Ozymandias Poem Explanation and analysis include line-by-line stanza explanations with meanings, themes, summary and critical analysis. Poetic devices are also given Explanation is given in Hindi and English. It is a great poem by Percy B. Shelly.
About the Poet
The poem is a sonnet written by Percy Bysshe Shelly, an English poet. It was first published in 1818 in The Examiner of London under Shelley’s pen name, “Gilrastes.”. Percy Bysshe Shelly was educated at Eton and then sent to Oxford. Shelly came under the influence of revolutionary ideas of the English philosopher Willaim Godwin, whose daughter, Mary Godwin he ultimately married. In 1818, Shelly left for Italy; he drowned in the Bay of Spezia in 1822.
Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose literary career was marked with controversy due to his views on religion, atheism, socialism, and free love, is known as a talented lyrical poet and one of the major figures of English romanticism.
Poem: Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land
Percy Bysshe Shelly
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.”
Meanings of Ozymandias
| WORDS | MEANINGS |
|---|---|
| Sneer | a proud look, a facial expression of scorn and hostility in which the upper lip may be raised |
| Read | interpreted |
| stamped | sculpted, chiselled |
| Antique | ancient, old |
| Desert | Sahara Desert with a long barren stretch of sand |
| Visage | face |
| Well……read | the sculptor skilfully interpreted the king’s feelings |
| Survive | endure, continue to live |
| Vast | big |
| Sculptor | a person who makes statues |
| Mock | to ridicule, laugh at |
| Pedestal | the base of a statue |
| Despair | a feeling of hopelessness |
| Colossal | big, huge |
There is an interesting story behind the composition of the poem. It was written as part of a contest and so there are two poems on the same common theme. One of Shelly and the other of his friend Horace Smith.
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 a chose 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.
Summary of Ozymandias
The poem describes a ruined statue of a once-great king, Ozymandias, which has been toppled and left to decay in the desert. The central theme of the poem is the transience of power and the inevitability of the passage of time.
The narrator meets a traveller who tells him about a statue he has seen in the desert, which is now in ruins. The traveller describes the statue’s shattered face and its pedestal, on which is inscribed the words “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” However, there is nothing left of the once-great kingdom that the statue represents.
The poem ends with the traveller’s ironic statement that, despite Ozymandias’s claims of greatness and power, all that remains of his empire is the shattered statue in the desert. The message of the poem is that, despite human efforts to leave a lasting legacy, everything eventually fades away and is forgotten reflecting on the transience of power and the inevitable decline of even the mightiest rulers and empires. The poem is a powerful critique of the vanity and arrogance of rulers who believe their power will endure forever.
Theme & Message of the Poem ‘Ozymandias’
The poem also utilizes the themes of vainglory, the power of art, the decline of power, etc. Time is all-powerful and witness to reveal that the kingdoms do not last; glory dims and fades ultimately but the art survives the ravages of time. Force, power and authority die but creativity in the form of art lives the time.
The central theme is introduced in the very beginning where Shelley’s speaker describes the “colossal Wreck” of Ozymandias half sunk in the lone desert. The poem stresses on the transience of regal glory and power. The themes of the futility of life, the fate of history, ravages of time are also associated with it.
Ozymandias tried to become greater than God. He declared himself the “King of Kings” but the irony is that now his remains are broken and half sun in the sand. The might and majesty of a king do not last long and the thing that lasts is the art which keeps the memories alive of its subject. The statue, symbolising the power and glory of the pharaoh, is crumbling. Yet the arrogant sneer on the “shattered visages” remains intact as proof of the ability of the sculpture to understand and express the passions of his ruler.
In short, we can say that the most important theme is the impermanence of a ruler’s glory and his legacy
Stanza Wise Explanation
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,
The narrator meets a traveller from the ancient land which refers to Egypt here. The traveller is talking to the narrator and telling him that there is a huge stone statue which is now crumbling down. He further elaborates those two huge and massive legs, which were the remaining parts of the once grand statue, are still standing there. The upper part or trunk of the statue is missing as it seems to have crumbled and lost over a period of time. The place is a sandy desert and half covered and the face of the statue lies half sunken in the sand.
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 traveller then goes on to describe the expression that still reflected on the face of the statue. Despite the fact that the kingdom had fallen with time and the King’s glory had faded away, the stone face had expressions of arrogance. It had frowned, wrinkled-up lips, the scornful and hostile expression on its face which showed an air of pride and arrogance. All this showed his insensitivity and disapproval and belittling of others.
The sculptor of this statue seemed to know the king’s arrogant nature. The sculptor skilfully interpreted the king’s feelings and emotions on the statue. The king had no respect even for the sculptor whose hands created his statue.
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.”
It was the statue of a ruler of Egypt – the great king Ramesses. He was the great Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty of ancient Egypt. His name was Ozymandias. The remains of the statue stood mounted on a stone-based pedestal.
There was an inscription engraved on it which read as “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!” This shows the king was full of conceit, self-importance, vanity which thinks of all others as very low Infront of him. these words of his challenge the mighty ones and says if anyone tries to surpass his work or tries to match up to him, the person will only end up in despair and frustration.
The narrator then Shows that despite his boastful inscription everything is conquered by nature and nothing is immortal. The once vast and great kingdom had now disappeared. Nothing is left of the vast kingdom and all that can be seen is sand as far as one can see. The great kingdom and its great king had fallen. The civilisation of his time had turned into a deserted barren wasteland. The point has commented and shown sarcasm that of the statement by showing the insignificance of human beings in the passage of time. Nothing is important and everything has to decay in time.
Critical analysis of the poem Ozymandias
“Ozymandias” is a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley that was published in 1818. The poem explores the theme of the transience of power, as represented by the fallen statue of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Ozymandias. The poem is notable for its use of vivid imagery and irony, and it has been praised for its timeless and universal message.
The poem begins with the speaker describing a traveller who has come across a vast and desolate landscape. In this landscape, the traveller sees the ruins of a once-great empire, including a broken statue of a powerful ruler. The speaker describes the statue in vivid detail, highlighting its colossal size and the inscription on its base, which reads: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
The irony of the poem is revealed in the final lines, where the speaker notes that nothing remains of the great empire except for the broken statue in the sand. The message is that all human accomplishments are ultimately fleeting and that even the most powerful and egotistical leaders will one day be forgotten. The poem is also notable for its use of imagery, particularly in the description of the broken statue and the surrounding landscape.
One of the strengths of the poem is its use of irony. By beginning the poem with the boastful inscription on the statue’s base and then ending with the ironic twist that there is nothing left of the empire except for the broken statue, Shelley highlights the folly of human pride and the transience of all human accomplishments. The vivid description of the statue, particularly its colossal size and the expression on its face, adds to the power of the poem.
However, some readers may criticize the poem for its lack of historical accuracy. While there was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh named Ramses II, who was also known as Ozymandias, the statue described in the poem is fictional. Some readers may also find fault with the poem’s pessimistic view of human history, which suggests that all human achievements are ultimately futile and meaningless.
Overall, “Ozymandias” is a powerful poem that uses vivid imagery and irony to convey a timeless message about the transience of power. While some readers may criticize the poem for its lack of historical accuracy or its pessimistic view of human history, it remains a classic example of Romantic poetry and an enduring meditation on the human condition.
Poetic Devices used in ‘Ozymandias’
rhyme scheme:
octave – ababacdc
sestet – edefef
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 “an antique,” “stone/ Stand,” “sunk a shattered,” “cold command,” “lone and level”etc.
Metaphor: Thet title itself is a metaphor. It refers to a fragment of Ozymandias’s statue. Furthermore, a metaphor, “colossal Wreck” is used as a reference to Ozymandias.
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.
The poem is an extended metaphor also.
Irony: the opposite of what is expected to happen
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.
The emperor was arrogant for the power and command he had. He boasted of his wealth and glory calling him as ‘King of Kings’ but ironically, none of it is left now. Everything has perished with time. Nothing is immortal.
Synecdoche: (substitution of part to stand for the whole, or the whole to stand for a part)
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.