By the end of this article, you'll have a complete understanding of "Ozymandias. It was first published in 1818 in The Examiner of London under Shelleys pen name, Gilrastes. In this sonnet, Shelleys speaker encounters a traveler from an antique land. For instance, the line, Two vast and trunkless legs of stone, arouses both fear and pity in the readers hearts. Maybe he thinks that the sneering makes him look powerful. The image described is very strange: a pair of legs, with a head nearby. Students (upto class 10+2) preparing for All Government Exams, CBSE Board Exam, ICSE Board Exam, State Board Exam, JEE (Mains+Advance) and NEET can ask questions from any subject and get quick answers by subject teachers/ experts/mentors/students. Ozymandias Section I (Lines 1-8) | Shmoop Shelley uses the first person pronoun "I" to begin his sonnet then cleverly switches the focus to a third person, a traveler, whose words are contained in the remaining thirteen lines. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. . Napoleon? He had a frowning expression on his face which reflected his scornful and contemptuous nature. Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, Readers who liked Shelleys Ozymandias could also find the following poems interesting. Now, the leader is gone, and so is his empire. In "Ozymandias" there are numerous examples of enjambment, including "Who said"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/Stand in the desert. "Read" here means "understood" or "copied" well. . Ozymandias | British Literature Wiki There is an interesting story behind the composition of the poem. Weirdly, the "passions" still survive because they are "stamp'd on these lifeless things." Tell that its sculptor well those passions read The next lines ironically express it better. You can use dozens of filters and search criteria to find the perfect person for your needs. It is an understatement to say that Shelley was a clever man. and more. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. The traveler almost seems to be mocking the ruler. Ozymandias carries an extended metaphor throughout the entire poem. You can read Horace Smiths sonnet below and compare it with Shelleys poem. . Near them on the sand lies a damaged stone head. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? It's not a Shakespearean sonnet, nor is it a Petrarchan - the poet made certain of its individuality by choosing not to introduce a 'turn' after the second quatrain. The "shattered visage" refers to A. No matter how hard a man tries to rivet his name, at some point, people will forget him. My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; The mightier they are, the heavier they fall seems to be a part of Shelley's message. The iambic pentameter sounds more natural than many other rhythms, but it still has a purposeful enough rhythm to easily differentiate it from normal speech (even in the 1800s no one would naturally speak the way "Ozymandias" was written). What does the word visage mean in line 4? The life and works of Percy Bysshe Shelley exemplify English Romanticism in both its extremes of joyous ecstasy and brooding despair. The tension comes from the fact that the poet's thought isn't finished at the end of a sentence. Natural disaster? He is a haughty ruler who, under the impression of being the most powerful, dares to challenge the Almighty. And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read. "Mock'd" has two meanings in this passage. For example, in lines 3-5 : Stand in the desertNear them, on the sand. The shattered visage in the poem 'Ozymandias' belongs to the King Ozymandias. If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work. (The statue and its inscription do not survive, and were not seen by Shelley; his inspiration for Ozymandias was verbal rather than visual.). Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. "Ozymandias" is a sonnet, which is a type of poetic structure. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, What is the intention of the poet here? What do the colossal wreck and "Tell" is a cool word. Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! He could be a native of this "antique" land, or just a tourist returning from his latest trip. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, 5 Tell that its sculptor well those passions read The statue doesn't literally speak, but the frown and sneer are so perfectly rendered that they give the impression that they are speaking, telling us how great the sculptor was. Napoleon eventually lost out and was exiled to a distant island, St Helena, where he died in 1821. The irony of this sonnet lies in the last few lines. "Look on my works ye mighty and despair." . The poet Horace Smith spent the end of 1817 with Percy Shelley and his wife Mary Shelley (the author of Frankenstein). Though Shelley was one of the important Romantic poets, he never achieved fame while he was alive. Throughout the poem, Ramesses' pride is evident, from the boastful inscription where he declares himself a "king of kings" to the "sneer of cold command" on his statue. Shelleys limpid late lyric With a Guitar, to Jane evokes wafting harmonies and a supremely light touch. The reader encounters Shelleys poem like an explorer coming upon a strange, desolate landscape. The artist mocked Ozymandias by depicting him, and in a way that the ruler could not himself perceive (presumably he was satisfied with his portrait). Ozymandias thought himself so Mighty that even others who claimed their works were mighty would pale into insignificance. He also seems to be commenting in line seven that while there is an end to living beings, art is eternalit survives. It was half-sunk because it had been ravaged by time which spares no one whether rich or poor. Poem Analysis, https://poemanalysis.com/percy-bysshe-shelley/ozymandias/. His books include The Limits of Moralizing: Pathos and Subjectivity in Spenser and Milton An introduction to the poetic revolution that brought common people to literatures highest peaks. Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown. He felt that he was the mightiest of all. Besides, the hand stands for Ozymandias as a whole. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? So, who is more powerful in this case? shattered visage carries a haughty expression of the greatest disdain: his lips are frowning in a sneer, and they are described as wrinkled, an interesting image to consider upon an ancient stone statue. In "Ozymandias," what is referred as boundless and bare in line 13? Ozymandias is a commentary on the ephemeral nature of absolute political power.