What Does Ozymandias Represent

Some say that the achievements that you accomplish in life will be remembered forever, however, in the sonnet “Ozymandias”, even the legacy of a powerful king is proven otherwise by the test of time. In the poem, the narrator describes a tourist who encountered a collapsed statue found in the middle of a desert. A plaque remains as well dedicated to Ozymandias, also known as Ramses II of Egypt, proclaiming that all who gaze upon his works must despair. However, there were no accomplishments that seemed to be present and the collapsed statue acts as the only reminder to Ozymandias’s memory. The author, Percy Shelley, was a very significant poet, notable for his views on English Romanticism. Shelley was born in Horsham, England in 1792. By the
age of 12, he attended Eton College and eventually went to Oxford University in his later years. It was during his education at Oxford where Shelley wrote pamphlets of verse, sometimes expressing heretical ideas, such as“The Necessity of Atheism” (Academy of American Poets). Other literary works include “Zastrozzi”, “Mont Blanc”, and “On Death”. In the sonnet, “Ozymandias”, Shelley incorporates cacophony, juxtaposition, and imagery in the poem to establish how time can erase anyone's legacy, despite the power, ambition, or arrogance that they may have in the world.
First, the arrogance and egotism of the king are exhibited by the use of cacophony in the poem.
According to “Ozymandias”, the statue “whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command” create a negative, or mocking impression of Ozymandias (Shelley line 4-5). A sneer is often associated with a mischievous, mocking, or rueful behavior. Facial expressions such as a frown or wrinkled lips are also related to certain tones such as disgust or shame. With all of these features being included on Ozymandias’s statue, he is seen as rude and arrogant by constantly looking down upon all who view him. The frown and cold command also do not add to the melody of the poem because they do not rhyme with any other verses. For example, the end word of the verse “Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone” (Shelley line 2) does not have a corresponding syllable sound to another verse; “Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,” (Shelley line 4). Shelley wrote the ballad with a rhyme scheme of a traditional Shakespearean sonnet so line 2 and 4 of the poem should have a rhyming melody that they have in
common. Second, Shelley utilizes juxtaposition in order to convey the realization of the past to the present.
In “Ozymandias”, Shelley writes “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay” (Shelley line 11-12). Initially, the reader is told by the plaque, which acts as a voice of Ozymandias, to fear him because of the mighty works that he has created. These works vary from large constructions to works of art which have existed long ago from ancient Egypt. In contrast, the reader is shown the reality of the present; a huge desert that stretches far is what only remains of Ozymandias’s power. The poem features more examples of juxtaposition as the statue’s “sculptor well those passions read, Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things” (Shelley line 6-7). The emotions and passions of Ozymandias, understood by the sculptor, lives on in the works of his legacy such as the statue. However, the lone, inanimate statue is all that is left of those feelings and they have faded away from the present. Nothing else is left remind the world of the character Ozymandias was and what kind of ruler he was
like. Lastly, the poem illustrates visual descriptions of the setting to put the vastness of the desert and personality of Ozymandias as a ruler. Shelley changes the reader’s focus from Ozymandias and his glorious kingdom back to the empty desert with a melancholy account, “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay, Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away” (Shelley line 12-14). The description of the desert as a barren and empty land illuminates the end of Ozymandias’s memory because all of his accomplishments, the many things that were meant to uphold his memory, have disappeared along with time. The character traits of Ozymandias also account for a part of his legacy. The personality of the king is revealed when the traveler comes across “Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command” (Shelley line 4-5). The reader identifies several traits including arrogance and self-pride. Together, the use of imagery brings Ozymandias’s legacy and his fall from grace much closer to reality.