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Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

                                                      Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley



Introduction:

            Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is regarded by some critics as one of the finest lyric poets in the English Language. He was much influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution- Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. He was deeply impressed with the power of the natural scenery. Shelley states that “A Poet participates in the eternal, the infinite, and the one.”

About the Poem:

            The sonnet “Ozymandias” is regarded as one of Shelley’s most famous works. The structure of an Italian sonnet comprises of two parts: Octave and Sestet. In this sonnet, the octave presents the desolate landscape with “two vast and trunkless legs of stone” in the middle of the desert. The sestet describes the shattered and damaged statue of Ozymandias, “King of Kings”. The power that King enjoyed during the period and nothing can remain forever are the two predominant themes of the sonnet.

Ozymandias:

            Ozymandias was an alternative name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II. It is believed that Shelley wrote the sonnet after the announcement of the British Museum’s acquisition of a large fragment of a statue of Ramesses II from the thirteenth- century BC.

Description of the Statue:

                                    “Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

                                    And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, “

            The sonnet begins with a traveler reporting to the poet of having seen a broken status in the desert. Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the middle of the desert. Near them lies the half buried and broken face of the statue. The face of the statue is filled with passions which has been cleverly designed and read by the sculptor. The face holds the “sneer of cold command” with a frowning look and wrinkled lips.

Decay of the Statue and the Political Power:

            The pedestal states, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”. In the present time, the works and deeds of Ozymandias are nowhere to be seen. Only an empty land filled with sand remains, as a result of decay and huge ruin. No amount of power can withstand the merciless and unceasing power and passage of Time.

Conclusion:

                                    “The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

            The poem “Ozymandias” illustrates that fact that nothing can last forever; no man can hold onto absolute power for all time. Only art can challenge time and stay forever. Through Shelley’s use of irony, alliteration, and metaphor, the reader experiences a dramatic sense of dark reality: everything ends, and people are powerless to stop it.

             

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