The tale he tells is this: two huge stone legs are all that remains standing of a statue. It goes right into the story itself, which is a weird and mysterious thing to do. It goes from ‘meeting’ the traveller to him recounting the tale: no ‘how’s it going?’ no ‘how are you?’ no ‘Would you like me to tell you a marvellous tale?’. I kind of imagine this traveller almost stopping Shelley in the street to share this tale with him. In the second line, we get the opening of the story he tells, which is kind of peculiar in itself. The fact that the traveller has no name and isn’t from a particular place just makes what he has to say even more universal. The universality of power is the message of the poem, and to have such a vague description is really great, because it leaves so much more to the imagination. It makes it more universal, as if many ancient civilisations could have such statues as he describes later. It could be Macchu Pichu, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Mayans, the Hun… the fact that Egypt is not mentioned specifically is important, because it means it’s also another level of vague old mystery. Still, it adds another little shot of mystery right in there, with the vagueness of the place. ![]() The “antique land” is a little ambiguous, as is the title, but you don’t have to be an Egyptologist to know that Egypt is the place in question. was born in) the antique land, since that just sounds more marvellously mysterious. he was born there?) or a traveller who’s come back from the “antique land”? For me, I like to think that he’s a traveller that came from (i.e. Is the traveller FROM the antique land (i.e. The first line of the poem gives us a bit of context: the traveller is from “an antique land” – it’s still a little ambiguous though. In this post, I’m focusing on the language, ideas and views expressed in the poem. Shelley would feel no hesitation at all in writing a poem directly criticising Mad King George, believe me! To recap: Ozymandias is a sonnet, but please don’t try to link it to love rather link it to the sonnet traditions of John Milton if you must the poem isn’t about a particular statue being brought to England, more the phenomenon of Egyptology which was particularly popular at the time Shelley was writing the poem could be a critique of King George III among others, but it’s not specifically about him. I also looked a little at the sonnet form. Their statues may still be seen but within a space of them, they will decay eventually get destroyed.In the last post, I had a look at some of the myths, fallacies and truths around the context of Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley, to help GCSE English Literature candidates for AQA make sense of what’s out there. Within a space of time, their wicked rule and works are forgotten. The wicked ones reign supreme only to end up leaving everything. In all, the central theme of the poem is focused on the futility of clinging to power in a wicked manner. The former great Ramses II Empire is now an empty desert. He’s no longer the King of Kings as engraved on the statue. The engraved wordings on the pedestal no longer have any meaning since the works of the king have already been destroyed. The only thing left for him is the dilapidating statue which keeps on shattering by the day. Hence, the name "Ozymandias" actually mocks King Ramses II and also ridicules his empire and rule. From this interpretation, there’s nothing left for the Ramses Ii Empire. Hence, the full name literally translates to "ruler of air". The "Ozy" in the name means "air’ while "Mandias" means "to rule". Actually, what is written is "Ozymandias King of Kings, Look on my works, ye mighty and despair". ![]() The poet goes ahead to describe the details seen on the pedestal of the statue. The sculptor who created the image captured Ramses’ personality judging from the facial expression of the statue. During his time, he was seen as a very wicked ruler. He describes the dilapidating statue as representing the symbols of Ramses personality. He recounts his experience when he met a traveler in the ancient Egypt where the statue of Ramses II was seen positioned at a spot. In the poem, Shelley describes the remains of Ramses II Empire which is also referred to as "Ozymandias". The major theme of the sonnet is centered on the unavoidable decline of all wicked world leaders and their great empires. Both poets were competing with each other in their write-ups. ![]() The other "Ozymandias" written by Horace Smith, Shelley’s friend is also a sonnet. This means, it’s written as a 14-line poem. Shelley wrote the poem in competition with Horace Smith, his friend who equally wrote another "Ozymandias". ![]() It was published in the January, 1818 issue of "The Examiner" in London. "Ozymandias" is a poem written by Percy Shelley.
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