I met a traveler 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;
And on the pedestal these words appear
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that collossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Notes
Published by Hunt in The Examiner, January, 1818. Reprinted with Rosalind and Helen, 1819. There is a copy amongst the Shelley MSS. at the Bodleian Library.
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I can't read this without laughing; there was a parody of this poem on Monty Python's Flying Circus (fourth season, methinks), and it was, in Graham Chapman's words, "all about ants."
But this version is fabulous, too. -
Been a long time since I read this - since high school days which goes back a long ways. Nice to read this again; anad to read comments given as well.
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A classic sonnet. "Ozymandias" is the Pharaoh Ramesses II
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critical analysis
From guest sidrah (contact)
shelley was an atheist and hence should nt be called a romantist because appreciating nature also inlcudes acknowledging the maker of it all. he was a skeptical personal having no clues in life and led a very miserable life because of his odd thoughts. his writings are good but then when you come across what he really was.. it shatters up his whole image and hence destroys the true essence of being a poet and a hope to his readers. -
How the mighty are fallen. Ozymandias reminds us that the greatest achievements of man fall to dust in time. Very few things last for ever and man didn't produce any of them.
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Ozymandis
From guest nuggehalli Pankaja (contact)
This seems to be the message of a once proud-arrogant spirit, that itis not lasting, and touches on the ephemereal quality of life -
This sonnet is one that I teach often. It is timeless in its message; the images are rich, the language is direct and the moral just makes sense. Some of my students love the irony of the poem; others have decided to do independ. reseach either on Shelley's other works, or about Egypt. I find many students end up enjoying the inclusion of poetry when the message ties in with current issues.
I wish I was at the Bodleian Library so that I could just touch the copy among the Shelley collection! -
The greatest of humankind's achievements are nothing more than a footnote in the grand scheme of God's creation.
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I've always liked this poem and I love the way it's a frame within a frame within a frame of the speaker. it's sad and lonesome - but satisfies also a little vengeful part in me.
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great poem.... one of the first I have ever memorized .... learnt it when we were doing Ancient Egyptian history....love how it ends so dismally...wonderful irregular sonnet...he does it very well
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I love Shelley.
Thanks for putting him here. -
I think you nailed this one Peacelink! I always think of this poem when some petty tyrant or warlike president is spouting fire… The one thing they will not understand, they are writings left in low tide sands… so will you leave a legacy of love or leave a legacy of blood?
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This was an interesting and perplexing and metaphor laiden story. I had to read back a few times to take it in fully, yet it all dawned on me. Its kinda sad, really, even with his inflected arrogance. It typified for me the added concept that the world remains after we have left it, even if nothing of ourselves does. Which adds sadness and hard reality to the piece. Literary wise, it has an interesting flow to it, like a tale told verbally. Which I believe is the point, but you have managed to achieve it here, which is difficult.
Thankyou for sharing.
Nate. -
Ozymandias seems to be the personification of arrogance, of man's belief in his own might, man's short sightedness in not accepting that he is but a visitor here that all he does is like writing in the sand to be washed away by the waves of time, that neither his achievements will survive nor his might. Everything will pass away, the only permanent feature of everything on earth seems to be temporariness. Change is inevitable.
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