Lines 2 - 5

• Lines 2-5

  “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

  Stand in the desert…Near them, on the sand,

  Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

  And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,”
• Translation

  • The traveller then tells of a ruined statue standing in the middle of the desert
  • The statue is of a king, Ramesses II, also known as Ozymandias, who ruled over a once great Egyptian civilisation
  • Only the legs and the enormous face (the “ visage ”) remain
  • The traveller only describes the mouth, with a “ frown ”, “ wrinkled lip ” and “ sneer of cold command ”
• Shelley’s intention:

  • Shelley is commenting that all that remains of this great and powerful ruler are legs and a “ shattered ” visage, which creates a sense of irony. This is ironic because Ozymandias’s power and pride were based on his image of being a great and powerful ruler, and yet now all that remains are broken parts of a statue
• Shelley’s intention

  • The poem portrays a king who believed strongly in his own power and superiority, and who tried to  immortalise his power through his statue
  • The “ frown ”, “ wrinkled lip ” and “ sneer ” of cold command suggest the cruelty and heartlessness of the ruler, who was arrogant and had nothing but contempt for his subjects. This is reflective of Shelley’s own anti military and  anti monarchy stance 
  • Yet this statue has now been destroyed by time, and the king has been largely forgotten