Ozymandias Essay, Research Paper
"Ozymandias" to express to us that possessions do not mean
immortality. He used very strong imagery and irony to get his point across
throughout the poem. In drawing these vivid and ironic pictures in our minds,
Shelley was trying to explain that no one lives forever, and nor do their
possessions. Shelley expresses this poem?s moral through a vivid and ironic
picture. A shattered stone statue with only the legs and head remaining,
standing in the desert, the face is proud and arrogant, "Half sunk, a
shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read"(lines, 4-6). On the
pedestal of the statue, there are these words, ?"My name is Ozymandias,
king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!?"(Lines, 10-11).
However, all that surrounds the statue is a desert. This poem is written to
express to us that possessions don?t mean immortality, the king who seemed to
think that his kingdom would remain under his statue?s haughty gaze forever,
ironically teaches us this through his epitaph. "Look on my works, ye
Mighty, and despair!"(Line, 11) becomes good advice, though in an opposite
meaning than the king intended, for it comes to mean that despite all the power
and might one acquires in the course of their life, material possessions will
not last forever. In the end, the King?s "works" are nothing, and
the lines inscribed upon his statue are a sermon to those who read it. This is a
poem about art. Shelley used imagery and a very impressive ironical way to write
this poem. Basically, the poem is divided into two parts; the first eight lines
are describing an ancient decayed sculpture seen by a traveler. The last six
lines however talk about the words on the pedestal and the desolate
surroundings; he contrasts the great sculpture with the surrounding emptiness,
which gave a stronger feeling about the poem. In Shelley?s work, it described
the visage "sneer of cold command"(Line, 5). From this you can imagine
a very conceited, arrogant pharaoh, commanding his people building this great
vast statue hoping his power would be immortality. And when this great piece of
work is done, he demanded to put such words on the pedestal: ?"My name is
Ozymandias, king of kings. Look at my works, ye Mighty and
despair!"?(Lines, 10-11). Ozymandias seemed to think that as long as his
sculpture was there, his kingdom would last forever. But according to this poem,
after hundreds and thousands of years, the only thing left is sand and the
rotting and decaying sculpture. Shelley wrote, " Nothing beside
remains"(line, 12) after the words " Look at my works,"(line,
11). This is really sarcastic because the prior sentence was just talking about
how great and fabulous this sculpture was and how the king thought about
possessing his kingdom forever this way. Then, the next sentence comes with-
"Nothing beside remains"(line, 12). Shelley is trying to tell us
something through this vivid and ironic picture described in the poem, which is
no one lives forever, and nor do their possessions. In the poem, this pharaoh
thought that even if he past away, his kingdom, power and possessions would
still remain the same, and forever this way. But in reality, it?s impossible.
Like the poem said, the king?s work became nothing, only shattered statue with
legs and head left, lying in the desert. Shelley put a clear image in all our
minds when he talked about the power and desires of this mighty king. All
Ozymandias wanted was immortality, which everyone in this world, even today,
would die for. Who knows, maybe that was the key to the king?s impractical
dream.