Percy Bysshe Shelley's Ozymandias

The narrator or talker of the sonnet did not see the statue himself. He recalls meeting a traveler "from an antique land" (line 1) who describes the ruins of a monumental statue he saw in the desert of his native country, and the meaning conveyed by the statue. The meaning is found in the sculptor's original rendering, as surface as the ruined remains. The legs of the statue are "vast and trunkless," and near them on the sand lies the head, "whose frown/And wrinkled lip and sneer of insensate command" on the face indicates that the sculptor caught the pride as well as the contempt the king had for others whom he considered lesser beings. The reciprocations "cold command" in line 5 indicate that the king was a military leader, much than belike interest only in conquest, wealth and business leader. Yet the king was not a complete arrogant tyrant, and he in like manner cared for and fed his subjects: "The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed" (line 8). The face of Ozymandias visualised in the statue reveals a great deal about the reference book of the king.

Shelley uses the words "frown," and "sneer" to describe the king's visage, insinuating that this was a man of power who looked down on his subjects as well as on other rulers. Shelley also employs adjectives and nouns to build an image of something strong, enormous, vast and apparently indestructible, and then nouns such as "decay" and "wreck" to await out his theme that eventually power turns to dust.

The traveler relates that on the pedestal words reckon that reveal the purpose of the king having his statue erected. "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:/ olfactory property on my whole works, ye mighty, and despair" (lines 10-11). Thus Ozymandias was bragging to present and upcoming leaders that nothing they could do would match his works, and indeed that his works were indestructible.

The passage of time, however, has made Ozymandias' words empty, and his boast nothing more than an ironic footnote to the history of his ancient civilization. All that is left-hand(a) of Ozymandias' proud boasts are fragments of his monument, symbolizing the ruin that comes to the once powerful. " cypher beside remains; round the decay/Of that colossal wreck, boundless and undress" (lines 12-13). Another irony is found in Ozymandias' use of the word "despair." He meant for other rulers to look upon his works and despair because they could never match his. However, these rulers he addresses will despair because they will apportion his fate.

Although this sonnet is a famous one, found in many an(prenominal) anthologies by dint ofout the years, it is not one of Shelley's typical, or greatest, poems. Shelley, however, does an excellent byplay expressing his theme within the constraints of the sonnet form. The feelings of despair and sadness elicited in the sonnet may indicate that Shelley was going through some sad experience of his own that made him interested in this subject matter, a subject that was different from close to of his Romantic poetry.

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