Ozymandias – Percy Bysshe Shelley
Notes by Neesa Ajoodha
Background:
Percy Bysshe Shelley is an English writer who is known for his
romantic poetry. This is reflected in the visionary descriptions
given in Ozymandias where place-setting takes high priority.
Shelley hated the concept of dictatorships and
concentrations of power which is reflected in his mocking
tone towards the great Ozymandias.
Ozymandias was actually written by Shelley during a
competition with his friend Horace Smith which is indicative
of his talent.
The poem was based off of Ramses || who was a Pharoh
in Ancient Egypt. The poem is designed to reflect the
transient nature of one’s power, and that even the most
dominant leader in human history cannot beat the
ultimate equalizer – time. The poem describes a statue
that once represented a great leader, but now represents
the decay of a fallen empire, much like Ancient Egypt’s
many artifacts. It has broken and remains as two legs
that stand alone, and a broken face on the ground with a
now outdated description of his power.
The poem itself:
1. I met a traveller from an antique land,
2. Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
3. Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
4. Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
5. And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
6. Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
7. Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
8. The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
, 9. And on the pedestal, these words appear:
10. My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
11. Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
12. Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
13. Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
14. The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Line-by-line analysis:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
“I” establishes a narrator. “Antique” means old, antiquated and ancient. It sounds dainty and
fickle, thus it is subject to volatility of time (hinting that his land has been subject to the decay
brought about by time’s passage). “Traveller” has a tone of mystery and peculiarity. It is
reminiscent of old storytelling with mysterious figures to fill in the blanks.
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
We are now introduced to the second voice (there are 3 in total – Shelley, the traveller,
Ozymandias). The dash is a lovely caesura to break up the thought so that a new tone and
atmosphere can be established in the same line. It describes two massive statue legs that no
longer hold up a body for the body has been destroyed, they are thus “trunkless”. “Vast” means
huge and endless – it emphasises the Ozymandias’ adoration for himself for he built endless
homage to his own power. “Trunkless” represents how his power amounted to nothing. Legs
serve the purpose of holding up something. If there is nothing to hold, they have no use. (Notice
how the repetition of the ‘s’ continues into the next 2 lines)
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Ellipses is placed for dramatic effect. This is very cool as it is a traveller ultimately telling a story,
thus it gives our traveller character in his storytelling. It allows the solidarity and futility of his
legs to sink in. Deserts have the connotations of being vast, endless, and desolate. The commas
slow down the pace to give us the space to visualise what is being said. We’re only getting
descriptions in pieces to represent how his kingdom similar remains in pieces. The legs are
personified for they seem to “stand”, however, personification is generally done to empower the
object, but this demonstrates how futile their power was. Nothing, not even their ability to stand,
