Ozymandius

Context

Ozymandius was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley. He is a second generation romantic poet with radical views. He was anti-authoritarian and believed that nature’s power surpasses human power. He was also a pacifist and a supporter of social justice and reform.

Ozymandius was inspired by the French revolution. The poem focuses on the archaeological discovery of a colossal statue of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, referred to as Ozymandius, in the early 19th century. Ozymandius was written in 1818.