Ozymandias Analysis

I'm a nerd and I really wanna talk about one of my favorite sonnets; Ozymandias by Percy Shelley. I remember reading this sonnet for the first time in my freshman year of university, and I was blown away. I tried to incorporate it in every mock lesson plan I had as I was training to be a teacher. It's a fantastic poem that even inspired a song by Red Vox. I've been dying to talk about it, so here we go. 

The name "Ozymandias" refers to the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, as he was referred to by the Greeks. The poem is narrated by a traveler "from an antique land" who describes his travels; specifically, the statue remains he found of a powerful king in the middle of a desert. The only remains of the statue were two giant legs and the head which lay above the sand, and a pedestal that read "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!". The traveler could tell the pharaoh was very intimidating in his time through the cold sneer on the statue's face; as if the statue itself commanded attention to his kingdom, even though nothing beside him remained. 

Percy Shelley intentionally used irony throughout his sonnet, with powerful allusions and metaphors to show his audience how nature itself can be cold and unforgiving. If one were to view this poem through a political lense, it would be clear that Shelley was trying to criticize public officials on war and expansion. The sonnet was published in the year 1818; during this time, England was expanding its way into the world and bringing back exotic animals and spices with them. Just as Ozymandias' cold sneer invited you to look upon his work and despair, only to see nothing, Shelley argued that if leaders are not careful they too will be forgotten in the course of history no matter how far they expanded. Through just fourteen lines, Shelley was able to show how he sees nature and how he sees humanity. 

Let's analyze the lines. 

The narrator tells the story of a traveler they met; "I met a traveler from an antique land..." Meaning, the story in the sonnet is told to the narrator through someone else. The imagery we are given as a reader was not even experienced through the narrator themselves, but through a traveler we don't even know the name of. From the very first line, we as the reader understand that the story we are about to hear is being re-told to us. 

Furthermore, through the words "antique land", Shelley was able to tell his readers that the traveler's story is from Egypt. The Rosetta Stone was found in 1799, and the stone was a tourist attraction for years in the British Museum since 1802, deciphering the languages on the stone had started around the 1810s. Rosetta Stone was the "antique" attraction from Egypt, which means that through the words "antique land", Shelley was referring to Egypt. 

Lines two through fourteen are only one sentence, and all a quote from the traveler. The narrator goes on to tell the traveler's story; "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..." 

Through the eyes of the traveler, the reader is able to visualize a half-sunk statue. The fact that the statue was even made in the first place shows the reader the importance of the pharaoh. Even though the face of the statue is broken and detached from the statue itself, the traveler could tell through the cold sneer and wrinkled lip that the ruler had a lot of power, and ruled with an iron fist. The traveler could even tell that the sculptor knew the ruler had a lot of power and showed that in his sculpture. The artist captured the command of the ruler exceptionally, to the point where his power is shown on the statue centuries after the pharao's death. The sculptor's attention to detail and dedication to his craft survived for centuries and gave us a glimpse of a king, without this dedication there would be no story to tell.

The sonnet continues; "The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; ..." Through this line, the traveler provides insight into the leader himself. "The hand that mocked them..." meaning the ruler looked down on his people, mocking them for needing any of his help. It's easy to see the hypocrisy in that sentiment; a king, born into a wealthy family, is mocking people that never had any of the same opportunities he did. His sneer and cold command could also be read as ego in that sense. However, the traveler clarifies that the ruler might have had his heart in the right place through the line "the heart that fed". Even though he mocked his people, he took care of them. Maybe he wasn't all that bad. 

The traveler continues his story; "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." 

Through the words written on the pedestal, the reader understands Ozymandias' personality. His ego and pride command those who look at his statue not to appreciate his work or his kingdom, but to fear it for its power. He was clearly very proud of his kingdom, through which he was proud of himself. The last three lines of the sonnet, however, switch the tone of the story. Ozymandias' proud work has turned to dust, and the only remaining thing left of his kingdom is a broken statue. Ironically, Ozymandias isn't the one being praised through the statue. Rather, travelers look at the statue and praise the sculptor. 

The barren land surrounding the statue represents the end of empires. No matter how great an empire can be, everything ends. Whatever power the rulers or leaders of those empires wielded will not be praised. I think Shelley was criticizing the leaders of England for their use of brute force around the world. Just nineteen years prior to the sonnet's release, the first maps of slave ships had been drawn up. England would not condemn slavery for another fifteen years when it abolished the institution of slavery in the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. Similar to Ozymandias, Shelley saw his leaders committing crimes and using brute force around the world in the name of pride. By having Ozymandias' broken statue be in the middle of a dessert, Shelley showed the reader that any great empire can fall, any great ruler can be forgotten, including those in England. 

The one thing that binds all civilizations throughout time is that one day they all end. It's hard to imagine our civilization could end one day, but I bet Ozymandias thought the same way. Maybe we get tunnel vision in that sense; we forget that in a thousand years our pride and ego will not be looked back on fondly. I think that's the message Shelley was trying to send to his leaders in 1818, and maybe we still need to hear it today.