Moreover, like Ozymandias monarchs of poet’s era also thought the same that they are salt of the earth and everyone should be subservient to them. Also, Shelley highlighted the theme that we are part of nature and to nature we will return so why all this vain gloriousness. Both of them, king ” the heart that fed” and sculptor “the hand that mocked them” have died but art has outlived them. Moreover, he throws light on outliving of creativity and transience of haughtiness. Who said: “Two vast and trunk less legs of stone”īeing a revolutionary poet, Shelley has raised his voice against tyrannical system of his time. Shelley is not a direct speaker of sonnet as we can see the encounter of speaker with traveller. Through the character of Ozymandias, Shelley gives us a view of monarchy of his own time. Shelley describes that he was the king who ruled out of fear and had conquered many areas but he had a sense of arrogance. Ozymandias is a Greek word for King Ramses 2. It’s a sonnet without proper octave-and-sestet structure. Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is a sonnet, written in loose iambic pentameter, but with an atypical rhyme scheme (ABABA CDCEDEFEF). Everything related to king’s time has been vanished expect the sculptor that is very skillfully made. The expressions and wrinkles on the king’s statue are so accurate that they are showing his personality very well. This statue is a piece of art, made by a skilled sculptor who did a great job while erecting it. Ozymandias was an Egyptian King who is unknown to the people of today’s world but the ruins of his sculptor tell many things about his time. The poem also shows the importance of Art. The desert and time swallowed his vain pride and the same fate awaits the powerful of today. Ozymandias was mortal similarly his power and pride was mortal and got vanished with him. The powerful people who believe that their power is immortal are deceiving themselves. Everything has an end, nothing is permanent. The fact that statue has been destroyed emphasizes that human power is temporary. In the poem, statue is the symbol of pride, ambition and power. Moreover as the statue is now destroyed, the engraving on the pedestal is just a mockery at the pride and ego of the King who once considered himself as “King of Kings”. No matter how proud and arrogant someone is, everything has to fade away from this world as nothing lasts forever, whether it is ones fame, arrogance or ego. Only his broken statue is left which tells about his arrogance and vain pride. The King who once considered himself as God and ordered to erect his statue to show his power and mighty is now unknown to the world. The statue is a “colossal wreck” which clearly says that nothing in the world lasts forever. As the King is no more, and the statue is also ruined, the engraving is a mockery at his pride and ego.

The speaker praises the sculptor for his skills.įurthermore, one the pedestal of the statue, some words of the King are engraved that show him as the most powerful ruler. This is the statue of a King, Ozymandias.Īlthough, the statue has been destroyed but the expressions of arrogance and pride are still clearly visible which indicates that the sculptor understood the emotions of the King accurately. The statue’s body is ruined, the parts left are two huge legs and a face buried in the sand. He tells the speaker that he saw an old, fragmented statue in the desert. The speaker meets a traveler who came from a remote land. Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Summary It also reflects the society of that time when there was monarchic system and the rulers were as arrogant as the King, Ozymandias. The poem talks about his foolish desire to immortalize himself by erecting a statue. The poem reveals the impermanence of human achievements by describing the ruins of the statue of Ozymandias. Ozymandias is the name of an Egyptian King during 13th century B.C., also known as Ramses 2. It was written in 1817 and was published on 11th January, 1818.

Ozymandias is a famous sonnet of renowned poet of Romantic era Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Summary.

Ozymandias art