This poetic form conveys power and might, especially when read aloud, and builds a sense of lyricism. There are 14 lines, irregular and run-on, following a ABABACDCEDEFEF rhyme scheme. This poem is a sonnet written as a block of text in iambic pentameter. Despite the statue’s decaying visage, the traveler makes note of how Ozymandias’s eroded sneer was “mocked” by the sculptor’s hands, thus presenting the view that everything eventually falls to dust. However, the second speaker of this poem, the traveler, sheds more light onto their attitude towards what they witnessed during their journey. Therefore, there are little to no descriptions of how this speaker felt towards Ozymandias. This poem mainly consists of the persona quoting the traveler’s words, the former only speaking very briefly to provide context on how the latter fits into the rest of the poem. “Ozymandias” is told from the perspective of a speaker who meets a traveler with a story to share and recalls the details of the said traveler’s tale. This statement, unfortunately, falls upon deaf ears and is only greeted by the vast, lonely expanse of the desert sands ahead.
The engraved words present a proclamation of pride: Ozymandias was the “King of Kings” and all who stumble upon what is left of him should tremble and “despair” at his might.
The poem first begins with a general view of the statue-two severed stone legs and a crumbling face resting in the sand-before delving into more detailed descriptions like the stern expression on the statue’s face and the inscription on its pedestal. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias” exemplifies these qualities of the Romantic Age, and serves as an example of Literary Romanticism.Īs per its title, this poem discusses what is left of Ozymandias, the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, and the remnants of his legacy based on the image of his statue falling apart in the desert. The emphasis on emotions above logic brought exploration of the realms of fantasy and imagination, in addition to an unbridled passion for nature and ancient relics of the past. This period of change allowed for the revisitation and revision of medieval works, turning them mostly into subjective poetry which emphasized the depths of the poets’ psychology. Romanticism primarily struck English artistic, literary, and intellectual culture during a time of political reform and upheaval, coinciding with the Age of Revolution.
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