Ozymandias

• "I met a traveller from an Antique land. "


  • Ozymandias is now irrelevant as the narrator only hears about him through third person.
  • Adjective "Antique" Shows the place Ozy ruled is outdated and forgotten about.
• "Who said-" 


  • Caesura: Traveller pauses before telling his story -shows there are gaps in his memory.
  • Remembering Ozy takes effort - shows his irrelevance.
• “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the dessert "


  • Juxtaposition: The statue is monumental and overpowering in size, made of sturdy material  yet it has been cut off at the legs.
  • The statue's magnitude is inconsequential and insignificant in the face of it’s damage and  though remnants of the power still persist, the destruction triumphs.
• "Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies,"


  • Placement: Ozymandias’ legs and head are separated from each other, scattered about the desert like he’s been dismembered. There is no grace or dignity in his death and the extent of his legacy is a strewn statue.
  • Description: The physical state of the face (semi-buried beneath the sand and smashed ) depicts the harsh reality that man is powerless against time. Despite his efforts to remain immortal, he has fallen victim to time, just like everyone else.
• "whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read"


  Description: The facial features of Ozymandias suggest a cruel, heartless and tyrannical leader.
• "Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, "


  Juxtaposition: The clarity of Ozymandias’ facial features and expressions withstands the test of time, not the statue itself. Therefore, it is more the sculptor’s artistry that continues the legacy of Ozymandias, and less the cruelty and arrogance of the once-ruler.
• "The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;"


  Verbs: the line is ambiguous and could be describing either Ozymandias or the sculptor.
• "And on the pedestal, these words appear:"


  Double Meaning: Ozymandias has commissioned an inscription on the supporting foundation of his statue, to strengthen his power, physically and verbally.

  Conveys the vainglorious and conceited nature of Ozymandias himself, as he literally places himself on a pedestal, thus feeling superior and omnipotent.

  This inflated sense of self and hubris foreshadows his tragic demise.
• "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;"


  Declarative Sentence * Biblical Allusion: reveals the arrogance and self-importance of the character.

  He asserts his dominance and sees himself as an omnipotent, Jesus-like figure who commands respect and subservience from mankind, who are infinitely inferior to him.
• Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”


  Imperative Sentence: The pedestal instructs his ‘inferiors’ to worship and idolise the statue in both admiration and fear.

  Ozymandias is presented as vainglorious braggart, however

  he has to demand respect instead of receiving it.

  This foreshadows his inevitable demise.
• 'Nothing beside remains.'


  • Volta & Irony: juxtaposes the previous line, the futility of Ozymandias’ arrogance is revealed: his statues and legacy have been at the mercy of time and nature, contrasting the omnipotent persona that he pompously tries to portray.
  • The delayed volta mimicks the idea of Ozymandias being led into false sense of security, however, made ignorant by his arrogance, he did not bargain for becoming time or nature’ victim.
  • The short sentence strengthens this idea, as it mimics power being fleeting, temporary and when faced with time, trivial.
• 'Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck,'


  • Haunting reminder of the “shattered visage” and the “trunkless legs of stone”.
  • It is also oxymoronic, as it highlights the contradiction between Ozymandias’ self -perception of immortality and the reality that all earthly power will pass.
  • The statue was once impressive in stature, but that is where the power starts and ends.
• 'boundless and bare'


  • Adjectives to Describe Setting: The echoing quality of the ’b’ sounds represent the vastness and sheer power of the desolate desert that Ozymandias lies in.
  • The resounding effect reflects how power is only temporary and does not have the ability to stop time or death.
• 'The lone and level sands stretch far away.'


  • Assonance: produce elongated sounds that symbolise the vast, open space in which the statue rots and turns to dust.