Understanding 'Ozymandias' by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias Poem

• The poem "Ozymandias" is written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and was first published in The Examiner in 1818.
• The poem is a sonnet, consisting of 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ABABA CDC EDE FEF.
• The poem explores several major themes of Romantic poetry, including the impermanence of empire and the sublime.

Historical Context

• The name "Ozymandias" is a Greek name for Ramses II, an ancient Egyptian king who reigned in the 13th century BCE.
• During Shelley's lifetime, European archaeologists were uncovering extraordinary artifacts in parts of Egypt, including a large statue of Ramses II that was brought to the British Museum.

Themes

• The inevitability of imperial decline: the poem meditates on how even the most powerful empires must eventually decline and fall to ruin.
• The power of nature: the poem portrays nature as an uncaring and indiscriminate force that does not respect human constructions.
• The timelessness of art: the poem suggests that great art has a timelessness beyond what empires can achieve, and that it can survive even when the power of the civilization that created it has long since dissipated.

Symbolism

• The legs of the statue: they are the first thing that the traveler comments on, and they are the only part of the statue still standing, symbolizing the decline of empire.
• The shattered visage of the statue: the face still has a "frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command" that give readers a sense of what Ozymandias might have been like during his lifetime.
• The inscription on the base of the statue: it spells out the idea of the poem clearly, that Ozymandias believed that his works would last forever, but the ruin of his once-great statue and city tell a different story.
• The endless sands that surround the statue: they symbolize the power of nature and the futility of attempting to create such a permanent monument.