What Is The Mood Of The Poem 'Ozymandia'?

“Ozymandia” is a poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley, who is known to be one of the most famous and respected poets of the 19th century. Shelley has written many great poems in his lifetime, and “Ozymandia” is one of his best works. This poem is a sonnet, meaning that it is a fourteen-line poem. The narrator of this poem encounters a traveller who tells him about the fallen statue of Ozymandias, or Ramesses II. He was “the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty (1292-1186 BCE) who claimed to have won a decisive victory over the Hittites at The Battle of Kadesh and used this event to enhance his reputation as a great warrior” (Mark). Through the use of irony in this poem “Ozymandias”, the poet, Shelley not only reveals to the readers the pride of
In this poem, we see that Ozymandias was once a very powerful king. Before he died, he had a statue made of himself so that his power and his glory would be immortal. The poet says, “And on the pedestal, these words appear: / My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (9-11). This inscription on the statue was meant to amaze the onlooker and make him admire the majesty and power of such an honorable man, and fear him. However, ironically, the onlooker realizes how everything is subject to corruption, including this great king, his pieces of work, and his kingdom. Moreover, the words “Look on my Works” are ironic, because there is nothing to look at, besides the legs of the statue and the other broken pieces. Ozymandias hoped for people to feel powerless in front of his statue with the “sneer of command” on his “visage” (4-5). Ironically though, his visage with a “frown” and “wrinkled lip” lies “half sunk” and “shattered” (4-5). Instead of being frightened of Ozymandias’s great power, the people are frightened to see his loss, which reminds them of the fact that no power and glory lasts forever. In addition to that, there is “nothing beside remains” for the onlookers to see, as “the lone and level sands stretch far away”
As stated before, the inscription on the status said, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (10-11). From this, we see that firstly, Ozymandias refers to himself as the “King of Kings” which shows how great he sees himself to be. Secondly, he wants people to look at his “Works”, which include the huge statue he got built for himself, and admire his greatness. However, ironically his statue is broken and his kingdom is an empty place. By saying “my Works”, Ozymandias sounds very prideful and possessive over the things he has done and accomplished in his life. He believes that he has accomplished the goal of having a statue built, which will show his strength and make people tremble and fear him and his kingdom, for eternity. However, none of this happens. He further says, “and despair!”, which also shows his pride, because he believes that people will become depressed and unhappy when they see what a great king he was and what great things he accomplished in life, and of course his statue. Moreover, the way that the sculptor sculpts the “frown”, “wrinkled lip”, and the “sneer of cold command” onto the statute, reveals that the sculptor could see the king’s pride, instead of his greatness and