Ozymandias
by Percy Byshe Shelley
I met a traveller 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.”
The rhyming pattern of the poem is complex and follows an ABACA DEDFGE HIHI. It's easiest to break down the pattern into three seperate parts where the rhymes repeat themselves. In the first par there is land,sand, and command. In the second part there is read and fed, but also things and kings. The last part of the poem although it's all in one stanza alternate an ABAB couplet pattern to close it out with despair, decay, bare, and away.
The first line speaks of an antique land. The word antique used in the line for old is particularly fitting as it has close associations with the antique statuary that is the topic of the poem.
The second line starts the quotation from the man mentioned in the first line and the quotes go on until the end of the poem. He begins by remarking on the legs of the ruin and the size of them. It begins and progresses quickly in it's depiction of the ruin.
The third line informs us that the fragments of this statue lie in the sand. Indeed, from the name Ozymandias we can assume that it's a statue of Ramses the second.
The fourth line tells us that the visage lying in the sand is shattered, yet it's still possible to make out his frown. The topic of the fourth line segues seamlessly into the fifth, continuing the depiction of the haughty emperors mouth. The focus on frown, lip, and sneer focus the reader on a minute aspect of the face, and add and air of contempt to the shattered visage.
The sixth line goes on to commend the artist who sculpted the work or capturing the cold passions of the cruel ruler. The seventh reminds us that those passions are still legible on the face despite all the time that has passed. Pressed upon these inanimate objects.
In the eight line the recollection from the antique traveler conveys to us that the ruler was at one time capable of mocking his people, and that his heart fed upon them. These impressions survive and the antique traveler conveys that this is still apparent on the statue.
The ninth line gives us another piece of the shattered wreck, this time the pedestal where the words of Ozymandias are wrought. The tenth and eleventh line continue the thought, but the assumption of ultimate might and supremacy is juxtaposed with the decay and broken nature of the work all around the pedestal where the testament to Ramses timeless rule should be.
The twelfth concludes to us that these are the only pieces of the work that remains. Going over them there are the trunks of legs, the broken pieces of a face, and a pedestal with the ironic inscription.
The last lines are depictions of the ruins. The lines characterize the desolation and transient nature of what was once an empire colored for us with the words, decay, wreck, bare, and lone. All that is left of Ozymandias empire are lone and level sands.
The first line speaks of an antique land. The word antique used in the line for old is particularly fitting as it has close associations with the antique statuary that is the topic of the poem.
The second line starts the quotation from the man mentioned in the first line and the quotes go on until the end of the poem. He begins by remarking on the legs of the ruin and the size of them. It begins and progresses quickly in it's depiction of the ruin.
The third line informs us that the fragments of this statue lie in the sand. Indeed, from the name Ozymandias we can assume that it's a statue of Ramses the second.
The fourth line tells us that the visage lying in the sand is shattered, yet it's still possible to make out his frown. The topic of the fourth line segues seamlessly into the fifth, continuing the depiction of the haughty emperors mouth. The focus on frown, lip, and sneer focus the reader on a minute aspect of the face, and add and air of contempt to the shattered visage.
The sixth line goes on to commend the artist who sculpted the work or capturing the cold passions of the cruel ruler. The seventh reminds us that those passions are still legible on the face despite all the time that has passed. Pressed upon these inanimate objects.
In the eight line the recollection from the antique traveler conveys to us that the ruler was at one time capable of mocking his people, and that his heart fed upon them. These impressions survive and the antique traveler conveys that this is still apparent on the statue.
The ninth line gives us another piece of the shattered wreck, this time the pedestal where the words of Ozymandias are wrought. The tenth and eleventh line continue the thought, but the assumption of ultimate might and supremacy is juxtaposed with the decay and broken nature of the work all around the pedestal where the testament to Ramses timeless rule should be.
The twelfth concludes to us that these are the only pieces of the work that remains. Going over them there are the trunks of legs, the broken pieces of a face, and a pedestal with the ironic inscription.
The last lines are depictions of the ruins. The lines characterize the desolation and transient nature of what was once an empire colored for us with the words, decay, wreck, bare, and lone. All that is left of Ozymandias empire are lone and level sands.
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