Ozymandias

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.
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.

QA

Q1. What is the setting of the poem, ‘Ozymandias’?

Ans. The setting of the poem Ozymandias is an antique land. The traveller is describing his encounter
with two enormous, trunkless stone legs on the desert sands. There were just expanses of sand
around, and this ancient region showed no signs of human civilization.

Q 2. How can we say that the sculptor was a master artist?

Or
“The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.” Whose hand and heart has the poet
referred to in this line?
Ans. “The hand that mocked them” seems to be the sculptor’s hand, delineating the vain glory of his
subject in “these lifeless things”; and “the heart that fed” must be Ozymandias’ own, feeding on
perhaps its own arrogance.The shattered statue of Ozymandias had a scowl and sneer of icy
authority on its visage. The king’s haughtiness was evident in the knit brow and wrinkled mouth. The
accuracy with which the sculptor had caught all the subtle facial details of the haughty ruler was
indicative of his skill.

Q3. Bring out the irony in the poem.

Ans. The irony in the poem lies in the fact that the mighty ruler had the following words engraved on
his statue “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look upon my works ye Mighty and despair!”
The haughty remarks and sneer on its face stand in stark contrast to the statue’s present state.
The king may have been powerful during his reign, but after his death, his legacy is at the mercy of
the ravaging forces of nature. His former magnificence is now reduced to two legs raised and a
broken face. This brings out the irony of the poem.

Q 4. What is the theme of ‘Ozymandias’?

Ans. The central theme of the poem is the transience of glory, as well as power. It also taps on the
themes of the futility of life, the fate of history, ravages of time, antiquity, and impermanence. The
main theme is introduced in the very beginning where Shelley’s speaker describes the “colossal
Wreck” of the statue of the great king Ozymandias which is now half sunk in the lone, barren desert.

Q 5. What does sand symbolise in the poem “Ozymandias”?

Ans. In the poem, sand is a symbol of nature’s power and also of time itself. The statue and all of
Ozymandias’ creations have been destroyed by erosion and buried beneath the sand as a warning
that no matter how impressive human efforts may be, nature has the power to undo them all.
Because it destroyed the statue over time, and because of the idea of sand in an hourglass, sand also
represents time itself, which has similarly worn down and eventually buried Ozymandias’ empire.

Q6. What does the statue symbolise in the poem “Ozymandias”?

Ans. The statue of Ozymandias has a few different symbolic meanings. First, it is a physical
representation of the power of human political institutions.
The statue also symbolizes the power of art. Through the sculptor’s skill, the statue captures and
preserves the “passions” of its subject by stamping them on “lifeless” rock. And the statue also
symbolizes the way that art can have power beyond the intentions of even those who commission it.

Q 7. “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things”
What do you understand by the word “passions” in the above lines?
Ans. “Passions” refers to Ozymandias’s emotions, and in particular, his arrogance, hatred, and sense
of superiority. The sculptor originally read those “passions” on Ozymandias, and then carved them
onto the stone, where they could be likewise read by passersby like the traveller who describes the
statue to the speaker.

Q 8. Who is the speaker in the poem “Ozymandias”?

Ans. The poem’s primary speaker is anonymous and genderless, and all Shelley tells us about the
speaker is that the speaker “met a traveller from an antique land.” The poem purposefully omits
information regarding the speaker’s opinions of the traveller, of Ozymandias, and of the destruction
of Ozymandias’s achievements.

Q 9. Describe the statue of Ozymandias in the desert.

Ans. The statue was severely damaged. Two enormous, stone legs with no trunk were present. The
statue’s head lay on the ground, partially buried in the vast and isolated desert sands. The statue’s
fractured pieces indicated that they were formerly part of a tremendously strong but ruthless and
haughty tyrant. The massive forces of time had reduced the tyrant and his statue to oblivion.

Q10. Comment on Ozymandias’ pride?

Ans. In the inscription on the pedestal Ozymandias calls himself the “king of kings”. Ozymandias
thinks pretty highly of himself and of what he’s achieved, both politically and artistically. The fact
that he commissions this “colossal” statue with “vast legs” points to his sense of pride.

Q1. “………boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Explain the above line with reference to the ravages of time in ‘Ozymandias.’
Ans. Human greatness and glory are transient. Kings erect sculptures and monuments to preserve
their reputation and name in history. However, time wrecks havoc. Glory fades with the passing of
time. The statue of Ozymandias is in ruins. Although the words carved on it show how powerful he
is, power, hubris, and human pride are all transient.

His influence and accomplishments are for nothing. Time’s ravages spare no one. Ozymandias
regarded himself as a deity and desired to be remembered forever through this piece of art (statue).
Dust was all that was left of him for future generations to witness. His broken statue and disfigured
visage depict the tragic consequences of human pride.

Ravages of time spare no one.Neither the powerful King who commissioned the statue to be built,
nor the sculptor who built the statue with great passion, nor the statue itself. All three are toppled
by mere grains of sand.

Q2. Bring out the theme of Shelley’s poem, ‘Ozymandias.’

Or
“The poem, ‘Ozymandias’ illustrates the vanity of human greatness.” Comment.
Ans.
One of Shelley’s most famous works, “Ozymandias” describes the ruins of an ancient king’s statue in
a foreign desert. The themes in the poem are-

1. The Transience of Power

The poem goes on to explain that time not only destroyed this statue, it also essentially erased the
entire kingdom the statue was built to overlook. All that remains of the statue are two “vast” stone
legs standing upright and a head half-buried in sand, along with a boastful inscription describing the
ruler as the “king of kings” whose mighty achievements invoke awe and despair in all who behold
them. The poem implicitly critiques such power through its suggestion that both great rulers and
their kingdoms will fall to the sands of time.

2. The Power of Art

“Ozymandias” famously describes a ruined statue of an ancient king in an empty desert. Although
the king’s statue boastfully commands onlookers to “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair,”
there are no works left to examine: the king’s cities, empire, and power have all disappeared over
time.
Although the statue is a “wreck” in a state of “decay,” its individual pieces show the skill of the
sculptor and preserve the story of Ozymandias. The fragments interpret and preserve the king’s
personality and show onlookers throughout history what sort of a man and leader Ozymandias truly
was. These fragments, then, are examples of art’s unique ability to capture and relate an individual’s
character even after their death. In fact, the poem explicitly emphasizes art’s ability to bring
personalities to life.

3. Man Versus Nature

The statue is notably found in a desert, a landscape hostile towards life. That the statue is
“trunkless” suggests sandstorms eroded the torso or buried it entirely, while the face being
“shattered” implies humanity’s relative weakness: even the destruction of a hulking piece of stone is
nothing for nature.
Ozymandias may be the king of kings, but even kings can be toppled by mere grains of sand.

Q3. Time brings the greatest of the great to their knees. How is this true of King Ozymandias?
Ans. P.B. Shelley wrote the sonnet titled Ozymandias. It communicates the message that human
greatness and glory are transient. The monuments and statues erected by the rulers to preserve
their name and reputation are destroyed over time. The poem therefore illustrates the vainness and
transience of human grandeur and greatness. A renowned Egyptian king, Ozymandias created the
monument in order to preserve his renown and name. His power and majesty faded with the
passing of time.
A traveller from Egypt discovers the king Ozymandias statue that is shattered. He discovers the
statue’s two enormous, trunkless legs on a platform in a desert. The broke statue’s face is nearby,
partially buried. He observes the statue’s haughty attitude and sense of superiority. The king’s
emotions were captured on the statue’s face by the artist’s hand. The following words were written
on the pedestal: My name is Ozymandias, king of kings’ The lines show that even though
Ozymandias was a king of kings, he was unaware that human hubris and pride do not endure for
very long and that time eventually drags even the best of the great to their knees. Death is a sure
leveller.

Q4. What is your impression of Ozymandias as a king?

Ans. In his day, Ozymandias was a powerful monarch. He was regarded as strongest of the strong
kings. He had fought numerous battles, brought in many riches, and grown his kingdom into an
enormous one. His contemporaries were humbled by his accomplishments when they witnessed the
palaces he constructed and the example he established for them.
The broken head’s expression suggests that the man was a harsh ruler who was exceedingly haughty
and looked down on his subjects with disdain. But time did not spare him. His immense realm was
covered in dust when he died, leaving no trace behind.
Ozymandias had believed that while he himself would die, he would leave a lasting and intimidating
legacy through everything he built. Yet his words are ultimately empty, as everything he built has
crumbled. The people and places he ruled over are gone, leaving only an abandoned desert whose
“lone and level sands” imply that there’s not even a trace of the kingdom’s former glory to be found.
The pedestal’s claim that onlookers should despair at Ozymandias’s works thus takes on a new and
ironic meaning: one despairs not at Ozymandias’s power, but at how powerless time and decay
make everyone.

Q5 Critically appreciate the poem “Ozymandias”.

Ans. “Ozymandias” was written by P.B. Shelly. The poem is a sonnet based on Greek history.
The speaker tells that he met a traveller who returned from an ancient country. The traveller saw a
broken statue in the desert. The statue’s two legs stood on the pedestal. The body was not upon the
two legs. Near them was lying the shattered face of the statue. There were frowns. sneer and
expression of cruel authority on the face. it seemed that the person who made the statue could
understand the king’s character well and took every care to reflect it on stone. Though the sculptor
and the king died long back, the broken statue still reflects the pride and cruelty of the king.
“Ozymandias” is a masterful sonnet. It focuses mostly on one metaphor: the broken, demolished
monument in the barren desert, with its haughty, passionate expression and lunatic inscription
(“Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”). Ironically, the claim of the once-great king has been
proven false; all of Ozymandias’s creations have crumbled and vanished, his civilisation is no more,
and everything has been reduced to dust by the impersonal, indiscriminate, and destructive power
of history. The demolished statue now serves as a stark reminder of one man’s arrogance and a
potent metaphor for the insignificance of humans in the grand scheme of things. First and foremost,
Ozymandias serves as a metaphor for the transient nature of political power. However, Ozymandias
is not just a representation of political authority; it may also serve as a metaphor for the arrogance
and vanity of all humankind.