Poem Analysis Of 'Ozymandias' By Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias

Ozymandias is a sonnet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley
In late 1817 Percy Shelley and Horace Smith wanted to have a sonnet competition, they chose to write about the broken statue of Ramses ll also called Ozymandias that was gonna be brought to London from Egypt. Shelley’s sonnet was first published in 1818 and Smith’s poem was published shortly after. This poem was diffrent to what Shelley usually did.
Ozymandias is one of the most known poets. Shelley was one of the poets who was known as The Romatics. Shelley was born in Horsham, Sussex. He came from a rich family and was gonna inherit alot of money from both sides of the family. He later got kicked out of univeristy for writing about atheism wich led to his father disinheriting him. At age 22 Shelley went to Europe

Not long after the poem takes place in the middle of the desert somewhere in
Egypt. You don’t get to learn anymore there is no trace of anything else than the broken parts of the statue that is left in the sand.

The thing about Ozymandias it that the words that appear on the pedestal is kinda ironic since it says “name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! “
But nothing is left of what he has done except a broken statue of him standing in the middle of desert. I think the poem is about telling people that even the mightiest will fall and nothing lasts forever. When you listen to Ozymandias words you can feel his pride when he’s talking about his own greatness but eventually he dies and what he once had built is now gone except for the statue and his words on the pedestal.
People also thinks he made this poem of a great king who has fallen to make a statement about politics in his day. Cause Shelley didn’t like the royal family to him it didn’t matter how great a king could be. They aren’t immortal either will they or their work last