Ozymandias Essay

Shelley’s poem and depiction of Ozymandias could be a symbolic way of promoting his views against the monarchy, as he depicts Ozymandias as a tyrant with harsh descriptions such as “a sneer of cold command” and mocks him with the juxtaposition of “king of kings” and “colossal wreck”. However, instead of obviously putting forward his views and risking negative exposure, Shelley distances himself from the poem with intriguing use of multiple perspectives. The poem begins with “I met”, a first person introduction, but quickly switches to the traveller’s perspective as Shelley depicts what the traveller saw. In this way, he subtly puts across his socialist views without incriminating himself through symbolism and distancing himself from the narrative. In this way, the poem presents two powerful rulers, with Ozymandias symbolising King George.

In conveying the issue of time and nature, the poet introduces a traveler from an ‘antique land’, who sees the remains of a vast statue, which gives this poem’s meaning. The antique land refers to a place in pass civilization that no longer exist. The poet uses certain language to express the idea in a more understanding, visual way. The statue reflects Ozymandias’ power and the attitude he holds against others. The facial expressions sculpted in the statue are a mockery of those who he viewed as less prominent in the society. “And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command” (Shelley 4). The poet used Ozymandias’ sneer to convey his attitude towards others as uncaring and rude, as he thinks that he holds a great power among everyone else. Shelley used the phrase “cold command” to also emphasize Ozymandias’ sneer, to imply that he was selfish, not caring about the situation of

But according to this poem, after hundreds and thousands of years, the only thing left is sand and the rotting and decaying sculpture. Shelley wrote, " Nothing beside remains"(line, 12) after the words " Look at my works,"(line, 11). This is really sarcastic because the prior sentence was just talking about how great and fabulous this sculpture was and how the king thought about possessing his kingdom forever this way. Then, the next sentence comes with-

The passions for power and command are chiselled into a face, but line 8 describes things that are not seen in the eye of the beholder. Shelley describes the hand of Ozymandias, which mocked, and his heart, which fed. This one line sums up the metaphysical aspects of Ozymandias' character, both described and implied. Here Shelley is telling about the reality that one day the king must leave this world. "Mocked" is particularly well worth noting, since it is one of two words which directly relate how Ozymandias, treated his subjects. A king, high and mighty, transmuted into high and mighty stone, exuding airs

In Ozymandias, the narrator speaks of an “antique land” that he’s travelled to and comes across a statue which is the King Ozymandias (who is the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II.) The structure of the poem is written in an petrarchan

The immense mountains and precipices that overhung me on every side, the sound of the river raging among the rocks, and the dashing of the waterfalls around spoke of a power mighty as Omnipotence- and I ceased to fear or to bend before any being less almighty than that which had created and ruled the elements, here displayed in their most terrific guise.” Shelley's style is typical of the Romantic Period, much like the style of her husband and the other major Romantic poets. She uses elevated language and puts a lot of emphasis on the spiritual aspect of nature.

Shelley’s presentation of specific and powerful diction helps illuminate his strong thoughts about the mutability of humans. Shelley’s use of the two words “poison” and “pollutes” in the third stanza of the poem alludes to his thoughts about the human mind mentioned in his biography, “We rest.---A dream has power to poison sleep; / We rise.---One wandering thought pollutes the day; / We feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep; / Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away:” (Shelley, 1734). Shelley was frequently bullied as a child and was expelled from school for being an alleged atheist; thus, he had notions before writing the poem about man’s corruption and “man’s general

Shelley presents the theme of power in Ozymandias by showing that he was an arrogant tyrant. This can be seen in “Sneer of cold command” and in “the hand that mocked, and the heart that fed;” The use of the verb “Sneer” could suggest that Ozymandias didn't care about others and that he looked down on his people. The use of the adjective “cold” next to “command” could suggest that his orders might of been inhumane or heartless and that they were also unadorned by his people. The adjective “cold” connotes people as cold hearted or that they don't care about others and that they could also be selfish.

A poem about a statue that has far outlived its boastful inscribers, albeit shattered in pieces. This discrepancy is seen between the lines 10-12, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings/ Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!/ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay…” Clearly, these people thought they were mighty and great, but instead, they are gone and all that remains are the shattered statues. When we die, we cannot take anything with us. It doesn’t matter how rich and important someone is in life; They are nothing but a memory when they are

       The poem gives a wonderful amount of images so a mental picture can be drawn. Just in these six lines Shelley introduces another character, tells all about this sculptor, gives information that is important to the mood of the poem, and lets the image of an upset artist appear in the picture. 

Shelley’s version of “Ozymandias” pays particular attention to the details of what remains of Ramses’s statue. Shelley conveys to the reader that no matter how powerful a ruler may be, their influence will fade with time. The description of what Babylon looks like when the poem was written gives the reader a clear

The poems, “Ozymandias” by P. B. Shelley, and “Richard Cory” by A. E. Robinson, both present death as something which inevitable and inescapable, regardless of power and riches. “Ozymandias” talks about the great Pharaoh Ramesses II, who was viewed as a very cruel dictator, known for his tyrannical nature. Robinson on the other hand presents a very different picture: a man who seems to have no regard for his riches and fame, and instead sees death as the best method to escape from his misery. Both poets draw on prominent authority figures they have been influenced by, however there is contrast in their method of delivery. While “Ozymandias”, is centered on irony and the mockery of Ramesses II, this is present through the extensive use of

The king Ozymandias has a great amount of pride for what he has accomplished during his time as ruler. He had a sculptor erect a massive statue of him, which shows how highly he thought of himself. The pedestal of the statue stated "My name is Ozymandias king of kings: / Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (Shelley, 136, 10-11).

By calling himself “king of kings”, he alludes to God and believes he is greater than all other men. He ruled his kingdom solely on the fear of those beneath him. The intimidating language on the pedestal and the statue made for him display that Ozymandias possessed almighty power. To end the poem, Shelley writes, “Round the decay of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The line and level sands stretch far away.” As time passed, the sand literally destroyed the symbol of what was once the greatest man alive.

I believe that the message that Percy B. Shelley is trying to express in the poem "Ozymandias" is actually a reference. The poem is referring to Egypt. In Ancient Egypt, pharaohs would make their people build statues for them. Now those statues just lie there like “vast and trunkless legs of stone.” These statues were built so that future generations would remember that pharaoh or God it was built for. What Percy is trying to say is that no one can live forever and sooner or later you will “fall down” and be forgotten. Another way to interpret his poem is that he also writes of "Ozymandias" as the king of kings. In the bible, Jesus is called the