Irony In Ozymandias

In his poem “Ozymandias,” Percy Shelley employs symbolism and irony and to convey his message that power over society is fleeting and every attempt at everlasting fame will deteriorate and become meaningless. Shelley’s use of symbolism emphasizes the ineffectiveness of an arrogant ruler’s attempts to create an eternal authority over society. For example, the traveler in the poem chronicles the “two vast and trunkless legs of stone/Standing in the desert" (2-3). A massive pair of crippled stone legs immediately comes to one’s mind, indicating that a once striking, impressive statue is now damaged and almost worthless without its remaining head and torso. These “trunkless” yet enormous legs epitomize Ozymandias's grandiose ego and inflated
For example, the face, marred by a “frown/wrinkled lip” and a “cold, commanding sneer” suggest that “its sculptor well those passions read” as after all this time, they still “survive, stamped on these lifeless things” (4-6). The frown parallels the king’s callous nature, and the sneer depicts his haughty and dismissive self-importance. The adept sculptor illustrated Ozymandias's narcissism and selfish pride, forever carving his arrogance into stone. Although intended to be a testament to the king’s majestic regime and great power, the destructed statue is instead a tribute to his vanity. Inscribed on the pedestal below the statue, an engraving boasts “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”; however, “Nothing besides remains”, wholeheartedly contradicting those words (10-12). Ozymandias's desire was to create an extreme dominance over the observer and have them tremble before his massive regime. These words seem downright ludicrous, as the statue has diminished and the sands surrounding it are as lone and desolate as ever. Shelley is taunting the ruler’s exaggerated self opinion by first echoing the vain message and immediately following it with its barren surroundings, adding to the ironic and mocking tone of the