Marie Anjanette B.

Paasa ENGLISH 4: A6-1

WRITTEN REPORT:

Ozymandias
About the author: Percy Bysshe Shelley [1792-1822]
Percy Bysshe Shelley was born on August 4, 1792 at Field Place near
Horsham, Sussex, England. He was one of the best known English Romantic poets
and considered as one of the finest lyric poets in the English language that shares
his political and social views. He attended Eton College for six year beginning in
1804 where he started writing poetry and published his Gothic novel, Zastrozzi; and
then went on to Oxford University. His publication was followed by a pamphlet of
burlesque verse, Posthumous Fragments of Margaret Nicholson and Original
Poetry; by Victor and Cazire
Being expelled after circulating his publication, The Necessity of Atheism
left him in dire financial straits. At the age of nineteen, Shelley eloped to Scotland
with Harriet Westbrook and went back writing and studying. He met a British
philosopher William Godwin who influenced him in one of his published works. Later,
he had fallen for the daughter of William, Mary. They eloped and moved to Europe.
When they got broke, they decided to head back to England and then move to Lake
Geneva where Mary finished her novel, Frankenstein. Later, they discovered that
Harriet, the former lover of Percy Shelley, committed suicide. And that was the time
Shelley and Mary officially got married. Throughout the years, the couple produced
their own major works. But on July 8, 1822, Percy Shelley was drowned in a storm
while attempting to sail from Leghorn to La Spezia, Italy.
Background of the poem: authors influence in writing Ozymandias
On Boxing Day 1817, travellers' reports were released which was about of
Giovanni Belzoni's success (where the French had failed) in removing the 'half sunk
and shattered visage' of the so-called 'Young Memnon' from the Ramesseum at
Thebes. Belzoni was a famous Italian explorer and pioneer archaeologist of Egyptian
antiquities. That partially-destroyed statue was making its way to London from
Egypt when Percy Shelley and his friend Horace Smith decided to have a friendly
sonnet competition about the recent discovery. That statue was actually an image
of 13th-century B.C. Egyptian King Ramses II, whom the Greeks called
Ozymandias.. Sooner, the Shelley published first his poem in a periodical, The
Examiner, earlier than Smith. Shelleys poem bought more readers and influenced
greatly due to its appreciated anthologized work.
About the poem: Summary
The poem opened the piece with the poet describing a meeting with someone
who is a traveler from a place where ancient civilization once existed. Based from

the title itself, hes talking about Egypt. The traveler shared to the speaker the story
of old, huge stone legs or fragments of statue in the middle of the desert. Though
the statue was partially destroyed, the enormous face was sunk and still displays a
frown and sneering look. It seemed the sculptor did a great job of expressing the
rulers personality. On the pedestal, the inscribed words may give an impression his
greatness and awesomeness but theres no more evidence since all left is his
broken statue in the whole area covered with vast sand.
Analysis
I met a traveler from an antique land
It tells an encounter of the poet to a traveler. Its uncertain what kind of traveler he
is but he seemed not just any traveler who could be someone who is a historian or
adventurer since it described the place as antique which means somewhere the
land which ancient civilization existed. And by the word antique it implies to
something old yet valuable. Hence, the line tells that a person who might be a
historian/traveler had been to Egypt.

Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert.'
It gives a huge image of an Egyptian ruins. And the traveler described that there are
two stone legs with nothing attached trunkless could mean the figure has no
torso yet standing in the desert. It shares an image of wrecked statue made of
stone.

Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies,
Here, he describes that near the legs of stone was a shattered visage which means
a face. This continues the scene of aside from having the legs, there was a head
plunked down near to his legs which was half-buried in the sand. By visage it
could help you think of association to the face you are looking.

whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

This now described the face of the statue which only about the mouth not the
eyes, nose or anything else. It gives also and image of not completely shattered
face since one could still see a frown. By wrinkled lip, it gives a sad characteristic
of lip; and sneer of cold command which is an expression that this statue,
Ozymandias, was a powerful king who ruled Egypt. And the unpleasant expression
sees that he is an absolute ruler.

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things
After that description of visage, it tells that the statue cant literary speak but the
description produced a perfect expression seen by the sculptor. These lines shift our
attention from the statue to the sculptor who made the art. He seemed to
understand and reproduced exactly the facial features and passions of an angry
man or ruler. It could be that the artist/sculptor has the ability to perceive the real
image and character of the subject. And it conveys that the passions of the kings
face in sculptors work survived while the king is long gone. And the stampd refer
to the inscription of facial expressions on the statues face. Thus, the statues
passion outlived both the sculptor and the king.
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
This seems to be a hard phrase to analyze but the hand that mockd them could
mean the hand of the sculptor who artistically imitated the kings passions and the
deep inside the heart of the king fed sculptors passion which he sympathetically
recaptured a representation of the statue.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Pedestal means at the foot of a statue and the traveler tells about the inscription
that the statue represents. So, it is Ozymandias, which is a Greek name for Ramses
II of Egypt. And it reveals an arrogant king who seemed to boast about his power
and authority. He even brags about his works which could be the famous temples he
constructed and colossal statues of him. And ye Mighty and despair tells that
others achievement will never equal his.
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
After the travelers recitation of the inscription, it goes back describing the area
surrounding the statue. Nothing remains. The colossal size emphasized the

greatness and ambitions of Ozymandias yet the traveler describes the desolate and
empty desert that seems to go on forever. It also tells the infinite empty space it
seems to reveal that the statue is the only thing that can be found in the land since
whatever used to be beside the statue seemed long gone, buried and destroyed.
Form and Meter
Ozymandias is a fourteen-line sonnet in iambic pentameter. It is structured
having an octave (8 lines) which proposes problem or concern; then followed by a
setset (6 lines) that contains the resolution and answers. The poem is considered
ekphrastic poem that means its a poem about another work of art, for instance, the
real statue of Ozymadias.
Point of View and Setting
First person point of view was used in the poem making Shelley takes the
part as a narrator. And then on the second line, the narrator allows the traveler to
tell his adventure. And the poem probably begin in London where Shelley/narrator
was living and the rest of the poem took place in a site in the desert were a wrecked
statue was located.
Tone
The poems tone is ironic and mocking. The once great king speaks highly of
himself and builds a huge statue to glorify his accomplishments. But now, it is
dumped and in shambles. So sarcastically, the poet establishes a mood that
highlights the foolishness of tyrannical leaders.

Theme
Transience nothing lasts forever. Just like the huge statue which was
wrecked and eventually succumbs to the ravages of time, Ozymandias was not an
exception. His ambitions, passions, works and absolute power also ended and
crumbled until nothing remains. It tells the impermanence of a king and its
possessions.
Pride Ozymandias thinks highly of himself and of his accomplishments in his
reign. It seemed that during his legacy, he was powerful and considers himself the
highest king.
Art and Culture it was inspired by a real statue. It features a work of art
which was a statue of Ramses II which was made by a skilled sculptor and it reveals
the arts longevity.
Literary Concepts
Enjambment
It is the continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break.

Figurative Language [Irony and Symbol]

Irony is a situation which is the exact opposite of what have told.
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: (line 10). This line tells that Ozymandias is a
king. Ozymandias was a king of Egypt Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II). Now, he is not
a king anymore because he hasnt any palace or castle and loyal people. He said that
he is a king, but it is not true that he is a king. It becomes an irony because he is not
a king anymore.
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (line 11). This line tells that
Ozymandiass works will be everlasting, and it shows that his works is the best of the
best. Ozymandias is too arrogant to say that the other works will despair, but it is not
true, because now Ozymandiass works are just ruins.
From the lines above, we know that there was a kingdom that had a king named
Ozymandias, but now its just a colossal wreck / ruins.

Symbol is something that refers to something else by reason of relationship,

association, convention, or accidental resemblance.
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone (line 2). The symbol of ruins is
shown by the word trunkless that means the statue is without a torso (body). It
means that the statue is not complete anymore.
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, (line 4). The words half sunk
show that the statue doesnt give any maintenance anymore. No one cares with the
statue.

Imagery
Visual Imagery clarifies the description which is caught by sense of sight.
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone (line 2). This line shows that there is
a stone/statue that it is a pair of leg without a torso.
The lone and level sands stretch far away (line 14). This line shows that the statue
is in the middle of dessert, together with loneliness.

Auditory Imagery clarifies the description which is caught by sense of

hearing.
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (line 11). This line shows that
Ozymandias had created something in his era, for example, the statue of him.

Conclusion

The poem is a great work of Shelley. From it, we can learn that nothing, even a
statue, can be eternal in this poem. It reveals the importance of longevity. The
ruination of the Ozymandias statue and the emptiness of the ancient land of Egypt
represent the impermanence of political leaders and their regimes.
And also, human pride and vanity was also expressed in this poem. This is not just
limited to the mighty rulers who desire to withstand time but also for all the people
who seek immortality, resist death and deny downfall. Anyone who believes that
everything stays the same and who dont believe in losing are fooling themselves.
Since, even how high you become, how famous you are and how many things you
own your destination will always be death and ruin.

References
Shelley, P. B. (1875). Ozymandias of Egypt. The Golden Treasury, 251, 25.
SparkNotes:
Shelleys
Poetry:
Ozymandias
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Shmoop:
Ozymandias
by
Percy
Bysshe
Shelley.
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Calareso, J. (no date). Percy Shelley's Ozymandias: Analysis and Themes. Retrieved
from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/percy-shelleys-ozymandiasanalysis-and-themes.html#lesson
Gradesaver:
Percy
Shelley
Poems:
Ozymandias.
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from
http://www.gradesaver.com/percy-shelley-poems/study-guide/summaryozymandias
Cliffnotes:
Shelleys
Poems.
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from
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/shelleys-poems/summary-andanalysis/ozymandias
Mikics, D. (2010) Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ozymandias. Retrieved from
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/guide/238972
Enotes: Ozymandias. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/topics/ozymandias/indepth