Ozymandias

• 'sneer of cold command'


  Tyrannical nature and coercive power. Is a criticism of power retention
• 'wrinkled lip'


  Statue was made at the peak of his power but it is already fading
• 'boundless and bare' and 'lone and level sands' 


  Alliteration which communicates the vast, powerful extent of nature

  The 'sands' represent time and how the statue is lost to it just like power
• 'Nothing beside remains'


  Demonstrates the futility of human power perfectly
• 'stamped on these lifeless things'


  Ironic as his power did not stand the test of time and is now 'lifeless'

  'things' may suggest that he views his people as subhuman
• 'Ye mighty and despair


  Absolute power

  Volta
• 'king of kings'


  Links to Ramesses II through the aspect of great power

  Overinflated ego and arrogance
• 'hand that mocked them and the heart that fed'


  'hand that mocked' shows his clear dislike for his people however he uses them for power

  'heart that fed' may suggest that he put on a deceiving act of friendliness however this may turn into a 'shattered visage'??
• 'I met a traveller from an antique land' 


  'Traveller' instantly tries to deflect the blame of the poem as it is a criticism on power and so Shelley implies that it isn't his viewpoint when in reality it is

  'Antique land' suggests that it is long forgotten and shows the futility of man's power, for this poem the 'land' is Ancient Egypt
• 'decay of that colossal wreck' 


  Insignificance of human achievements compared to the passing of time
• Form and Structure


  Written in the form of a mix between a Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet which is a 14 line poem typically about love

  In Ozymandias it is about his self-love

  Alternatively, it could be suggested that Shelley used this form to mock and ridicule Ozymandias' lack of love towards his people

  Irregular rhyme scheme can perhaps be symbolic of the broken statue itself, no longer perfect
• Statue being an allegory 


  Means that it is an extended metaphor for the eventual end of power that everyone must suffer. Especially the powerful
• 'trunkless legs of stone'


  Describes the remains of the statues and the fact that nature is powerful as it overcomes mans power
• 'shattered' 'half sunk' 'colossal wreck' 'nothing beside remains' 


  Semantic field of deterioration is apparent throughout the above quotes
• Shelley lied within the poem as statues of Ozymandias can still be seen today however within his poem he changed this fact to portray tyranny to be short lived
• Shelley moved out of Britain shortly after the poem was written due to the fact that he saw the corruption within Britain and so the criticism of Ozymandias can be seen as an implied criticism of Britain's political state
• Links to the human condition as society will have tyrants forever and so this makes it a timeless and forever relevant poem
• Theme of nature is apparent as the only thing that remains is the 'lone and level sands' of time

  Metaphorical and literal sands engulfing the statue and Ozymandias' power