Ozymandias

Percy Bysshe Shelley

 Background on the poet
• Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792 – 1822
• Atheist – Was expelled from university due to his encouragement of
atheism in his writing.
• Second generation Romantic poet
Dislike of urban life and embrace the natural world
A love for the supernatural
Use of ordinary everyday language
• Died at the age of 29, drowned while sailing to Italy.
• Married twice. His second wife was Mary Shelley(famous for writing
Frankenstein)
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

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
Analysis
 Title

Ozymandias
Comes from the Comes from the Greek
Greek word ‘Ozium’ word ‘mandate’ meaning
meaning air. to rule.
The title alone informs us that this is a poem about a ruler, someone with power.
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

1 I met a traveller from an antique land,

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

Octave
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
11
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Sestet
12 Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
13 Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
• Form: Sonnet, a fourteen-line poem metered in loose iambic pentameter.

• Rhyme scheme: unusual for a sonnet of this era; This use of rhyme adds
emphasis and creates a powerful image of the shattered statue. Similarly, the
rhyme in lines 12 and 14 (decay / away) end the poem with a sense of
emptiness and destruction.

• Metaphor: The entire poem is a metaphor for the foolishness of a man who
thinks that anyone can harness time. Ozymandias boasted of his
accomplishments, which are now nothing but shattered in the sand.
• Tone: Ironic – He mocks the “King of Kings” and how what was once great is now in
shambles.
• Narrator: The poet Percy Shelley assumes the role of an auditor in the tale of a traveler.

• Themes:
Power and pride - All power is temporary, no matter how prideful or tyrannical a ruler
is.
Power of art – The art (statue) was made by a great sculptor and how the statue even
outlived Ozymandias.
Man and Nature – Nature has outlived him; his statue is made from natural resources
and that too has lasted longer than his life and his empire.

• Central image: Shattered statue of Ozymandias, the Egyptian King.

• Repetition: Images of decay, decline, degeneration are repeated to emphasise that

Ozymandias is gone but nature prevails. His arrogance and power are no more.
 Shelley begins the Old or ancient. The choice of diction indicates the amount of time that has passed, (a
poem by detaching very long time ago) which suggests that Ozymanias’ land is no longer relevant
himself by framing the indicating that he no longer has any power.
poem as a story being huge
told. 1 I met a traveller from an antique land, A pair of legs with no
body/torso. Suggests that he
was once powerful. Now weak
Stone stand –
2 Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
and broken.
indicates a statue
3 Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Line 4 – half sunk
indicates the passing of 4 Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, Sibilance(hissing quality of
time and how the sand sound) – use of the s consonant
moving for so many to imitate the sound of the sand
5 And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, as it is a desert.
years makes it hard to
fully see.
Shattered – broken into Negative choice of
pieces. diction depicts that
Visage - face Alliteration – purpose is to emphasise the Ozymandias was not a
harshness of the ‘c’ sound which reflects the polite ruler. He carried
harsh nature of Ozymandias and how angry he himself in a way that he
was. His command was harsh and cruel. didn’t respect them but
rather look down on
them. He saw himself as
powerful.
 Even the artist when making the statue,
mirrored the cruelty of Ozymandias within
his facial expessions (frown, wrinkled lip,
sneer)
Ambiguous (more
Focus moves to the artist in line 6 than one meaning)
6 Tell that its sculptor well those passions read 1. Left a mark
The history of 2. Stamping down
Ozymandias’ on things (no
7 Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
personality traits emotion as he
survived. looked down
8 The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; on them)
Ambiguous
1. To mockup (create or 9 And on the pedestal, these words appear:
make)
Dead
2. To make fun of (the Horrible and Ozymandias was
way the artist did Volta Connotation of terrible ruler not God like even
regarding his face) (turning point of power and authority though he thought
3. How he mocked them the poem) he was because he
in thinking he
died.
“Ozymandias” was
better than them.
 Furthering his arrogance
Biblical reference. This implies that as he feels superior,
Title of the Ozymandias thought he was a God. telling the Mighty(GOD)
poem. He has also defeated many kings in to lose hope, he,
battles and war. “Ozymandias” is the
best.
10 “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Ambiguous – could refer to
the decline in power or the
11 Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” deterioration of the statue
and his “work”
This imperative
(giving an 12 Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Line 12-13
authoritative Enjambment –
command) depicts Juxtaposition – contrasting to what he said above. His statue is all emphasizes that
his arrogance. that remains and is isolated, destroyed and falling apart nothing else
13 Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare remains.

huge/massive Despite his arrogance, his empire crumbled, it is now a wreck.

Sibilance again and

14 The lone and level sands stretch far away.” emphasizes that there is
The desert outlives the statue. A once powerful King is now outlived by nature. Time and nature destroyed everything he nothing there, but that
built; he is only remembered by the wrecked statue with the negative impression assculpted in his face . the sand keeps moving.
Summary of the poem
Ozymandias is about the ruins of a statue of Ozymandias (another name
for the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II). The speaker of the poem says he met
a traveler from an ancient land and then informs us of this tale he was told.
The man saw the deteriorated remains of a statue, huge legs with no torso
and next to them lay a shattered head.
At the foot of the statue were words that revealed the importance and
arrogance of Ozymandias. The words seem hollow now as he was once
glorious but as time has passed his empire and statue was in ruins,
wrecked and shattered. It disappeared over time.

The poem can be interpreted as the condemnation of leaders,

monarchs or governments that believe themselves to be invincible.
One day they will be weak and disappear just as the statue of
Ozymandias did.
How does the Style of the poem convey its
message?
How does the structure of the poem convey
its message?