Ozymandias Analysis

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 sculptorwell 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.'

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Why I like the poem apart from its imagery are its rhythms in the language inside the verses. Some examples:
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.'

| Posted on 2009-11-20 | by a guest

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Here is a quote from the author: "Titles are tinsel, power a corruptor, glory a bubble and excessive wealth a libel on its possessor."
Through the obvious irony of "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair" Shelley presents this statement against tyranny and power and man's inhumanity to man. He also questions the immortality of everything, what has survived the test of time, the cruel tyrannic power of Ramses III (Ozymandias) or the art of the sculptor?

| Posted on 2009-10-23 | by a guest

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'Ozy' comes from the greek 'ozium' meaning 'breath' or 'air'. 'mandias' is from the greek 'mandate' which means 'to rule'. therefore ozymandias is a 'ruler of air' or a 'ruler of nothing', indicating that whilst he has overcome some of his enemies, he cannot hope to defeatthe greatest enemy :time.

| Posted on 2009-10-18 | by a guest

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I have always interprested this section:
""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.'"
with works not only referring to Ozymandias' great statue but also to the city/town/temple that it stood near to. With this interpretation not old has the single statue decayed to ruin, but all of Ozymandias's work, the towns, temples and statues have turned to sand with the weathering of time. This has always given me a stronger theme of the fleeting attempts of man to overcome nature and time; as not only do our commemorative works (statues, etc.) fade and fail, but all things we do are lost to the sands of time (in this case portrayed as the sands of the dessert swallowing buildings and leaving only level sand with no hint of mans presence.
-TafT

| Posted on 2009-09-23 | by a guest

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The poem also expresses the importance of language. The words on the statue have outlasted man and his surrounding kingdom, proving that it has lasting value.

| Posted on 2009-09-22 | by a guest

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this sonnet is a clear example of romantic poetry
-its exotic setting
-the extensive imagination
-the reality of the powerful kings

| Posted on 2009-09-08 | by a guest

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I agree about the futility of mans endeavors in the face of eternity, even the king of kings is reduced to naught and his cruelty has come to naught, but the statue itself which is the work of the artist has outlasted to rule of the king - art retains its relevance has lasting value throughout time/eternity

| Posted on 2009-08-25 | by a guest

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ozymandiaz is..err..as hot as the dessert!yeah right..haha

| Posted on 2009-05-21 | by a guest

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ozymandiaz is..err..as hot as the dessert!yeah right..haha

| Posted on 2009-05-21 | by a guest

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W.B. Yeats is the best poet in the entire world for ever IDAT

| Posted on 2009-05-14 | by a guest

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in this poem the writer tells us about a traveeler who met him

| Posted on 2009-04-20 | by a guest

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I think we all over analyze literature to give it significance and relevance in the real world.
In reality, there's no point to it.

| Posted on 2009-04-16 | by a guest

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Ozamandius
I studied this poem in high school 50 years ago. It was one of my favorites. I think the poem may be in part about the foresight and wisdom of the sculptor- who understood the ephemeral nature of the activities of mice and men. At the risk of being stoned, I've penned a rewrite.
I met a traveller from an ancient land who knew of two vast trunkless legs that stood in the desert near a half sunken shattered visage with wrinkled lip,frown, and the sneer of a cold command.
He said the sculptor's work was mocking the arrogance of the man behind the statue, for on the pedestal were the following words. "My name is Ozamandias,king of kings. Look upon my work in comparison ye mighty, and dispair!"
This in spite of the fact that nothing remained beside or around the lonely decay of the colossal wreck but the bare and boundless lonleliness of the level sands that stretched to the horizon.
Note:
If the intent of the sculptor was to reflect a contemplative nature (look what will happen to you, ye mighty), he would likely have given the visage a more forlorn appearance.
George Carr - 4/2009

| Posted on 2009-04-09 | by a guest

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I think that the "level sands" shows that unity was made in the end, when Ozymandias loses his authority, he is the same as the subjects he once ruled. The only thing that seems continuous is that humankind will become successful, and lose this success. This and the fact that no matter what happens between these changes in authority, the sand always remains the same.

| Posted on 2009-04-02 | by a guest

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I agree i also think there is the message bout the unchanging cruelty of mankind and how in every generation we bring our demise upon ourself. He fits into the whole 'romantic' thing with Frost and Wordsworth as he implies that the world would pretty much be awesome if we could live in complete unity with nature, mankind get big headed, controlling and use our intelligence and power for destructive purposes.

| Posted on 2009-03-28 | by a guest

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above is a report on this poem hopefully it will help those understand the meaning.

| Posted on 2009-01-23 | by a guest

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My poem is about an ancient pharaoh from Egypt. The poem was written during a writing contest in 1817. I think that the poem tells a story of a foolinsh pharaoh who told his empire he was the king of kings. But soon his kingdom crumbled below him as he realized all human being will eventually fade away. The analysis of the poem is that this poem tells the story of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh named Ozymandias. In the 14 lines of the poem it tells the story of his life. In the poem it is explaining his rise and fall of power. In the poem the author teaches a lesson that whoever we are whether we are a king or a slave or even a pharaoh we will not last forever.

| Posted on 2009-01-23 | by a guest

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Analysis>>> In this poem the poet (P.B Shelley) tells that she met a traveller who came from ancient Egypt. Who said that there (in egypt) he saw two trunlkless legs standing on the sand, with the head that is fallen down beside the trunkless legs.The sculptor(the man who makes sculptors) made the Ozymandias with so perfection that the face could reflect his cold snear(hostility), his frown, arrogantness, mocking on people etc. On the pedestal it was written the "my nameis Ozymandias, King of Kings, look at my work ye might , and despair", this shows that Ozymandias was boastfull and had a fashion/habit of showing off. Now only the decay of that huge wreck remains. the moral behind this poem is that

| Posted on 2009-01-13 | by a guest

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Uppermost in the author's mind is the folly of greatness. Nothing lasts, all is impermanent. However vibrant, meaningful or powerful we imagine ourselves to be, we will be washed away in our own insignificance. The foolishness of the ego, believing itself to be irreplaceable. All will turn to dust.

| Posted on 2009-01-03 | by a guest

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I don't really have an analysis of the poem. There is one point worth noting though: Most of the comments here focus on the idea that power and arrogance are ephemeral, and, while this is certainly true, most of the readers miss another one, just as important: Ozymandias, king of kings really came as close to immortality as it is possible for a human. So the words on the pedestal:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
are both ironic and challenging: have a look on what is LEFT of his works 4.000 thousands years after his time, and there really is not much else you can do but dispair: A few men in the whole human history came near his greatnes. Yes, he is insignificant and small before time, but everyone else is STILL small before him.
---
Uros Calakovic "Urke"
Eto vam ga...

| Posted on 2008-12-20 | by a guest

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In the poem Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley brings out his talent in poetry writing in the way he uses vocabulary to impress the reader. It’s not the story of the poem that makes the poem memorable, but the way the poet brings it out.
The poem is about the remains of a statue of a once powerful pharaoh in Egypt named Ramsses II or Ozymandias. This king was very powerful and was very arrogant. He was too proud of himself and thought that nothing was more superior than he was. The poet describes one of the many statues of Ozymandias. This statue once stood in the middle of the Sahara Desert but now what remains is only a pair of huge legs standing on the sand with a ruined face half sunk in the sand near them. The poet describes the face of the statue as with a domineering expression like the expression Ozymandias had on his face when he was still alive. The message on the statue said:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Which means you can never be powerful as I am. At last we come to know that even if this pharaoh was once very powerful he still dies like us normal humans do and nothing of him is left except a ruined statue in the middle of nowhere!

The poem consists of an octave and a sestet. In the octave the sense of power is felt while in the sestet we become aware that the works of mankind don’t last and that we all have to die – whether we’re a king of kings or a normal citizen. The poet uses words like “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone" to show us that before the statue got ruined it was quite a big statue. When describing the statue as “half sunk” and “shattered” in the sand we get a clear picture of two huge legs in the middle of a desert with its face near them in the sand. Shelley brings out the emotions on the statue’s face by describing the “frown” and “wrinkled lip” that can be seen although the statue is broken, the “sneer of cold command” makes you imagine someone which thinks that no one can be above him as in fact was Ramsses II. When the poet tells us that the emotions of the statue are still there, this implies that although nothing of the material things remain, you will still be remembered for the man you were – After Ozymandias died he was still remembered as a cold and arrogant person who thought was the best. In the poet’s opinion the sculptor who made this statue couldn’t describe Ramsses II any better – “well those passions read”. He finishes off his poem by saying that:
"Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
Which means that only a ruined statue in the middle of nowhere is left of a once very powerful king!
All these are examples of how Percy Shelley manages to make us imagine all that he wants us to. In my opinion, the great talent of this poet cannot be explained!

| Posted on 2008-12-04 | by a guest

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This poem is about a traveler seeing the statue and realizing that time lasts forever but statues fade away with their rulers...

| Posted on 2008-11-18 | by a guest

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this sonnet wants to show that the works of so called powerful have been destroyed by the ever powerful itself.

| Posted on 2008-11-10 | by a guest

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this sonnet wants to show that the works of so called powerful have been destroyed by the ever powerful itself.

| Posted on 2008-11-10 | by a guest

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Here, the narrator provides the testimony of a single speaker. the irony in the poem was hard to understand the first time. it actually instigates one to think about the deeper meaning.according to me,the line 'My name is....and despair' might be replaced with 'My name is NATURE,.and despair'
Nature wants to show that the works of the so-called powerful have been destroyed by the ever powerful nature itself. only it kept the pedestal intact to show what a foolish belief it was.

| Posted on 2008-10-17 | by a guest

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I am inclined to the view that Shelley was emphasising the ultimate fate of cruel or powerful dynasties that in the end collapse and their memory fades away

| Posted on 2008-09-17 | by a guest

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This poem is very good but i can still not get the meaning of it. i wish i could write poems like this.

| Posted on 2008-08-14 | by a guest

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The sonnet 'Ozymandias' by Percy Shelley sends an important message to it's readers; that while art is timeless, power is transient and fleeting, and never lasts. Shelley uses techniques such as symbolism, contrast and rhyme to convey the volatile power of a country's ruler, and the temporality of power itself, throughout all time. The poem has an historic value because it confronts an issue that is relevant in every age, and it also has value from a cultural heritage perspective, because it emphasises the permanence of power struggles, art, and nature itself, in a world where nothing seems eternal. It also describes how the power of nature and time far surpasses the power of human beings.

| Posted on 2008-06-16 | by a guest

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The theme of the story is in fact not too hard to decifer .. many of you guys are missing the point, but the poem is basically, and i'm talking about the main core idea, that this is about the power of time.
Even though Ozymandias 'was' such a powerful figure, as time progressed, it eventually destroyed the statue, which symbolizes his 'status', and his 'visage' is on the ground.. which again symbolizes that his power has been reduced by time.
Consequently, the poem shows that time is the ultimate ruler, and even the 'king of kings' has been defeated.

| Posted on 2008-05-27 | by a guest

.: Social Growth :.

So much power. So much knowledge. So little wisdom.
Shelley beautifully illustrates with words the ceasing influence of men on the world's destiny who chose cruelty and domination for their method. It is a truth we all know intuitively.
There are two contradicting themes among men. One that man improves spiritually and socially over time, and another that man never changes.
One thing is agreed by both and sonnetized by Shelley. Cruelty and harshness; arrogance and indifference to fellow man is wrong. "wrinkled lip... sneer... cold command... (I am) King of Kings... despair (before my power)" all give witness to a person of great power established by unyielding merciless destruction of opposition to build what is considered great and perpetual. Ozymandias was not a people person.
Now his might, whatever it was, is just ruins in a vast desert sand.
"I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." Psalms 37:35-36
Why is this a transcendental truth?

| Posted on 2008-05-20 | by a guest

.: irony :.

perhaps shelley used the biblical name deliberately to create even further irony and to put another level to his point.as in even religion cannot withstand the ravages of time....

| Posted on 2008-05-05 | by a guest

.: Literay Devices :.

Can i get help to analyz and interpret meaning of each line and find the literary devices that are implemented in the poem?

| Posted on 2008-04-03 | by a guest

.: Literay Devices :.

Can i get help to analyz and interpret meaning of each line and find the literary devices that are implemented in the poem?

| Posted on 2008-04-03 | by a guest

.: percy shelley was athiest :.

Percy Shelley was kicked out of Oxford for writing the necessity of atheism, and your dumb for thinking its about God's second coming

| Posted on 2008-04-02 | by a guest

.: Theme :.

Shelley (the author) was an Atheist. Read his: "why I am not a Deist" or his pamphlet which led to his expulsion from Cambridge.
Ozymandias represents Pride, pride of nationality, of religion, and of wealth. Ozymandias is a moral case supporting the rejection of authority (such as the likes of Ozymandias). There is no religious connotations to the poem except in the sense that it denies it (due to religion being an authority figure like Ozymandias). The reason so many like to think that the poem is a religious thing is because Ozymandias is Greek for Ramesses. And Ramesses is the nasty pharaoh from the book of Genesis (Moses and the exodus).

| Posted on 2008-04-02 | by a guest

.: Theme :.

Shelley (the author) was an Atheist. Read his: "why I am not a Deist" or his pamphlet which led to his expulsion from Cambridge.
Ozymandias represents Pride, pride of nationality, of religion, and of wealth. Ozymandias is a moral case supporting the rejection of authority (such as the likes of Ozymandias). There is no religious connotations to the poem except in the sense that it denies it (due to religion being an authority figure like Ozymandias). The reason so many like to think that the poem is a religious thing is because Ozymandias is Greek for Ramesses. And Ramesses is the nasty pharaoh from the book of Genesis (Moses and the exodus).

| Posted on 2008-04-02 | by a guest

.: religion? :.

i think it talks about how god's second coming and people's choice to accept what god has to say or go to hell. that's basically what the bible tells us to believe and the "king of kings" is god is he not?

| Posted on 2008-03-14 | by a guest

.: religion? :.

i think it talks about how god's second coming and people's choice to accept what god has to say or go to hell. that's basically what the bible tells us to believe and the "king of kings" is god is he not?

| Posted on 2008-03-14 | by a guest

.: help please! :.

okay i think i get wat the overal theme/message and other parts of the poem are about but i desparately need help... what is the mood and tone of the poem? pleasse anwer!

| Posted on 2008-03-01 | by a guest

.: Ozymandias :.

Sonnet which paraphrases the inscription on the base of a statue given by Diadorus Siculus. Inscription reads: “King of Kings am I, Ozymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works”

Themes:
The insignificance of human beings to the passage of time.
The ephemeral nature of political power.
The indiscriminate and often destructive power of
History
The pride and hubris of all humanity
Art and Language are what endures

The rhyming scheme is unusual. There is a deliberate linking of the octave and the sestet by replacing of old rhymes with new rhymes.
Totally different in subject matter from other poems - no mention of Love, Beauty, poetic inspiration, imagination etc.
The King’s boast has been disproved - this is the IRONY. Ozymandias wanted the world to ‘despair’ at his might, instead the despair is as a result of his fate which the ‘mighty’ will also share.
Protest against political power. Beware, says Shelley, because all that will remain is destruction. Literature and Art are what stand the test of time.
Pride in all its forms, will come before a fall.

| Posted on 2007-11-02 | by a guest