
Ozymandias
'Ozymandias' Summary
The speaker of the poem meets a traveler who came from an ancient land. The traveler describes two large stone legs of a statue, which lack a torso to connect them, and stand upright in the desert. Near the legs, half buried in sand, is the broken face of the statue. The statue's facial expression—a frown and a wrinkled lip—form a commanding, haughty sneer. The expression shows that the sculptor understood the emotions of the person the statue is based on, and now those emotions live on, carved forever on inanimate stone. In making the face, the sculptor’s skilled hands mocked up a perfect recreation of those feelings and of the heart that fed those feelings (and, in the process, so perfectly conveyed the subject’s cruelty that the statue itself seems to be mocking its subject).
The traveler next describes the words inscribed on the pedestal of the statue, which say: "My name is Ozymandias, the King who rules over even other Kings. Behold what I have built, all you who think of yourselves as powerful, and despair at the magnificence and superiority of my accomplishments." There is nothing else in the area. Surrounding the remnants of the large statue is a never-ending and barren desert, with empty and flat sands stretching into the distance.
I met a traveller from an antique land,Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand 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 readWhich 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 decayOf that colossal Wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Book Details
Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley
English
Shelley's work was not widely read in his lifetime outside a small circle of friends, poets and critics. Most of his poetry, drama and fiction was published in editions of 250 copies which generally s...
More on Percy Bysshe ShelleyDownload eBooks
Unfortunately, no ebooks exist for this book, yet...
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Amoretti and Epithalamion by Edmund Spenser
This is a captivating collection of sonnets and a longer lyrical poem that explores the depths of love and devotion. Written by the renowned English p...

The Blue Poetry Book by Andrew Lang
It is a timeless anthology that showcases the beauty of poetry through a range of styles and themes. Each poem is carefully selected and presented in...

Color by Countee Cullen
"Color" is a poem written by Countee Cullen, an African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance. The poem was published in Cullen's first volume of po...

Francesco Petrarca - Sonette - übersetzt und ausgewählt von Carl Streckfuss by Francesco Petrarca
Die Sonette von Francesco Petrarca sind eine zeitlose Huldigung an die Liebe und ihre Facetten. Tauchen Sie ein in die zeitlose Poesie eines der bedeu...

Lamia by John Keats
"Lamia" is a narrative poem written by the English poet John Keats, which first appeared in the volume Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St Agnes and Other...

Hours of Idleness by George Gordon Byron, Lord
It is an engaging book that will captivate the imagination of readers. This collection of poetry, written by the acclaimed author Lord Byron, offers a...

Elegiac Sonnets and Other Poems by Charlotte Turner Smith
It was in 1784, in debtor's prison with her husband Benjamin, that she wrote and published her first work, Elegiac Sonnets. The work achieved instant...

A Lost God by Francis William Bourdillon
This explores themes of nature, love, and the mysteries of the universe. Bourdillon's romantic and sentimental style is on full display in these poems...

A Song To Eleonora Duse In "Francesca da Rimini " by Sara Teasdale
In the realm of theater, where emotions reign supreme and passion takes center stage, Eleonora Duse, the Italian actress, captivated audiences with he...

Miniver Cheevy by Edwin Arlington Robinson
"Miniver Cheevy" is a narrative poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson and first published in The Town down the River in 1910. The poem, written in...
Reviews for Ozymandias
No reviews posted or approved, yet...