Poems

Ozymandias

• Written by Shelly in 1819
• Inspired by recent unearthing of part of a large statue of the Egyptian Pharoah, Ramesses II
• Powerful ruler who sees himself as 'kings of kings'
• Poet may be laughing at his expense. Looks at the inevitable downfall of all rulers and tyrants and how nothing lasts forever. Drift away until they are just another grain of sand.
• Sonnet, loose iambic pentameter. Usually used in love poems, a joke about the rulers ego?
• Rhyme scheme is irregular, symbolic of the broken statue itself?
• The poem is an ironic memorial to the ego of an ancient Pharoah.
• The statue is an allegory for the eventual end of power that everyone must suffer, especially the proud.
• Power, like the statue is lost to the sands which in turn represent time
• "Antique land" - suggests old and steeped in history but also out of date?
• "A shattered visage lies" - Unrecognisable, has no purpose anymore
• "Ye Mighty, and despair!" - tone indicated by exclamation is strong and authorative, irony no one is listening.
• "The lone and level sands stretch far away" - outlasts the statue, juxtaposed to the power and ego of the statue. Sands are also iconic of time

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