Ozymandias
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 speaker in this poem talks about the time they met a traveler who told them about the old remains of a once great king, Ozymandias, buried in the desert. What once was a gigantic statue depicting the ancient king's great power is now ruined, "'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. . . . near them, on the sand, half sunk a shattered visage lies," these words shedding a gloomy tone with examples of "shattered" imagery. It is also of note that there are two meanings to the word 'lies' one which is resting or the other that is lying. Onwards to the rest of the poem, the speaker shares that there were words inscribed on the statue, "'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains," here, showing that the statue is lying as now all this great power is gone symbolized by the statue's remains. The poem ends of with the same gloomy tone, "Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away," as the statue is alone and these words denoting any power that once was. One of the themes presented is nothing can withstand time, specifically power. Ozymandias thought he was the king of kings; yet, now his works are long gone buried beneath the sands of time. The speaker’s gloomy tone is to discuss this gloomy subject of mortality and that nothing can last forever, even Ozymandias ‘the king of kings’ who symbolizes that.
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