Ozymandias

Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley

Introduction

This is a sonnet (a poem of fourteen lines – the first eight form an octave and the next six form a sestet).
It is about a ruined statue which has become so with the passage of time and here, we can correlate it with
Shakespeare’s sonnet ‘Not marble, nor the gilded monuments.
The title ‘Ozymandias’ is the throne name of Egyptian king Ramesses. The poem talks about his foolish desire
to immortalize himself by erecting a statue.

Explanation
Poem

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;

Word meaning
Antique: old
trunkless: without the upper body (the main part of the body of a human being or an animal, excluding the
head, neck, and limbs)
sunk: to descend below the surface of something
shattered: broken into pieces
visage: face
frown: expression of anger or displeasure
wrinkled: marks of lines or folds
sneer: facial expression of scorn or hostility in which the upper lip may be raised
cold: without feelings for others
command: domination or control
sculptor: an artist who makes sculptures
passions: refers to the expressions on the king’s face
read: interpreted
survive: continue to exist after his death
stamped: sculpted, printed or engraved
mocked: to copy something

Explanation of the above poem – The poet met a traveler who came from a remote land. He told the poet that
he saw the remains of a statue in the desert. Two huge legs made of stone stood and the remaining part of the
statue – the upper body was missing. Another part of the statue, the face lay on the sand nearby. It was
damaged and broken into pieces. The face of the statue had expressions of displeasure and a taunting smile.
The wrinkles and lines of the face were also there. The poet says that the sculptor who had made the statue
had read the expressions on the Egyptian king Ramesses’s face very well as he was able to copy them onto his
statue so accurately. These expressions continued to exist even after the king’s death through this lifeless
statue. The sculptor’s hands copied the king’s ruthless expressions and mocked at them while the king’s stone
heart brought out these expressions on his face.

Poem

And on the pedestal these words appear:

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look upon 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.

Word meaning
Pedestal: the base of a statue
Mighty: the powerful kings of the world
Despair: without hope
beside: else
decay: broken pieces of the statue
colossal: extremely large or great
wreck: ruins
boundless: without limits
bare: without the great statue of Ozymandias
lone: the only survivor

Explanation of the above poem – At the base of the statue the words – “My name is Ozymandias,
king of kings: Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” were engraved. The king introduced
himself as Ozymandias, the most powerful king. He ordered all the powerful kings of the world to
look at his huge statue and feel belittled in front of the mightiest king – Ozymandias. The poet says
that now nothing else other than this engraving remains. The statue broke down with the passage of
time and its broken pieces could be seen lying around. The vast desert stretched all around and it
seemed to be endless. The statue of the great king Ozymandias was nowhere to be seen.

Literary Devices
1. Alliteration: cold command, survive stamped, boundless bare, sands stretch.
2. Consonance: ‘s’ and ‘t’ sounds are repeated-
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,
3. Synecdoche: The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed
4. Hyperbole: king of kings
5. Enjambment
6. Rhyme scheme: ababacdc efegeg

Questions and answers

Q. Answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.
(a) The poem is set in ____________________________________________
(i) the wilderness
(ii) an ancient land
(iii) a palace
(iv) a desert
A. A desert
(b) The expression on the face of the statue is one of ____________________
(i) admiration
(ii) anger
(iii) despair
(iv) contempt
A. contempt
(c) This poem throws light on the _________________ nature of Ozymandias.
(i) cruel
(ii) arrogant
(iii) boastful
(iv) aggressive
A. boastful
(d) The sculptor was able to understand Ozymandias’ ___________________
(i) words
(ii) expression
(iii) feelings
(iv) ambition
A. expressions
(e) The tone of the poem is ________________________________________
(i) mocking
(ii) nostalgic
(iii) gloomy
(iv) gloating
A. gloating
Answer the following questions briefly.
(a) “The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.” Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to
in this line?
A. The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.”
In this line the hand referred to is the hand of the sculptor who has carved the statue. He has copied the exact
expressions of the king’s face, thus, making a perfect replica. The heart refers to the heart of king Ozymandias
which is the source of these expressions of anger, hatred and pride.
(b) “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:” Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as King of Kings?
What quality of the king is revealed through this statement.
A. “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:“
This verse shows that Ozymandias was very proud of his power, position and glory. He considered himself to
be the mightiest of all kings which shows that he was overblown and high headed.
(c) “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Who is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks of ye
Mighty? Why should they despair?
A. ‘Ye Mighty’ refers to the king’s fellow kings who consider themselves to be mighty and powerful.
He feels that they will be in despair as their accomplishments and achievements are nothing in comparison to
the magnitude of his greatness. This will make the feel ashamed and sad.
(d) Bring out the irony in the poem.
A. In the poem the poet highlights that the pride and exaggeration of the powerful kings makes them short
sighted. In their desperation to establish glory and name for all times to come, they forget that nothing is
permanent in this world.
The huge statue built by king Ozymandias in order to establish his greatness for all times to come has been
ruined by the all-pervasive time. The words engraved on the platform of his statue “Look upon my works, Ye
mighty and despair” are an irony. Today there is no such great work seen around it.
All around this platform are the scattered remains of his statue. The inscription on the huge platform with the
two legs standing on it and his face half buried in sand is a mockery of his claim of being the mightiest and the
most powerful ruler.
(e) ‘Nothing beside remains.’ What does the narrator mean when he says these words?
A. The poet wants to say in this line that although the inscription on the platform reads out to all the mighty
rulers to look at his works, there is nothing else to see around over there other than this platform. All that
remains is the ruined scattered pieces of his statue lying half buried in the vast desert. So, the inscription is a
mockery made by king Ozymandias of himself. His being the mightiest of the mighty kings has failed in front
of the powerful element of time which destroys everything.
(f) What is your impression of Ozymandias as a king?
A. Ozymandias was a scornful, proud king. He was short tempered and egoist. He desperately sought to
establish his supremacy over other powerful rulers. In his desperation, he turned a blind eye towards the reality
of life. His approach to get eternal name and fame by erecting a statue fails as he is unable to foresee the might
of the all-pervasive time.
(g) What message is conveyed through this poem?
A. In this poem the poet wants to tell us that we are mortals and remain in the world for a short time. We must
not try to immortalize ourselves by acts of constructing huge statues and monuments. These things are also
timely, and the mighty time destroys everything.
The pride and vanity which accompanies these accomplishments does not even let us remain good human
beings. So, rather than aiming for endless name and fame, we must lead a humble and generous life. This
approach towards life gives meaning to our life and we are recognized for our good deeds rather than the pomp
and show.
Q. Shelley’s sonnet follows the traditional structure of the fourteen-line Italian sonnet, featuring an
opening octave, or set of eight lines, that presents a conflict or dilemma, followed by a sestet, or set of six
lines, that offers some resolution or commentary upon the proposition introduced in the octave. Read
the poem carefully and complete the following table on the structure of the poem.
Octave ababac-c The passage of
time has ruined
the statue of the
great king
Ozymandias.

Sestet d-dede The shattered

remains of the
statue mock at
the king.

Q. Complete the table listing the poetic devices used by Shelley in Ozymandias.
Alliteration …and sneer of cold
command
…Two vast and
trunkless legs of
stone
… The hand that
mocked them, and
the heart that
… boundless and
bare

Synecdoche the hand that

(substitution of a mock’d them
part to stand for the the heart that fed
whole, or the whole
to stand for a part)

FAQs

Q1. Who is Ozymandias?

Ans. Ozymandias is the throne name of an Egyptian king Ramesses.
Q2. What is the structure of the poem Ozymandias?
Ans. The poem titled Ozymandias is a sonnet i.e. a poem of fourteen lines.
Q3. Who destroyed the statue of King Ozymandias?
Ans. Time destroyed the statue of King Ozymandias.
Q4. What is ironical in the inscription on the pedestal?
Ans. The inscription says,
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
However, there is nothing on top of it, to look at and feel sad about.
Q5. How does the statue tell us about the negative traits of Ozymandias?
Ans. The inscription on the pedestal signals that king Ozymandias was proud and a haughty ruler. The
expressions on the visage of the statue show that he sneered and had a cold command.

Summary
It was one of the best-known works of Percy Bysshe Shelly. The sonnet of P.B.Shelly
followed the traditional structure of the Italian sonnet. It consists of fourteen lines. In
this poem, the poet met a traveller who came from an old land. The traveller told the
poet about the remains of the statue as seen by him in the desert. The trunkless legs
were of stone. It didn’t consist of head, neck or limbs. Furthermore, the face lied on the
sand nearby. This face was half sunk in the sand. It was the statue of the Egyptian king
Ramesses.

He wanted to show his might. He wanted others to feel less powerful than himself.
Thus, he erected a statue of himself with a foolish desire to immortalize himself. The
poem teaches that no-one or nothing is immortal. Everyone and everything in this
world destroys with time. Thus, we should never crave for worldly desires.

In this poem, the poet met a traveller. The traveller tells the poet about the broken
statue in the desert. He says that the statue is made up of stone in an old land.
Moreover, it stands on legs only. The upper body was destroyed. Thus, it has no head,
neck, and limbs. Furthermore, the face of the statue lay nearby on the sand. The same
was damaged and destroyed by the passage of time. It was half sunk in the sand. Also,
it showed a sign of anger or displeasure. Moreover, his lips were wrinkled. There was
an expression of hostility on his face. Also, his face depicted that he was a dominating
king. He had no feelings for other people. Moreover, his statue depicted his passion to
survive even after his death.

The artist has engraved these expressions in the statue very well. One could easily see
the rough behaviour of the king in the statue’s expressions. The poet praises the
sculptor. He had perfectly copied the minutest expressions and wrinkles on the king’s
face.

The words “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look upon my works, ye Mighty,
and despair!” were engraved. The king announced himself as the mightiest. He wanted
other kings to feel belittled in front of him. However, the poet says that everything got
destroyed and damaged with the passage of time. The broken pieces of the statue were
only lying around. Also, the dessert was very vast. The statue could be seen nowhere.
The king was egoistic. Also, he was filled with pride. But, today, after a very long
time, there is no trace of the king, Ramesses.

This tells us that we should never be boastful, egoistic or feel proud of ourselves. We
all have limited time in this mortal world. We should not live our lives for earning
name and fame. These are unattainable. The more we earn them, even more, we desire.
On the contrary, we should live a generous and humble life. It is full of compassion
and love.

Conclusion of Ozymandias
The passage of time destroys even the most powerful or mightiest person or thing in
the world. Thus, we should not be boastful, egoistic or live with pride. Instead, we
should live a life of simplicity.