Ozymandias
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: 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,
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!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Who said: 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,
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!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Ozymandias - ExplanationThe speaker had met with someone who has traveled to Egypt
(we know this because of the history of the name “Ozymandias” meaning “King Ramses”) The person goes on the describe a broken down statue that is abandoned in the desert and all that is left are the legs, with no torso or shoulders. On the sand next to this pair of legs, lies the head to this statue The facial expression of this stone head is a cold frown that has a worn and wrinkled face. In the stone one can tell that the artist had a passion for his work, detailing every emotion. The traveler hints that the ruler was harsh, and treated the people a little cruelly. However the ruler did care for his people adequately, despite his rough personality. On a plaque next to the crumbled statue said the words “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (meaning: fear all that I have done all you that think you are the best, for I am far better) There is nothing around this grand statue, just barren desert that goes on and on. This emptiness almost mocks the poor king’s statue because all his greatness is forgotten and underappreciated… lost to the sands of time. |
Ozymandias - Rhyme Scheme
The Poem Ozymandias is a mixture of Petrarchan and Shakespearian style. It is Petrarchan in that it is structured in a fourteen line, iambic pentameter format; however, the rhyme scheme is mostly Shakespearian. After the first four lines (ABAB) the Shakespearian begins to mingle with other rhyme schemes providing a final rhyme scheme of ABABACDCEDEFEF.