Studied by 2 people
“Colossal wreck, boundless and bare”
This is the conclusion to the poem, and highlights Shelley’s criticism of pride and arrogance. He reflects the impermanence of power through the ‘colossal wreck’ that was once an awe-inspiring and imposing statue. This also shows that nature has power over human actions as the desert claims its land back. Although ‘colossal wreck’ can be taken literally (the ruins of the tomb spread out before the speaker), it can be interpreted as the wreck of civilisation; Ramses’ power has been reduced to almost nothing and the Ancient Egyptians, whilst once a powerful empire, now only exist in history books. Nature has dominance over the desert and can endure until the end of time. The plosive alliteration of the ‘ck’ and ‘c’ emphasises the obliteration that nature has caused, showing no mercy for architecture of the past. This is continued in ‘boundless and bare’ using the ‘b’s, which similarly to the earlier phrase, reflects the change that has taken place by highlighting the emptiness of the desert. ‘Colossal wreck’ is an oxymoron, emphasising the scale of destruction and the impermanence of his work. Ozymandias’ insignificant reign has ended and he has been mostly forgotten by history.
“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/stand in the desert.”
This is the result of Ozymandias’ attempt to immortalise himself, which has been defeated by nature. This is also ironic because of Ozymandias’ pride in having power and a fearsome appearance is contrasted to the ‘trunkless’ statue, which has connotations of being severed, destroyed and broken. Although the legs of his statue still ‘stand in the desert’, nature has taken control of the rest, and the use of ‘still’ emphasises the rest of the statue that is no longer upheld in the sand. The lack of his head in the remaining statue could signify Ozymandias’ ignorance of how to maintain his power, ultimately leading to the collapse of his rule. The king didn’t recognise his limitations, so allowed nature to destroy his control over Egypt over time.
The caesura after ‘desert’ provides a pause in the narrative and reflects the brokenness of the statue.
“Half sunk, a shattered visage lies […] and sneer of cold command”
The remains of the statue’s face has been eroded, causing it to collapse and break into several pieces. The extent of this damage is referenced in ‘shattered’, which connotes irreparable destruction, violence and hatred, also reflecting his flawed belief that his power would last forever - with his death came the vandalism of his works by nature. Shelley has used sibilance in ‘sunk’ and ‘shattered’ possible to imitate the sound of wind whistling over sand dunes to immerse the reader in the poem and make nature seem sinister and a force to be feared as it causes civilisations to crumble.
Ozymandias’ haughtiness is represented in ‘sneer of cold command’ as it reveals his reign of fear over his people, prioritising himself over his subjects. The ‘command’ that Ozymandias holds reflects his military power as well as his cruelty. He has contempt and no sympathy or interest to help his citizens, emphasised by the alliteration of the ‘c’ sound showing his emotionless nature. Shelley holds anti monarchy and anti military views that oppose Ozymandias’, allowing the reader to sense Shelley’s frustration at the Egyptian king, as well as King George III as Ozymandias is an allegory for the British monarch. The adjective ‘cold’, while hinting at the unwelcoming character of Ozymandias, also implies of his cold body caused by his death. This again highlights the transience of power, futility of civilisation, and the finality of death and decay.
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings”
This line is the only line in the poem to break the regular iambic pentameter with 11 syllables, revealing that Ozymandias believes that he is more important than God, saying that he is ‘king of kings’ - this contrasts the beliefs of most religions, including Christianity, which calls Jesus the king of kings. Ozymandias is arrogant and has much self-importance, so it could be implied that his heresy led God to punish him through destroying his works, including the statue. Shelley himself was atheist, so is mocking Ozymandias through his description of the ruined statue, as well as mocking religion as he writes ‘king of kings’. Ozymandias used his inscription on the statue intending to inspire dread and fear, believing that even other leaders should despair at the extent of his power as reflected by his works. Shelley’s emphasis of the power of nature and frailty of mankind is indicated through the contrast of ‘king’ and the ‘colossal wreck’ that it has become. Ozymandias can be used to warn others away from having corrupt, totalitarian power as Shelley describes the consequences and eventuality of losing it. He can be used as an allegory for King George III, who was similarly remembered for his oppressive, tyrannical reign - Shelley is criticising his reign through his poem.
Context
Percy Shelley was a Romantic poet with anti military, anti monarchy and pacifist views, who supported social justice and rejected all institutions of power. He used Ozymandias to represent the transience of power and dominance of nature’s power over civilisation in his highly political poem. His opinions were passed on to a stranger (the traveller), allowing Shelley to write political messages without consequence, especially relevant because of his historical references to Ramses II (another name for Ozymandias) and King George III, the British ruler at the time. Shelley opposed George’s oppressive rule so used Ramses as an allegory.
The sublime has a feature as a Romantic technique; nature as overpowering, creating emotions of fear and admiration in the viewer.
Shelley’s purpose
Shelley criticised the pride, arrogance and totalitarian power that Ozymandias had, mocking rulers for ultimately losing their power. Despite Ozymandias’ abuse of power, his citizens could not remove him from leadership due to their lack of power, so Shelley criticises this.
Themes
Power of nature
Abuse of power
Transience of power
Comparisons to other poems
My Last Duchess:
both poets explore the abuse of power by individuals, and their failed attempts to keep hold of this power
similarity: both poets explore the failed attempts that individuals use to keep their abused power
Difference: in Ozymandias, the king builds a huge statue to I still fear into his people which eventually crumbles over time, whereas in My Last Duchess, the Duke keeps hold of his power, reflected in his control over a portrait of his previous wife (effect of Ozymandias over a larger number of people)
London:
nature will always be more powerful than mankind, and the writers use setting to explore this theme
Similarity: writers explore that, despite human achievement and progress, nature will always be more powerful in both poems
Difference: Ozymandias has arrogance and holds all of the power for himself but readers get no sense of the people’s suffering, while in London, the effects of the abuse of power on citizens by oppressive institutions is evident
The Prelude:
Both poets explore the overwhelming power of nature and humans’ inability to impact nature long term
Similarity: both poets explore how nature is more powerful than humans
Difference: the effects created by witnessing the power of nature is different in each poem; nature overcomes the corrupt power held by Ozymandias over time, while in The Prelude, Wordsworth experiences a loss of eloquence
