias as a whole. It is a use of synecdoche.

And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Lines nine through eleven give more details about the sculpture, and the latter ones include words that have been etched into the ruler’s pedestal. The words carved on the pedestal, on which the leader sits, also tell of Ozymandias’ personality . He is ordering those who see him to look upon all that he has created but do not appreciate what he has done. Instead, the speaker has to despair and be afraid of it. These words perfectly depict the leader’s hubris .

The last three lines, however, take on a different tone . Now, the leader is gone, and so is his empire. Shelley implements irony into these lines to show that even though this broken statue remains, the leader’s civilization does not. It has fallen, much like the statue, and has turned to dust.

These lines are really powerful. The traveler almost seems to be mocking the ruler. Besides, Shelley’s diction here is important. He uses words such as “decay” and “bare” to show just how powerless this once-mighty pharaoh has become. There is absolutely nothing left. The leader, much like his land, and much like the broken statue depicting him, has fallen. It is in these lines that the theme of the poem emerges: all leaders will eventually pass, and all great civilizations will eventually turn into dust.

Shelley makes use of a number of themes in this sonnet. The most important theme is the impermanence of a ruler’s glory and his legacy. It is an implicit hint at the idea of futility. No matter how hard a man tries to rivet his name, at some point, people will forget him. For example, Ozymandias tried to become greater than God. He declared himself the “King of Kings.” If we look at history, every ambitious ruler declared them, more or less, by the same title. In their pursuit of greatness, they forgot about their very nature: every living thing must die. Besides, the sonnet also utilizes the themes of vainglory, the power of art, the decline of power, etc.

The overall theme of ‘Ozymandias’ is serious and awe-inspiring. For instance, the line, “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone,” arouses both fear and pity in the readers’ hearts. The size of the statue undoubtedly makes us wonder about the greatness and power of the ruler. Yet, they also take pity on the decaying depiction of the statue. It makes them think about the nature of human achievement. In the next lines, the tone becomes more serious and fearful. As the poem progresses to the end, it seems the tone softens a bit. The speaker somehow sympathizes with the faded glory of the great ruler, Ozymandias. He emotionally speaks about the inevitability of death and decay.

Historical Context

It is an understatement to say that Shelley was a clever man. While one can read this poem to be about an ancient leader of Egypt, the poem could also be read as a criticism for the world in which Shelley lived. Ever the political critic, Shelley perhaps warns the leaders of England that they, too, will fall someday. Their overarching ambition might lead them to their own downfall.

There is an interesting story behind the composition of the poem. In Shelley’s literary cycle, the members would challenge each other to write poems about a common subject. In 1817, Horace Smith spent his Christmas at Shelley’s house. They both chose a passage from Diodorus Siculus’s book Bibliotheca historica that contained the inscription:

King of Kings Ozymandias am I. If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work.

They challenged one another to write a sonnet out of it. In Shelley’s sonnet, the “traveller from an antique land” is the historian Siculus. The poem was published in The Examiner on 11 January 1818. Explore Shelley’s 1817 draft and the published version from The Examiner .

You can read Horace Smith’s sonnet below and compare it with Shelley’s poem.

     Ozymandias     IN Egypt’s sandy silence, all alone,       Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws       The only shadow that the Desart knows:—     “I am great OZYMANDIAS,” saith the stone,       “The King of Kings; this mighty City shows     “The wonders of my hand.”— The City’s gone,—       Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose     The site of this forgotten Babylon.     We wonder,—and some Hunter may express     Wonder like ours, when thro’ the wilderness       Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,     He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess       What powerful but unrecorded race       Once dwelt in that annihilated place. Horace Smith

About Percy Bysshe Shelley

Though Shelley was one of the important Romantic poets, he never achieved fame while he was alive. However, he did keep company with some extremely talented writers. His good friends include Lord Byron ( Bio | Poems ) and John Keats ( Bio | Poems ) . Besides, he was married to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein . Shelley’s best-loved poems include ‘Ozymandias,’ ‘ To a Skylark ,’ and ‘ Ode to the West Wind ,’ which is perhaps his most lauded work.

Born into a well-to-do family, Shelley eventually attended Oxford, where he first started his writing career. He was expelled, however, when he refused to admit that he was the author of an anonymous text, “ The Necessity of Atheism .”

Shelley met and fell in love with a young Mary Godwin, even though he was already married. He abandoned his family to be with her; they married after his first wife committed suicide, and Mary changed her surname to Shelley.

Tragically, Shelley died young, at the age of 29, when the boat he was sailing got caught in a storm. His body washed to shore sometime later.

In 1817, the British Museum announced that they had acquired a statue of Ramesses II, an Ancient Egyptian ruler. Shelley was inspired by the fact and started writing this poem in the same year. In the Christmas of 1817, Horace Smith and Shelley chose a passage from the writing of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus. The passage described a similar statue and quoted the inscription: “King of Kings Ozymandias am I.” Shelley wrote this poem inspired by this description of the statue of Ozymandias from Diodorus.

Ramesses II or Ramesses the Great, is known as Ozymandias in Greek historical sources. He was the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt and is often regarded as the mightiest, most celebrated, and greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

The English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the  sonnet , ‘ Ozymandias ’, with it being first published in The Examiner on 11th January 1818 .

‘Ozymandias,’ the title of Shelley’s one of the best-known  sonnets  refers to the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Ramesses II. Through this poem, Shelley throws light on the nature of power and impermanence of regnal glory, by referring to a fragment of a statue of Ramesses II or Ozymandias.

The central theme of the poem is the transience of glory, as well as power. It also taps on the themes of the futility of life, the fate of history, ravages of time, antiquity, and impermanence. The main theme is introduced in the very beginning where Shelley’s  speaker  describes the “colossal Wreck” of Ozymandias half sunk in the lone desert.

Ozymandias is the Greek name of a pharaoh from Ancient Egypt. He is Ramesses II or Ramesses the Great. The name Ozymandias comes from the first part of the regnal name of Ramesses, “Usermaatre Setepenre.” Shelley’s  sonnet  refers to a half-destroyed statue of this pharaoh.

‘ Ozymandias ’ is about the nature of power . Shelley describes how powerful men and their legacies are destined to fade into oblivion. It is an important piece that features how a great ruler like Ozymandias and his legacy was buried in the pages of history.

Through ‘ Ozymandias ,’ Shelley tries to give an important message. He wants to say no matter how much rulers try, their deeds are going to be forgotten after death. In this way, the poet warns readers not to be infatuated with power. Power does not guarantee eternal glory, only meekness does.

The  irony  of this  sonnet  lies in the last few lines. After reading the lines, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;/ Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” readers can understand the nature of the  speaker . He is a haughty ruler who, under the impression of being the most powerful, dares to challenge the Almighty. What has happened to him? The next lines ironically express it better. According to Shelley’s  speaker , “Nothing beside remains.” With just three  ironic  words, Shelley destroys his self-conceit.

The poem begins with a  metaphor . Shelley uses the  metaphor  of a “traveller” for pointing at the Greek historian Diodorus. Besides, the title is a  metaphor . It refers to a fragment of Ozymandias’s statue. Furthermore, a  metaphor , “colossal Wreck” is used as a reference to Ozymandias.

Similar Poems

Readers who liked Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ could also find the following poems interesting. These poems tap into similar themes.

• ‘Pride’ by Francis Duggan ( Poems ) — This poem straightforwardly deals with the human ego and pride.
• ‘Dust If You Must’ by Rose Milligan ( Poems ) — This piece is about the futility of life and the impermanence of human achievements.
• ‘To A Louse’ by Robert Burns ( Poems ) — In this poem, Burns gives a satiric overview of human vanity.

You can also explore these thought-provoking poems about human life .

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Hi, thankyou for this, I can’t describe how much thankful I am bcuz I’m having my exams and I have to write the answer according to the PEEA format of CIE.They want the analysis and themes in it and this is ideal for it.

I’m glad you find our site useful. Good luck with your studies!

Hello folks, its been a great journey reading your amazing analysis all day long. I hope this message encourage your work from now on. I bless you all dear folks.

Thank you. Comments like this genuinely keep us going.

Bonjour again monsieur! It’s the French mystery student. I have an unconventional request but it’s life so I’ll get on with it. Microsoft teams has stopped working for me, and I therefore am unable to contact my teachers (I was apparently in contact with a covid case so I’m in lock down) so I do not know what work I am wanted to do. So I decided to do a trial exam on the similarities between ‘Ozymandias’ and ‘Extract from the prelude’ as I think it was going to be an exam. So my question is will you rate my work so far? I have only done the introduction and 1st paragraph due to I not having all of my notes. So here it is: Both poets present the idea that nature is everlasting and more powerful than man in ‘Ozymandias’ and’Extract from the Prelude’. Together, Shelly and Wordsworth consider …  Read more »

That’s a great start! When you move on look at some of the other techniques being used and what they are used for, but you definitely have the hang of it. Good job.

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Percy Shelley: Poems

By percy bysshe shelley, percy shelley: poems summary and analysis of "ozymandias".

The first-person poetic persona states that he met a traveler who had been to “an antique land.” The traveler told him that he had seen a vast but ruined statue, where only the legs remained standing. The face was sunk in the sand, frowning and sneering. The sculptor interpreted his subject well. There also was a pedestal at the statue, where the traveler read that the statue was of “Ozymandias, King of Kings.” Although the pedestal told “mighty” onlookers that they should look out at the King’s works and thus despair at his greatness, the whole area was just covered with flat sand. All that is left is the wrecked statue.

"Ozymandias" is a fourteen-line, iambic pentameter sonnet. It is not a traditional one, however. Although it is neither a Petrarchan sonnet nor a Shakespearean sonnet, the rhyming scheme and style resemble a Petrarchan sonnet more, particularly with its 8-6 structure rather than 4-4-4-2.

Here we have a speaker learning from a traveler about a giant, ruined statue that lay broken and eroded in the desert. The title of the poem informs the reader that the subject is the 13th-century B.C. Egyptian King Ramses II, whom the Greeks called “Ozymandias.” The traveler describes the great work of the sculptor, who was able to capture the king’s “passions” and give meaningful expression to the stone, an otherwise “lifeless thing.” The “mocking hand” in line 8 is that of the sculptor, who had the artistic ability to “mock” (that is, both imitate and deride) the passions of the king. The “heart” is first of all the king’s, which “fed” the sculptor’s passions, and in turn the sculptor’s, sympathetically recapturing the king’s passions in the stone.

The final five lines mock the inscription hammered into the pedestal of the statue. The original inscription read “I am Ozymandias, King of Kings; if anyone wishes to know what I am and where I lie, let him surpass me in some of my exploits.” The idea was that he was too powerful for even the common king to relate to him; even a mighty king should despair at matching his power. That principle may well remain valid, but it is undercut by the plain fact that even an empire is a human creation that will one day pass away. The statue and surrounding desert constitute a metaphor for invented power in the face of natural power. By Shelley’s time, nothing remains but a shattered bust, eroded “visage,” and “trunkless legs” surrounded with “nothing” but “level sands” that “stretch far away.” Shelley thus points out human mortality and the fate of artificial things.

The lesson is important in Europe: France’s hegemony has ended, and England’s will end sooner or later. Everything about the king’s “exploits” is now gone, and all that remains of the dominating civilization are shattered “stones” alone in the desert. Note the use of alliteration to emphasize the point: “boundless and bare”; “lone and level.”

It is important to keep in mind the point of view of “Ozymandias.” The perspective on the statue is coming from an unknown traveler who is telling the speaker about the scene. This helps create a sense of the mystery of history and legend: we are getting the story from a poet who heard it from a traveler who might or might not have actually seen the statue. The statue itself is an expression of the sculptor, who might or might not have truly captured the passions of the king. Our best access to the king himself is not the statue, not anything physical, but the king’s own words.

Poetry might last in a way that other human creations cannot. Yet, communicating words presents a different set of problems. For one thing, there are problems of translation, for the king did not write in English. More seriously, there are problems of transcription, for apparently Shelley’s poem does not even accurately reproduce the words of the inscription.

Finally, we cannot miss the general comment on human vanity in the poem. It is not just the “mighty” who desire to withstand time; it is common for people to seek immortality and to resist death and decay. Furthermore, the sculptor himself gets attention and praise that used to be deserved by the king, for all that Ozymandias achieved has now “decayed” into almost nothing, while the sculpture has lasted long enough to make it into poetry. In a way, the artist has become more powerful than the king. The only things that “survive” are the artist’s records of the king’s passion, carved into the stone.

Perhaps Shelley chose the medium of poetry in order to create something more powerful and lasting than what politics could achieve, all the while understanding that words too will eventually pass away. Unlike many of his poems, “Ozymandias” does not end on a note of hope. There is no extra stanza or concluding couplet to honor the fleeting joys of knowledge or to hope in human progress. Instead, the traveler has nothing more to say, and the persona draws no conclusions of his own.

Percy Shelley: Poems Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Percy Shelley: Poems is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Discuss Shelley's revolutionary idealism,particularly his prophesy of a better future.

P.B Shelley as a Revolutionary Poet The French Revolution as one of the most influential event in the late 18th century. Though P.B Shelley did see the French revolution but he was influenced because he was deeply influenced by William Godwin and...

Effect of west wind on nature and the poet? In what way does it embody both danger and hope.

It is personified both as a "Destroyer" and a "Preserver". It is seen as a great power of nature that destroys in order to create, that kills the unhealthy and the decaying to make way for the new and the fresh.

In “Ode to the West Wind,” what does Shelley call the wind's “azure sister” and why?

In “Ode to the West Wind,” Shelley calls the spring wind the “azure sister” of the West Wind. “Azure” an older word for the color blue. Shelly uses it here in relation to the blue skies that often come with the arrival of spring.

Study Guide for Percy Shelley: Poems

Percy Shelley: Poems study guide contains a biography of Percy Bysshe Shelley, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Percy Shelley: Poems
• Percy Shelley: Poems Summary
• Character List

Essays for Percy Shelley: Poems

Percy Shelley: Poems essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of select poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

• An Analysis and Interpretation of Allen Ginsberg's America
• Romantic Poetry and Transcendentalism
• The politics of Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind"
• The Danger of Deranged Appetites: When Hunger Hijacks Existence
• "Ozymandias": A Close Reading

Lesson Plan for Percy Shelley: Poems

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Percy Shelley: Poems
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Percy Shelley: Poems Bibliography

E-Text of Percy Shelley: Poems

Percy Shelley: Poems e-text contains the full text of select poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

• Preface: To First Collected Edition
• Postscript In Second Edition Of 1839

Wikipedia Entries for Percy Shelley: Poems

• Introduction

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Melissa Rubbert

Percy Bysshe Shelley embraced the power of poetry to not only express emotion, but also to share and promote personal ideology. His popular sonnet “Ozymandias” is largely recognized as a rumination on the role of art; however, when juxtaposed with his “A Defence of Poetry” and A Philosophical View of Reform , “Ozymandias” becomes an exemplary revision of the emblematic sonnet form. Combining elements of both the Shakespearean and the Petrarchan sonnet traditions, Shelley models for his readers how one must examine preexisting forms and proposes personal agency as an alternative to traditional notions of power.

Shelley insists that the role of the poet is one of holding the responsibility to share intellect and innovation. He emphasizes the importance of the role of poets in the process of reform, and encourages their participation in reformation movements ( A Philosophical View of Reform 29). He makes a nearly identical argument in his “Defence of Poetry,” asserting, “The most unfailing herald, companion, and follower of the awakening of a great people to work a beneficial change in opinion or institution, is Poetry” (868). We can see Shelley’s insistence upon the belief that expression, and thus agency, is the ultimate means by which reform can occur. He claims, “The strongest argument, perhaps, for the necessity of Reform, is the inoperative and unconscious abjectness to which the purposes of a considerable mass of people are reduced,” and asserts that “The advocates of Reform” must inspire others to also question the existing forms ( A Philosophical View of Reform 82-3). His predominant complaint against the social order is the miserable state in which the masses exist. We can attribute this obsession with allowing everyone to feel worthwhile to his ideology that the key to successful reform is the expression of the desire for, and necessity of, reform; he wants everyone to have agency, and what better way to enforce both that notion and a reformation than by enacting a reformation via agency? He believes, “If the majority are enlightened, united, impelled by a uniform enthusiasm and animated by a distinct and powerful appreciation of their object, and feel confidence in their undoubted power—the struggle is merely nominal” (79). It is upon the shoulders of poets that the responsibility for energizing the masses sits. Shelley claims there is an “inevitable connection between national prosperity and freedom, and the cultivation of imagination and the cultivation of scientific truth, and the profound development of moral and metaphysical enquiry” (87), and suggests that poets and philosophers embody those inherent skills necessary to inspire a unified attempt at reform. He explicitly claims in his “A Defence of Poetry” that poets are “the institutors of laws, and the founders of civil society and the inventors of the arts of life” (858), which denotes Shelley’s insistence upon the fact that the only way an adequate reform could occur is if expression occurs.

Shelley’s resistance to yielding to poetic form served as a model for how he thought not merely suffrage, but a reformation of existing societal forms, should occur gradually and peacefully. In an essay from the Southwest Review , Jennifer Wagner reflects upon Shelley’s empowerment of the reader, rather than the speaker, by his breaking from the sonnet form. She argues that Shelley’s use of the sonnet form can be attributed to the influence of Wordsworth, who used the sonnet form as “imaginative power” (109). We can draw a parallel between how Shelley describes in A Philosophical View of Reform the politics of England during his time, and Wagner’s claim in respect to how Shelley utilized, and possibly viewed, the sonnet form: Shelley literally employs the term “forms” when he discusses concerns he holds regarding the existing domestic, social, and especially, political structures of his time. When Shelley discusses the functioning of English society, he discusses the many “social forms,” “domestic forms,” “forms of government,” and “political forms” that he sees as problematic for England. Shelley quite literally asks for reform, as in a reformation of the aforementioned existing forms; he covets a complete turn-around of society and reform of control by the aristocracy into a government system that works for the community as a whole. He desires politicians to work for the masses, and he wants the masses to work toward universal rights to wellbeing, rather than just suffrage. Shelley expressed confusion as to why people fought for universal suffrage, but not for a change in the government itself. It seems he hoped that people would claim their own agencies fully, rather than just the right to choose who averts their agency from them.

Shelley asserts, however, that this reform must be gradual, and that people must take the reformation step by step, slowly acclimating to new freedoms and justices. He writes that people must enact their sovereignty proportionately as they gain it, and little by little gain more, and then enact that as well. He hopes that eventually, sovereignty will become so common that the reformation will be complete without a bloody revolution. He argues that mankind needs to focus on the future, not the past, and implies that writers should be looked to for the accomplishment of this task, as “The literature of England, and energetic development of which, has ever followed or preceded a great and free development of the national will” ( A Philosophical View of Reform 29). He asserts that what needs to be established is an innovative political philosophy, for there is “A thirst for accommodating the existing forms, according to which mankind are found, divided to those rules of freedom and equality […] Contemporary with this condition of the intellect, all the powers of mankind, though in most cases under forms highly inauspicious, began to develop themselves with uncommon energy” ( A Philosophical View of Reform 10). He implies here that mankind must try to prevail over the existing systems, and create a new society in which justice and equality are provided to all. Shelley criticizes man for shaping society around forms that already exist, rather than evolving those forms themselves, or ‘reforming’ them. It is due to this confinement by preexisting forms that society cannot progress to meet the needs of its inhabitants. Shelley’s use of the term “forms” directly correlates with Wagner’s belief that “The construction of Shelley’s sonnets suggests that the poet recognized closure as form’s most tyrannical element, closing off the poem from any possibility of change or development–for these sonnets are characterized by an openendedness that resists an ending” (110). Shelley illustrates his resistance to complacency of the limitations enforced by the English society and government by resisting the similar confining nature of the sonnet form.

Shelley sets an example for how he wishes the public to push for reform when he breaks from the traditional sonnet form. In “A Defence of Poetry,” he strikingly argues, “it is by no means essential that a poet should accommodate his language to [traditional] form… every great poet must inevitably innovate upon the example of his predecessors in the exact structure of his peculiar versification” (860), which reflects the aforementioned claim that reform can only be accomplished by looking to the future, not the past. In order to attain reform, old forms must be deconstructed. He attributes the success of prevailing governmental and political forms to the complacency of the masses and their acceptance of the existing forms due to the comfort they find in structure ( A Philosophical View of Reform 74).

In “Ozymandias,” Shelley illuminates the true nature of power and suggests methods of how to overcome political forces by enacting personal agency. The sonnet opens with the speaker asserting his power over the recitation of the poem. The first line, “I met a traveller from an antique land,” contains one extra syllable, which affirms the speaker’s dominance over the form from the start (line 1). The first and second lines are also an introduction to the fact that the speaker is recalling for us what he had heard from “a traveller from an antique land” (1), which informs the reader that it is upon the speaker’s agency to relay the story accurately, or inaccurately, depending upon what he chooses. The speaker’s identification of the traveller as being from an “antique land” introduces the theme of antiquity in this piece, and consequently, its lack of power. Though the speaker is supposedly reciting what he had heard from the traveller, the traveller has no agency over his own story, as the speaker is the one retelling it—the traveller lost control, or power, over his own story.

Much like the traveler’s loss of power, the statue loses its purpose. The speaker describes “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone” (2), showing that though the legs have become purposeless, they still exhibit longevity. This concept can be applied to how Shelley felt about the king, as he asserts that the aristocracy holds the true power, for “The name of the king and the office of king is merely the mask of [the aristocracy’s] power” ( A Philosophical View of Reform 38). Shelley explicitly claims that “the nobility […] made the Crown the mask and pretence of their own authority […] which under colour of administering power lodged in the king, represented in truth, the interest of the rich” ( A Philosophical View of Reform 37), meaning that the king served more as a figurehead. Both the statue and England’s monarch serve as symbols for roles they do not fulfill.

Ozymandias lost the agency of his legacy when he had the statue of himself constructed. The speaker claims that the facial expression and features on the statue “Tell that its sculptor well [Ozymandias’s] passions read / Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things” (6-7), thus it is the passions that the sculptor resolved to sculpt that survive, not Ozymandias’s actual passions. The pedestal upon which the words “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (10-11) appear also removes agency from Ozymandias himself because now that “Nothing beside remains” (12), the visage stands alone, and the “despair!” (11) holds a different meaning. The new context of “despair” is bleak, and quite ironic: the plaque now serves as a warning to other powerful rulers that, no matter how much power they think they currently hold, their influence will someday dwindle as well. The “despair” fatefully foretells the future of the powerful, almost as if to say, “Look! Even I, king of kings, have nothing left of my legacy but this plaque.”

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings” (10) is another line that contains an extra syllable. This deviation from the meter also speaks to the unexpected, and is a foreshadowing of the fall of Ozymandias’s empire. It is with the words on the statue’s pedestal that Shelley relays a warning to the English aristocracy; they may hold the power now, but oppression will not withstand once the public finds their agency. Ozymandias’s empire fell, as did his visage. All that remained were the words written on the plaque, demonstrating that words hold more power than oppressive rulers with armies. In A Philosophical View of Reform, Shelley encourages the masses to voice their dissatisfaction with societal and political forms, and by demonstrating the words’ longevity compared to the empire’s longevity, he is asserting the power of expression.

“Ozymandias” is structurally a Petrarchan sonnet, but the rhyme scheme differs from that of a traditional Petrarchan sonnet. The rhyme scheme in this poem is ABABACDCEDEFEF, rather than the traditional ABBAABBACDECDE. The Shakespearean sonnet’s typical rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDEFEFGG, thus we can observe that “Ozymandias” contains elements of both sonnets’ schemas. “Ozymandias” also contains a volta in the ninth line, which is a typical Petrarchan element, but rather than existing as a turn in the poem, it functions as an alternative perspective. This poem offers optimism in that it demonstrates that altering a system from within is possible, even if one is subject to its restraints.

Shelley was considered a radical revolutionary during his time as a result of his outspoken dissatisfaction with the English government and its effect on English society. Upon looking further into his works, however, we can see that Shelley was not calling for a revolution in the traditional sense, but for a gradual process of peaceful reform. He insisted that poets were the key to encouraging change, and with this knowledge, it becomes clear that Shelley broke from the traditional sonnet form to set an example for the public of how to break from traditional forms using one’s own agency. Shelley was considered dangerous in his time, but ironically, his ideologies are exactly what the world needs now—peace, expression, and innovation.

Works Cited

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “A Defence of Poetry.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature . Edited by Stephen Greenblatt, vol. D, W.W. Norton & Company, 2012, pp. 856-869.

— “A Philosophical View of Reform.” Online Library of Liberty . Edited by T.W. Rolleston, Oxford UP, 1920, http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/2510.

— “Ozymandias.” The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms . Edited by Mark Strand and Evan Bolan, W.W. Norton & Company, 2001, p. 62.

Wagner, Jennifer. “A Figure Of Resistance: The Visionary Reader In Shelley’s Sonnets And The ‘West Wind’ Ode.” Southwest Review, vol. 77, no. 1, 1992, pp. 109-127. JSTOR   http://www.jstor.org/stable/43470340 .

Shawangunk Review Volume XXIX Copyright © 2018 by Melissa Rubbert is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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A Summary and Analysis of Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Published in The Examiner on 11 January 1818, ‘Ozymandias’ is perhaps Percy Bysshe Shelley’s most celebrated and best-known poem. Given its status as a great poem, a few words by way of analysis might help to elucidate some of its features and effects, as well as its meaning – what exactly is Shelley saying about great empires and civilisations?

What follows is our summary and analysis of Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’, our attempt to get to grips with this challenging and haunting poem.

Because the poem contains several speakers, and an inscription quoted within the speech of one of these speakers, it might be useful to start with a brief summary of ‘Ozymandias’:

I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

The speaker of the poem tells of the traveller he met in an ‘antique land’ (somewhere associated with antiquity – we’ll later be able to deduce it’s Egypt) who told him about two stony stumps which stand in the desert. Near them are the remains of a stone face – evidently part of a statue – and the face bears a superior, grim expression.

This stone face was clearly modelled on a real person, most probably a ruler, who once had a kingdom or empire in the desert – now long since vanished.

And on the pedestal these words appear: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

This traveller continues by telling the poem’s speaker that on the pedestal of the statue’s remains there is an inscription. The inscription is ironic: Ozymandias was the Greek name for Rameses II, the Egyptian ruler (now we know where that ‘antique land’ was), whose empire crumbled to dust long ago.

The declaration ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ is supposed to be triumphant, and originally was: when the statue was first built, people gazing at it were meant to look at the empire built by Rameses and be cowed into submission by its vastness and power. Others, too, who came afterwards, were meant to feel awe at the might of Ozymandias’ empire.

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.’

But now, of course, as the traveller confides to the poem’s speaker, ‘nothing beside remains’: the ‘works’ the statue’s inscription refers to (‘Look on my works’) have not lasted. Nothing does: all things must pass. So, unbeknownst to Ozymandias when he had those words inscribed, we have another reason to ‘despair’: the transience of all things.

We despair now not at the might of his empire, but at the fact that such a mighty empire – even the mightiest of all – is destined to crumble to dust. Over a century before T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land , Shelley presents a land laid waste and a pessimistic view of human civilisation. ‘Ozymandias’ displays the same self-analysis at the level of whole civilisations: will our own survive, when this one did not?

It is worth bearing in mind the context of ‘Ozymandias’. Shelley wrote the poem in 1817, not long after the British Museum announced that it had acquired a fragment of a statue of the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II (his head and torso, to be exact). Shelley may well have heard of this acquisition and been motivated to write his sonnet about the pharaoh’s remains.

But it’s possible to detect other ways in which the poem’s Regency context – and Shelley’s own deeply held convictions and beliefs – shaped the sonnet. By 1817, Britain’s own ‘King of Kings’, King George III, presided over a considerable empire around the globe (as had Rameses II), and had been king for 57 years. Shelley, a staunch republican, had little time for kings, and least of all George III, whom he elsewhere described as ‘An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King’. Was ‘Ozymandias’ Shelley’s cryptic and allegorical way of putting Farmer George in his place?

Or perhaps for ‘King of Kings’ we should think not a God-anointed king but God himself (as Egyptian pharaohs like Rameses II were thought to be gods on earth). The phrase ‘King of Kings’ is associated with the Christian God, or more specifically with Jesus Christ: in the New Testament, the phrase is used in reference to Christ in the First Epistle to Timothy (6:15) and the Book of Revelation (twice – see 17:14, 19:11–16).

Shelley had no time for gods, or God, either: indeed, he had been expelled from the University of Oxford for writing a pamphlet titled The Necessity of Atheism , which shows how radical such a belief (or rather lack of belief) was held to be in early nineteenth-century Britain.

In terms of its form, the poem is innovative and worthy of closer analysis: its fourteen lines and iambic metre mark it out as a sonnet, but its rhyme scheme is different from the traditional English or Italian sonnet . Shelley’s poem rhymes ababacdcedefef . The rhyme of ‘appear’ with ‘despair’ is a masterstroke: ‘despair’ also chimes with ‘appear’ by summoning that verb’s ghostly opposite, ‘disappear’ – exactly what has happened to Ozymandias’ vast empire, and decidedly apt given that ‘disappear’ itself doesn’t actually appear in the poem.

‘Ozymandias’ is rightly celebrated and often anthologised and analysed, but what is less well-known is that Shelley wrote the poem in competition with his friend, Horace Smith. (Smith’s effort was published in the same magazine a month after Shelley’s.)

Smith originally titled his poem ‘Ozymandias’, the same as Shelley’s, though he subsequently renamed it ‘On A Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, with the Inscription Inserted Below’ – which is rather less catchy or memorable as titles go. Smith’s poem doesn’t repay the same close analysis as Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’, but it’s worth a read:

In Egypt’s sandy silence, all alone, Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws The only shadow that the Desert knows:— ‘I am great OZYMANDIAS,’ saith the stone, ‘The King of Kings; this mighty City shows ‘The wonders of my hand.’— The City’s gone,— Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose The site of this forgotten Babylon.

We wonder,—and some Hunter may express Wonder like ours, when thro’ the wilderness Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace, He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess What powerful but unrecorded race Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

Not up to Shelley’s standard, perhaps – but not a bad effort. Ozymandias’ empire may have gone, but the poem written in his name has endured. In the last analysis, Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ is a fine reminder that everything – even mighty empires – is doomed to fall to dust.

You can listen to a reading of ‘Ozymandias’, complete with an animated video, here .

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8 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’”

Brilliant summary, these are great to read and refresh. Shelley’s best, I think!

How interesting that Ozymandias was written as a result of a competition as was the story of Frankenstein by Shelley’s wife Mary.

Thank you for this! It was my father’s favourite poem…

Very fond of this one. My hubby’s favourite school poem too.

Reblogged this on Jude's Threshold and commented: a timely analysis!

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I met a traveler from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunk less legs of stone Stand in the desert . . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Meanings of Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Meanings of lines 1-8.

I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

Meanings of Lines 9-14

And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

 Summary of Ozymandias

Analysis of literary devices in ozymandias.

2)    Personification : Shelley used personification , which means using human emotions for inanimate objects. He uses personification twice in the poem. The fifth line, “And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,” refers to the broken head of the statue. However, the lifeless statue of Ozymandias is referred to as a real person. The second example is in the sixth line of the poem where “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read” shows as if the statue is commanding the sculptor how to carve or express his emotions.

Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Ozymandias”

Quotations for usage from ozymandias.

“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

“I met a traveler from an antique land.”

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 “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• I met a traveller from an antique land,
• Who said—”Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
• Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
• Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
• And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
• Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
• Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
• The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
• And on the pedestal, these words appear:
• My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
• Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
• Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
• Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
• The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Introduction

Table of Contents

Written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817, “Ozymandias” is a sonnet that depicts the ruins of a once-great civilization and its ruler, Ramses II. Despite its initial reception as a minor poem, “Ozymandias” has won popularity as of Shelley’s most famous and enduring works known for its themes of the transience of power and the futility of human ambition. Its popularity has grown after its numerous adaptations in popular culture, including in television shows, movies, and video games. The poem’s timeless message continues to resonate with the readers, specifically, with the teachers suggesting the poem as a textbook reading across the globe.

Annotations of “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Literary Devices in “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Sound and Poetic Devices in “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Functions of Literary Devices in “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• Enhancing the Poem’s Imagery : Shelley employs various literary devices to create vivid and striking images in “Ozymandias.” For example, he uses alliteration and repetition to emphasize the huge size and grandeur of the statue’s legs (“colossal” and “countenance” in line 3, and “boundless” and “bare” in line 13). Besides these, his use of metaphor and personification brings the statue to life, helping th readers to picture it as a powerful ruler who now lies in ruins.
• Creating Mood and Tone: Literary devices play a key role in establishing the mood and tone of “Ozymandias.” Shelley uses caesura and enjambment to create a sense of foreboding and emptiness. Broken lines and pauses, too, convey a sense of the statue’s isolation and the futility of Ozymandias’s efforts to preserve his legacy. Furthermore, the use of irony and paradox helps to establish a tone of bitterness and resignation, underscoring the poem’s underlying message about the transience of power and the inevitability of decline.
• Providing Insight into Character: The literary devices employed in “Ozymandias” provide insight into the character of Ozymandias himself. The statue’s “frown, / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command” (line 5) create an image of a proud and arrogant ruler who believed himself to be invincible. Similarly, the inscription on the pedestal, with its hyperbolic claims and self-aggrandizement, reveals the depth of Ozymandias’s ambition and hubris.
• Conveying Complex Themes: The literary devices in “Ozymandias” serve to convey the poem’s complex themes about power, mortality, and the passage of time. Through his use of metaphor and symbolism, Shelley presents the statue as a metaphor for human ambition and the futility of trying to preserve one’s legacy. His use of paradox and irony also underscores the idea that the pursuit of power is ultimately self-defeating. Overall, these devices help to create a rich and nuanced meditation on the nature of power and the limits of human ambition.

Themes in “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• Transience of Power: In his sonnet, “Ozymandias,” Shelley emphasizes the theme of the transience of power through the description of the statue’s decay and the obliteration of its inscription. The broken statue of Ozymandias serves as a powerful symbol of the fleeting nature of power and the inevitable decline of the most powerful rulers. The lines “Half sunk a shattered visage lies” (line 4) and “Round the decay of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, / The lone and level sands stretch far away” (lines 12-14) underscore the idea that even the most grandiose achievements face the stringent ravages of time and the impermanence of human existence.
• Dangers of Hubris: The poem “Ozymandias” explores the dangers of hubris, or excessive pride, through Shelley’s portrayal of Ozymandias as an arrogant and self-aggrandizing ruler. The phrase “sneer of cold command” (line 5) suggests that Ozymandias was a tyrant who ruled with an iron fist. The inscription on the pedestal, “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (line 11), reveals his arrogance as well as delusion of invincibility. The fact that the inscription is the only thing that remains of his statue highlights the dangers of unchecked ambition and the fleeting nature of power.
• Limits of Human Achievement: In his poem, “Ozymandias”, Shelley grapples with the idea that human achievement is ultimately limited and finite. The description of the statue’s decay and the obliteration of its inscription demonstrates the idea that even the most grandiose achievements such as the statue of Ozymandias are subject to the vagaries of fate. The phrase “Nothing beside remains” (line 12) suggests that even the most powerful rulers face oblivious that their achievements go to ruins.
• Power of Art and Language: Despite the decay of the statue, the inscription on its pedestal serves as a testament to Ozymandias’s legacy and the power of language to convey meaning and shape the course of history. The line “And on the pedestal, these words appear” (line 9) highlights the importance of language in preserving a record of human achievement. The fact that the inscription is still legible, despite the decay of the statue, underscores the power of language to transcend time and preserve a record of human achievement. Also, the description of the sculptor who “well those passions read” (line 6) suggests that art has the power to capture and convey human emotion and experience, even in the face of the passage of time.

Literary Theories and “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• Historical Criticism: This literary theory examines the historical context surrounding the creation of a literary work. In the case of “Ozymandias,” historical criticism highlights Shelley’s interest in the political events of his time, particularly the French Revolution and the overthrow of tyrannical rulers. The poem could be interpreted as a commentary on the fleeting nature of power and the downfall of tyrants, as exemplified by the ruined statue of Ozymandias. (Verse 10: “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”)
• New Criticism : This literary theory focuses on the text itself, independent of any outside factors. When applying new criticism to “Ozymandias,” one might examine the use of images and symbols throughout the poem, particularly in the depiction of the “colossal Wreck” (Verse 13) and the “lone and level sands” (Verse 14), which symbolize the transience and impermanence of human achievement.
• Reader-Response Criticism: This literary theory emphasizes the role of the reader in interpreting a literary work. In “Ozymandias,” the reader might be struck by the sense of irony and futility in the poem, as the once-powerful Ozymandias is now reduced to a pile of ruins. (Verse 12: “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay / Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare”)
• Psychological Criticism: This literary theory seeks to understand the motivations and psychological states of the characters or authors in a literary work. In “Ozymandias,” one might interpret the depiction of the ruined statue and its proud, tyrannical subject as an expression of Shelley’s own anxieties about power and the human condition. (Verse 4: “Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command”)

Essay Topics, Questions and Thesis Statements about “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• Topic 1: Hubris and the Impermanence of Power in “Ozymandias”
• How does the poem criticize the idea of absolute power and authority?
• What are the consequences of Ozymandias’ hubris?
• How does the imagery of the ruined statue contribute to the poem’s message about power and human mortality?

Thesis Statement: In “Ozymandias,” Shelley uses vivid imagery and irony to convey a warning about the dangers of hubris and the impermanence of power, showing how even the mightiest rulers are ultimately subject to the ravages of time and the inevitable decline of all things.

• Topic 2: Art and Memory in “Ozymandias”
• How does the poem explore the relationship between art and memory?
• What is the significance of the ruined statue and the inscription on its pedestal?
• How does the imagery of the barren desert landscape contribute to the poem’s themes of transience and loss?

Thesis Statement: “Ozymandias” offers a powerful meditation on the role of art and memory in preserving the legacy of great figures and civilizations, showing how even the most magnificent works of art can become symbols of transience and loss when they are divorced from their original context and the people who created them.

3. Topic 3: The Significance of the Traveler’s Perspective in “Ozymandias”

How does the traveler’s perspective shape the meaning of the poem?

What is the significance of the traveler’s encounter with the ruins of Ozymandias’ statue?

How does the poem explore the idea of historical perspective and the limitations of human knowledge?

Thesis Statement: Through the perspective of the traveler who encounters the ruins of Ozymandias’ statue, Shelley highlights the limitations of human knowledge and the dangers of arrogance and pride, showing how even the most powerful figures and empires can become lost to time and memory.

Topic 4: The Use of Language and Imagery in “Ozymandias”

• How does Shelley use language and imagery to create a vivid and memorable portrait of the ruined statue and the desert landscape?
• What is the significance of the repeated use of certain words and phrases, such as “vast,” “sneer of cold command,” and “boundless and bare”?
• How does the poem’s language and imagery contribute to its overall themes of power, transience, and loss?

Thesis Statement: Shelley’s masterful use of language and imagery in “Ozymandias” creates a haunting and unforgettable portrait of the ruins of Ozymandias’ statue and the desolate desert landscape that surrounds it, underscoring the poem’s themes of the dangers of power, the fragility of human achievements, and the inevitability of decay and loss.

Short Questions-Answers about “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

• What is the central message of “Ozymandias”?

The central message of “Ozymandias” is the fleeting nature of power and the inevitability of the downfall of even the mightiest rulers. The poem shows that even though Ozymandias was once a powerful king, his works have been destroyed, and his name is all that remains. The lines “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (line 11) are full of irony because they show that even the king’s most impressive creations have crumbled into dust. The poem, thus, reminds us of the transience of human life and the insignificance of earthly achievements in the grand scheme of things.

• What is the role of imagery in “Ozymandias”?

The imagery in “Ozymandias” plays an important role in conveying the poem’s central message. The “vast and trunkless legs of stone” (line 2) and the “shattered visage” (line 4) create a vivid picture of the ruins of the king’s statue, while the “lone and level sands” (line 14) suggest the vastness and emptiness of the desert landscape. The contrast between the power and grandeur of the statue and the desolate landscape in which it now stands further emphasizes the poem’s theme of the transience of human achievements.

• What is the significance of the title “Ozymandias”?

The title “Ozymandias” is significant because it refers to the Greek name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, who was known for his military conquests and grand building projects. The use of this name reinforces the theme of the fleeting nature of power and the ultimate insignificance of even the most impressive human accomplishments. The fact that the title uses a name that would have been familiar to Shelley’s readers underscores the universality of the poem’s message.

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Introduction

Ozymandias is a famous sonnet of renowned poet of Romantic era Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was written in 1817 and was published on 11th January, 1818.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Summary

Furthermore, one the pedestal of the statue, some words of the King are engraved that show him as the most powerful ruler. As the King is no more, and the statue is also ruined, the engraving is a mockery at his pride and ego.

Themes of the Poem

Power and pride.

The poem also shows the importance of Art. Ozymandias was an Egyptian King who is unknown to the people of today’s world but the ruins of his sculptor tell many things about his time. This statue is a piece of art, made by a skilled sculptor who did a great job while erecting it. The expressions and wrinkles on the king’s statue are so accurate that they are showing his personality very well.

Ozymandias Literary Analysis

“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay”

More From Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Decay of Political Power Essay

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Introduction

The poem Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelly, is a fascinating examination of a decaying statue that resonates a central principle: history marches forward and no man can stop it. It is through various literary techniques that Shelly’s belief — art and language outlast politics — shines through. As the poem creates the mysterious sculpture found in “an antique land” and subsequently destroys it, the reader experiences a sense of ironic loss that almost hedges into hopelessness. Shelly’s poem Ozymandias effectively communicates that political power is not everlasting and even the most feared of leaders cannot halt the passage of time through its use of irony, alliteration, and metaphor.

Shelly’s main literary device in Ozymandias is his use of irony to emphasize the decay of political power at the hands of time. Ironically, Ozymandias’ statue bears a “wrinkled lip” and “sneer of cold command”, features that indicate a powerful and foreboding king, but the statue itself is falling apart. Even the inscription declaring that people should “look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” is ironic; the reign would no longer strike fear in anyone for it had crumbled many years ago. Shelly examines the statue, constructing an image of the king and his rule only to rip it apart in the latter half of the poem by pointing out that there was very little left of even the statue, just as there is nothing left of Ozymandias’ reign. This sense of irony, that a king who was so feared that his people suffered by “the hand that mocked them…” lost his kingdom and life to the sands of history, which eventually overtake all men, runs deeply in Shelly’s Ozymandias.

Shelly uses alliteration frequently in Ozymandias to draw attention to certain images throughout the poem. The use of alliteration gives the poem a rhythm and flow in addition to illuminating the importance of certain lines. The letter ‘s’ in particular is repeated on three separate alliterative occasions. At the beginning of the poem, Shelly describes where the traveler found the statue, “…on the sand, [h]alf sunk, a shattered…”. This draws the reader’s attention to the hidden, already destroyed image of the statue; it is not proudly displayed anymore, it is buried and hidden and alone. The ‘s’ alliteration continues as Shelly describes the sneer and “cold command” that “…yet survive, stamped on…” the statue’s pedestal. This particular point is alliterated not once but twice because it is, simply, the entire point of the poem. Shelly uses “sneer”, “survive”, and “stamped” to reiterate the ‘s’ sound as well as “cold command” within the same sentence to emphasize that art lives on, the sculptor’s work survived, even though Ozymandias is long dead and his period of rule long since over. Finally, Shelly says that “the lone and level sands stretch far away” at the end of the poem, giving the illusion of never-ending space that stretches forever; history goes forever, no one can stop it. Through the use of alliteration, Shelly commands his reader’s attention to the central theme of his poem; no political power is strong enough to resist the decay of time.

The decaying statue in Ozymandias is a metaphor for the decay of political power. Shelly effectively utilizes this metaphor throughout the poem to emphasize that political power is not ever-lasting. Art, however, is eternal and despite the march of time, the statue remains as evidence of what was and what has been lost. The broken statue itself is a metaphor of a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ sentiment. Shelly describes the statue, the king, the rule, and even the people under Ozymandias, but in the latter half of the poem, the statue is nothing but a “colossal wreck”. “Nothing beside remains”, save for the inscription and the sneer on the statue’s ancient face. Ozymandias is lost and his kingdom gone. He is even further removed from the reader because Shelly uses the narrator as a person relaying a story he heard from yet someone else. Not only is the reign of the king over, not only is his statue a decaying mess, but he is not even directly known to the author; Ozymandias is so far removed from history, he may as well not even exist. But the statue heralded a much-feared, strong king from a bygone era, illustrating Shelly’s metaphor that encompasses the entire poem. The lost king Ozymandias could not hold onto his power, but the sculptor’s statue lasted throughout the ages.

The poem Ozymandias is an incredible illustration of how nothing can last forever; no man can hold onto absolute power for all time. Everyone who lives also dies, every era and every kingdom will eventually dissolve or morph into something different. Art, however, carries forward forever, even if it is a “colossal wreck” by the time it is rediscovered. Through Shelly’s use of irony, alliteration, and metaphor, the reader experiences a dramatic sense of haunting reality: everything ends and people are powerless to stop it.

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by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias Themes

T he three main themes in Ozymandias are the transience of glory, the illusion of power, and the vastness of nature.

• The Transience of Glory:  Ozymandias was renowned and powerful, the "King of Kings," but now he is long dead, and his "works"  have disappeared.
• The Illusion of Power:  Presumably Ozymandias had power once, but now it's gone, along with all evidence of it.
• The Vastness of Nature: Against the power of Nature, humankind is nothing, and the forces of Nature have wrecked the statue of Ozymandias swept away all of his "works."

Ozymandias Study Tools

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Allan Arpajian majored in English and music at the University of Pennsylvania.

Last Updated September 5, 2023.

The Transience of Glory

The setting of Shelley's poem, a desert as described to the speaker, is symbolic of bleakness and emptiness. But evidently a great kingdom existed there at one time, as evidenced by the ruins of the eponymous king's image. So, readers are immediately told that although something or someone "great" once was there, now there is nothing but desolation. This is an "antique land." Whatever resulted in the ruins of the statue, the head severed from the "trunkless legs," it was obviously very long ago that this occurred, and the enormous stretch of time conveys that what happened in this antique land is a constant throughout human history, a repetitive phenomenon. But in that remote past, Ozymandias—the Greek name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses, or Ramses, II—was renowned and powerful, the "King of Kings." Now, he is long dead, and his "works," which in the inscription he enjoins the visitor to "look on with despair," have disappeared. Not only does nothing remain of what this king commanded to be built, but the statue itself has broken apart. Some of it has disappeared completely, given that the legs are "trunkless." The evidence is of a supreme leader whose legacy consists solely of a ruin, attesting to the transience of his self-declared glory and power. In this world, Shelley's message reads, nothing lasts; nothing has the power to sustain itself. Impermanence rules.

The Illusion of Power

The fate of Ozymandias leads one to ask what this king accomplished in his lifetime and for posterity. What the traveler has seen on the remaining visage is a "sneer of cold command." The phrase conveys something about the nature of "command": it's based on cruelty. In itself it gives the key to the wreckage of Ozymandias lying in the sand. Shelley's message is a paraphrase of the scriptural wisdom that those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword. The "frown" and "wrinkled lip" of the king also suggest the power the man held seems not to have achieved for him the happiness or fulfillment he might have expected. But what, Shelley is asking, is power? Presumably in his time this man possessed it, but now that it's gone, and that all evidence of it is absent as well, the significance or value of that power when it did exist is called into question.

In the view of Shelley and his generation, the "second wave" of Romantics, power was meaningless. They came of age during the Napoleonic wars, when the unlimited might of the anciens régimes of Europe was destroyed, as was Napoleon's own power when he was finally defeated in 1815. People looked back on over twenty years of violence and asked, what was the point of it all? Ozymandias and his destruction are a metaphor for the events of Shelley's own time. The power Ozymandias held, like that of Bonaparte, was something false, illusory. Or, when it did exist, it was probably not worth having, and those who do seek power over others are contemptible, the worst of mankind.

The Vastness of Nature

Perhaps the most striking feature of "Ozymandias" is the setting in which the traveler finds the statue's ruins. Though Shelley's description of it is brief, the significance of it is obvious, as the poem concludes:

. . . boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Shelley conveys both the enormity and, perhaps paradoxically, the monotony of the landscape. It is empty and it stretches on forever, in contrast to the impermanence of Ozymandias himself. It is not only that Nature is an immense power against which man is nothing, but that the physical bleakness of the desert is an analogue to the emptiness of the vast stretch of time between this ancient despot and the present. Nature is a vast force: the winds and sands have swept away all of Ozymandias's "works" as well as wrecking the iconic symbol of him the sculptor created. But in its infinite reach, Nature is, in some sense, shocking to the human who contemplates it, forcing us not only to acknowledge our powerlessness but to recognize how frightening the immensity and the endlessness of time and space are.

The Survival of Art

Shelley's subtext is arguably that art survives, even when men and their "power" do not. Everything else has disappeared, but a piece of sculpture, though a ruin, still exists in this vast empty space devoid of anything else. Were it not for the artist who created that statue, there would be no evidence at all of Ozymandias.

The concept that art endows its subject with meaning is a trope that has been a constant of literary history. With a kind of transferred pride, Shelley has the traveler note that

. . . its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things . . .

By depicting the tyrant, the artist has demonstrated his superiority to him. Shelley identifies with the artist of the remote past. It is not merely that an individual artwork survives but that the practice of the arts over the millennia has been maintained. Shelley's poem itself is an analogue to the statue. Just as the sculptor of antiquity created a "record" of his time, Shelley memorialized his own age. "Ozymandias" can be seen as a symbol of the transitory nature of power and command in the early nineteenth century, when much of the old order was swept aside by Napoleon, and Napoleon himself was swept away, just like Ozymandias.

Cite this page as follows:

Munoz, Thanh. "Ozymandias - Themes." eNotes Publishing, edited by eNotes Editorial, eNotes.com, Inc., 24 Sep. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/ozymandias/themes#themes-themes-893811>

Themes and Meanings

“Ozymandias” is at first glance a sonnet about the transitory nature of life and its pretensions of fame and fortune. The decaying, ancient statue bears witness to the fact that the pursuit of power and glory for their own sakes are not only fleeting, but they are also illusory, unworthy ambitions even within the lifetime of their seekers.

The nineteenth century was filled with “discoveries” of ancient landscapes, built upon a historiography of “great men,” who were to elicit the attention and admiration of a generation of scholars and writers. Shelley chose, however, to poke holes in the “great man” theory of history, questioning its validity and its rationality.

The poem also works on another level, however—as a candid, poignant confession by the artist that his work is also ephemeral, and that as style, manner, and fashion change, so do reputation and honor. Such a confessional spirit was particularly appropriate for Shelley and other Romantics, that clan of “rebel spirits”—among them William Blake; George Gordon; Lord Byron; John Keats; Samuel Taylor Coleridge; and William Wordsworth.

This new generation of poets flouted tradition, inventing their own vocabularies, subject matters, and poetic form, and generally laboring to raise the poet’s consciousness of his own imagination to an unprecedented level. “Ozymandias” exemplifies both in theme and in execution these “rebellious” notions.

Often, the poet himself was the topic and focus of his poetry, rather than the grander themes of man and God or the courtship of ladies and gentlemen. Audiences for the first time were confronted with the artist’s “personality,” and not only his work. Autobiography, not history, was to become the focal point of literary endeavor—and literary criticism.

The Romantics revitalized the craft of poetry in the nineteenth century, rescuing it from the narrow constraints of “classicism” built upon elevated language, artificial form, and exaggerated dependence on tradition. The price paid for this departure was the risk of alienating themselves from public taste and private virtue. The Romantics, Shelley chief among them, constructed their own “traditions” in various manifestos about the components, meaning, and social utility of poetry, even offering advice about how their poetry should be interpreted.

More than that, Shelley, in works such as Prometheus Unbound (1820) and A Defence of Poetry (1840), attempted to create a public persona for the poet as an arbiter of morality, genius, and political order. Thus, the Romantic, as exemplified in Shelley himself, was peculiarly subject to the rather pretentious self-promotion of his vocation—not unlike the wizened Ozymandias of his sonnet.

The ancient king’s narcissism, his relentless declarations of immortality and supremacy, might serve as warning also to the artist whose folly may lead him to similar vanity. Read this way, “Ozymandias” is a sober exhortation to poets and politicians alike to foster realistic assessments of their influence and worth; the disposition to make truth serve the selfish ends of vainglorious men is a theme of history Shelley discerned well in his own time and attempted to expose in his poetry. In that regard, “Ozymandias” remains a powerful antidote to artistic pretensions and political hypocrisy.

"Ozymandias - Themes and Meanings." Critical Guide to Poetry for Students, edited by Philip K. Jason, eNotes.com, Inc., 2002, 24 Sep. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/ozymandias/themes#themes-themes-and-meanings>

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Thesis And Outline Of Ozymandias By Percy Shelley

Show More Thesis and Outline of Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Diana Greene Liberty University Thesis Thesis statement: Percy Shelley’s sonnet is somewhat of a twist of the traditional form. Shelley use the pronoun “I”, the first person poetic persona, at the beginning of the sonnet and then he cleverly moves the focus to the third person, “a traveler”, of whose words are incorporated through the last lines of the poem. The mention of a traveler in the poem promises an exciting story to be told. A story of a tyranny and about how time will make a mockery of a boastful and powerful king, “My name is Ozymandias , king of kings”. I. The theme of Ozymandias is transience, with some extreme images at the beginning and throughout the poem …show more content… There are two setting in this poem. The place where the narrator met the traveler is the first setting, in the first line of the poem, “I met a traveler from an antique land”. And the second setting is when the traveler’s story is the focus of the poem and he is telling a tale of the crumbling statue of the Egyptian King, which beginning with the second line of the poem, “who said”. III. Because this poem seems to be inspired by the statue of Ramses II, there are many references or symbols of the statue described in the poem. Shelley demonstrates the “colossal” size the statue is, is a symbol representing Ramses and the lofty self-promotional royalty and ambition. Shelly also conveys the “legs of stone with no torso”, a “shatter and partially buried head or visage”. IV. In the second half of this poem, Shelley shifts the tone of it. There is mocking and an it is ironic tone with the expression of words such as, “nothing”, “wreck”, “decay”, “bare”, and “boundless”. These word create images of the ruins that the statue was once monumental and they insinuate the ruins of Ozymandias’ memory. V. The poem Ozymandias is a Greek name for Ramses II, the title of poem is significant. Why Shelley did not just all it Ramses II of Egypt is really unknown, however, because he studied Greek is what may have inspired …show more content… Shelley begins with “I met a traveler from an antique land” (Shelley, 1818/2016 p. 565), he uses “I” to begin the sonnet and then he cleverly switches his focus to the third person, the traveler. The audience has been captured, anyone reading this line will automatically be interested to hear a tale of a traveler, returning from his journey with antique stories of his travels, making the poem promising to be exciting. There is also no indication of where this antique land is, it could be in a dream or a daydream of the speaker, or even in some desert that has never been heard of, because right after the initial meeting with the speaker and the traveler we are taken away to the land of Egypt. The speaker is learning from the traveler of a monument, a ruined statue, which was laying eroded, in pieces, broken, and forgotten in the desert. Shelley now uses evocative language to create a powerful image in the minds of the readers. In the second line of the poem a vivid picture is painted for the reader with such words as, “vast” and “trunkless” describing the legs of stone stuck in the sand, illustrating the tyranny and mockery of a boastful and powerful king. Ozymandias resembles a tragic play by Shakespeare, especially the lines of the destruction and the barrenness that would be seen as the curtain

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Ozymandias Analysis Thesis Statements n n Percy Shelley

“Ozymandias” Analysis

Thesis Statements n n Percy Shelley illustrates the influence of Romanticism on literature through the poem’s imagery and word choice. “Ozymandias” demonstrates the characteristics of a sublime Romantic poem.

Thesis Statements n n In the poem “Ozymandias, ” Percy Bysshe Shelley creates the image of a wrecked sculpture to show that nature destroys all. In the poem “Ozymandias, ” Percy Bysshe Shelley uses an allusion to the lost accomplishments of a king to convey the mortality of personal glory.

Thesis Statements n n In “Ozymandias” the author uses the philosophy of the sublime to illustrate how nature subdues the achievements of man. “Ozymandias” exemplifies the Romantic and the sublime through the images of a vast desert eating away at the statue of a legendary king.

Thesis Statements n n In “Ozymandias, ” Percy Bysshe Shelley uses the irony of a king’s broken statue to exhibit nature’s superiority over arrogant mankind. In the poem “Ozymandias, ” Percy Bysshe Shelley uses the desert’s destruction of manmade glory to show the Romantic idea that nature overpowers man.

Close Reading Examples n At the beginning of the poem, the statue of Ozymandias is described as having a “frown and sneer of cold command” (4 -5). The word “cold” has the connotation of being heartless and emotionless. Due to the fact that he was cold, the reader can conclude that he did not care about his people.

Close Reading Examples n n Shelley uses desolate, broken words such as “vast, ” “trunkless, ” “shattered” that give a sense of loss and destruction. The predictable rhyme scheme throughout the poem makes the downfall seem inevitable.

n n By using the words “lone” and “level, ” Shelley applies the equalizing forces of nature to the mortality of the accomplishments of mankind. The king’s blunt announcement of his name shows his pride for his position and himself. By calling himself “king of kings, ” he alludes to God and believes he is greater than all other men.

Close Reading Examples n The intimidating language on the pedestal and the statue made for him display that Ozymandias possessed almighty power over his kingdom. Over time, the statue became “two vast and trunkless legs of stone…half sunk, a shattered visage” (2 -4). As time passed, the sand has literally destroyed the symbol of what was once the greatest man.

Close Reading Examples n Further on, the civilization is described as “nothing beside remains” (12). Buildings have not only been metaphorically reclaimed by nature but have literally decayed into nonexistence. Creators of this kingdom expected it to outlast anything brought on by the centuries to come, only to ultimately reach defeat by the nature it had first reclaimed.

Close Reading Examples n Inscribed, we see that the king referred to himself as “king of kings” (10). In the Bible, Jesus Christ is described in the same way. The king puts himself at an even stature to a deity. Ultimate superiority is referenced here and furthers how highly we see the king finds himself. This pride blinds any leader from seeing how a civilization is running and cannot fix then the fatal effect of nature. Hubris therefore is yet another influence that brings down Ozymandias’ society in this poem.