Summary
Highlights
This video provides a detailed analysis of Percy Shelley's poem 'Ozymandias.' Shelley, one of the Romantic Poets, came from a wealthy family but was expelled from Oxford for writing in favor of atheism. His life was marked by tragedy, including his first wife's suicide and his own drowning at a young age. Despite not being successful during his lifetime, he is now considered one of the finest poets. Shelley was also a deeply political pacifist and vegetarian.
Shelley wrote 'Ozymandias' during the reign of King George III, a monarch involved in many military conflicts, whom Shelley opposed. The poem is also influenced by Romanticism; Shelley belonged to the second generation of Romantic Poets (along with Byron and Keats), who distinguished themselves from earlier Romantics by setting their poetry in antiquity and foreign lands, often against religion and political control. The poem's inspiration also came from the British Museum's acquisition of a massive statue of Ramesses II, known as Ozymandias, an Egyptian pharaoh known for his military conquests, drawing a parallel to King George III.
The poem describes a traveler encountering the ruins of a colossal statue in the desert. Only two vast legs and a shattered, frowning face remain, with an inscription on the pedestal: 'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Yet, around the statue, only boundless and bare sands stretch far away, emphasizing that nothing else remains of his empire. The major theme is the delusion of those in power who believe their power is supreme and invincible; Shelley argues that the might of leaders does not last, unlike art, and the poem can be read as a critique of political and religious authority.
'Ozymandias' is a sonnet, traditionally a love poem form. Shelley's use of a sonnet is significant, perhaps suggesting Ozymandias's self-love or serving a more complex purpose. The poem uniquely blends elements of the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet forms, with a changing rhyme scheme (ABAB ACDC EDE F). This structural fluidity symbolizes that all power eventually gives way to new power, and nothing, not even the form of a sonnet, lasts forever, directly reflecting the poem's theme of the impermanence of power.
Shelley uses a plethora of negative language ('sunk,' 'shattered,' 'frown,' 'wrinkled,' 'sneer') to clearly attack, rather than praise, the powerful. The alliteration in 'cold command' reflects Ozymandias's harsh nature. Irony is central, as Ozymandias expected to remain forever, but his statue is crumbling. The poem also highlights the enduring power of art over fleeting political power; the sculptor's skill in capturing the king's arrogance ('mocked') is still visible, suggesting the artist's subtle critique and symbolic triumph over the pharaoh. Shelley may be using the sculptor as a metaphor for himself, implying that poetry outlives rulers.
The poem can also be read as a critique of religion. Ozymandias, likely Ramesses II, a biblical character, immediately gives the poem a religious undertone. His self-description as 'King of Kings' is a title given to Jesus in the Bible, hinting at a critique of perceived God-like arrogance in religious leaders. The desert setting also alludes to Jesus's temptation. The overall message, even in a religious context, remains that leaders and those in power, even religious figures, eventually fade away.