Ozymandias Analysis Essay

Ozymandias Poem Analysis
YO, this Glory is Outrageous!:Ozymandias by Percy Shelly
Do you ever wonder what happens to cold leaders? In the poem Ozymandias, Percy Shelly uses
irony, symbolism, and tension to demonstrate a theme of loneliness. As one reads this paper,
hopefully they will get either a new perspective or a strengthened perspective about this poem.
"Look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" written upon the tomb of the great Ozymandias. The
work is all his. The work has nothing to do with the artist who sculpted the great sculptures and
certainly doesn't have anything to do with Ozymandias's people. Because they are his too. It's
quite ironic how Percy Shelly plays this out using irony to demonstrate a theme of loneliness.
Ozymandias seems too great to compare to anyone else. The great "king of kings" ended up buried
alone in the middle of the desert. He had so much power, but was so alone and had no one to share
it with. How could he? He seems to only have fed his people to pat himself on the back and tell
himself he was a good leader; When later he would mock them as if they were lucky he fed them in
the first place. Ozymandias is so self–consumed that it seems ironic how his sculptures show his
"sneer of cold command". It appears as if the artist was somehow making fun of him and stabbing
him in the ankle because he is too tall to notice. It also seems ironic how on Ozymandias's tomb,
instead of the words of his people, there is a quote from Ozymandias himself telling everyone how
great he was. As if his people were so fed up with his abuse, they are now laughing at his cold dead
body. This makes Ozymandias appear as if he was always alone with no one to confide in.
In the poem Ozymandias, Percy Shelly also uses irony to demonstrate a theme of loneliness. The
poem starts off talking about a" traveler from an antique land". A "traveler" symbolizes a lonely
person because the traveler is singular and to be considered a traveler, one must usually be away
from home, linking back to loneliness. Also the word "antique" symbolizes loneliness because to be
an antique of value, the antique has to be somewhat rare, one of a kind, alone. The "traveler from an
antique land" talks about a "half sunk, shattered village in the sand".
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Ozymandias poem analysis
54461332 Assignment 01 Unique number: 859786 Ozymandias Question 1: Pharaoh Ozymandias
was a cruel tyrant, who thought himself to be the most mighty person on earth; almost as mighty as
a god. The statue is described as having "two vast and trunkless legs" (line 2) inspiring the reader to
comprehend Ozymandias' power; he was so mighty that no–one could even measure his "vast"
power. The reader is led to understand that Ozymandias was an arrogant, cruel leader with the
words: "frown" (line 4), "wrinkled lip" and "sneer" (line 5). These physical features captured on the
visage expose the Pharaoh's true character as a nasty tyrannical leader, sneering and frowning at his
subjects if they didn't follow his "cold command" (line...show more content...
This poem teaches us that even the strongest and mightiest will eventually fall; Ozymandias
considered himself the "king of kings" (line 10) yet now his visage is "half sunk" and "shattered"
(line 4). The very statue Ozymandias thought would remain to forever testify his greatness now
lies in ruins. The inscription of the pedestal was once intended Ozymandias' subjects to despair at
their inability to reach his level of majestic power, yet now it seems to beg passer byes to despair
at the sorry state in which the statue is now lying, to despair at the fleeting nature of humanity.3
The scene described in this poem brings 2 3 gradesaver Wikihow 54461332 to mind the clichГ©
yet true expression of; 'Pride before fall'4, we in hindsight can see that nothing remains of
Ozymandias' might or power but what the sculptor recorded. He, who was a cruel tyrant; "sneer of
cold command" (line 4), has his memory at the fate of nature the sculptors "hand" and "heart" (line
8). Ozymandias thought his power was so exceptional it would remain for aeons, yet the reader is
made to understand that his statue is decaying alone; "nothing beside remains" (line 13). The short,
not–real, sentences of line 12: "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay", add to the sense of
finality that man is mortal and will not last forever in any form or any what way. The poem ends on
a depressing note, the words "sands stretch far away" (line 14)

Ozymandias Poem Analysis
Ozymandias is a poem written from the perspective of a man who has been told about a statue in the
desert– the statue is of famous powerful pharaoh Ozymandia, but it is now crumbling and
destroyed. The poem explores how power can be arrogant and cruel, but ultimately can't last
forever. The poem however is not aztualy about ozymandais, ozymandais is just a metaphor for
all kings paricullarly George 3rd as he was in power at the time the poem was written. John
agards poem, checking out e history is written from th prespective of a boy who is taught about
British history in school but not about his own countries history. The theme of power is presented
as the poem critiscizes those in power and effectively mocks the history he has been taught aboyt
in school. The poem is also about how knowing your history is key t knowing your identity and
knowing your identity empowers you. Ozymandias' power is presented as being evil and cruel .
The description of his statue's facial expression– "sneer of cold command" suggests arrogance and
shows that the slaves who built the statues purposely portrayed this look on his face to mock
ozymandias. Also the writing which appears on the statue's pedestal: "king of kings: Look on my
works, ye mighty, and despair!" shows how big his ego is. The phrase "king of kings" is used in
the bible to describe jesus. So ozymandais effectively thinks of himself as god like . Shelley
continues to portray this as he uses juxtaposition when writing the description of the statue as it is
'now'– a "colossal wreck", which is in "decay" and "shatter'd". He emphasizes how the art work
has outlived and utpowered O zymandais . Through the Poem shelley ontinues to show the poem of
man weak .This contrasts with the images of art and nature, which he portrays as being superior
and long lasting through his description of the artists skills "which yet survive, stamp'd on these
lifeless things," and the neverending landscape "boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch
far away." Similarily, in checking out me history, josn agard talks about the power of black and
white historical figures. The poem uses repetition and short sentences to portray his anger right from
thr beginning of the play. He

Research Paper On Ozymandias
Emily Walker
English 204–02
Survey of English Literature II
Professor de Rosset
4/15/15
Shelley, the King of Kings
With the discoveries of artifacts such as the statue of Ramses II and the Rosetta Stone, an Egyptian
wave swept through Europe in the 1800s. All things Egyptian inspired many Europeans, including
Percy Bysshe Shelley and his friend and banker, Horace Smith. After recalling historian Diodorus
Siculus' description of the statue of Ramses II, the two decided to write sonnets on the subject. Smith
produced a failed, now–forgotten poem. Shelley produced one of the best known sonnets in
European literature, titled Ozymandias.
Ozymandias is the Greek name for Ramses II, a pharaoh that ruled Egypt for 67 years. Known as
one of...show more content...
"Shelley found that the public, his family, and many friends regarded him not only as an atheist and
a revolutionist but also a libertine" ("Percy" 749). Shelley's poetry also received contradictory
criticisms. "Popular opinion of Percy Bysshe Shelley's mysterious sonnet "Ozymandias" periodically
undergoes sea change" (Parini, 225). Because Shelley combined both political issues and literature,
some did not grasp his works. Some anthologists consider Shelley's poem to be one of his best.
Others neglect to mention it at all. This up and down, rise and fall of popularity could reflect the
rise and fall of

Ozymandias Analysis
Analysis of "Ozymandias"
The poem "Ozymandias" is considered one of Percy Bysshe Shelley's best sonnets. It was written in
1817 and is still recognized today as its meaning still holds true. "Ozymandias" illustrates the fall of
power and mortality through a once powerful king. This is shown through the pride of the king, the
tyranny that the king ruled by, and the transience of his ruling and empire.
The king Ozymandias has a great amount of pride for what he has accomplished during his time as
ruler. He had a sculptor erect a massive statue of him, which shows how highly he thought of
himself. The pedestal of the statue stated "My name is Ozymandias king of kings: / Look upon my
works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (Shelley, 136, 10–11)....show more content...
The line "The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:" (Shelley, 136, 8) is an indication
that Ozymandias provides for his people, but does it in a repressive way. He mistreated his people to
get the most of his empire and was successful in that. He was more worried about what he could
accomplish as a king and did not take his peoples well–being before that. This tyrannical way of
ruling is usually used to build a large powerful empire, but just like anything else time and nature
will erase all of the things you have accomplished. The concept of transience is very prevalent is
"Ozymandias". Just because you hold all this power and created an empire through it, it won't
last forever. As time passes there will be others that are able to accomplish more than you and
eventually what you have accomplished will be irrelevant. Especially in Ozymandias's case
because it seems that he was from a time long ago possibly before any type of documentation was
in place. So the things he has done may never be remembered. You get this sense form the
opening line "I met a traveler from an antique land" (Shelley, 1). This is saying that before the
traveler told him of this site he hadn't heard of Ozymandias or his empire. The description of an
antique land also does a good job of describing how this area was once a large prospering empire
and now nothing but ruins remain. Going back to

Irony in Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Essay
Ozymandias, the Greek name for Ramses II, is a sonnet written by Percy Bysshe
Shelley. In the poem, Shelley uses irony as a form of satire, mocking tyranny. The poem was
published, according to Ian Lancashire (University of Toronto) near January of 1818. At that time,
for Europeans, places like Egypt were considered exotic and that adds to the popularity of the sonnet
at the time. Shelley wrote this poem in a competition with Horace Smith who also wrote a similar
poem, with the same overall themes and name.
The sonnet itself is written in iambic pentameter. The first line is a reference to the speaker, "a
traveler from an antique land." Imagery and figurative language used at the beginning of the
sonnet,(words such as vast,...show more content...
The next line is a beginning of the irony of the poem. The statue itself was in ruins, yet these
?passions? or facial expressions the sculptor captured on the statue are still there, ?stamp?d on these
lifeless things.? The speaker calls the sculptor ?the hand that mock?d them.? The sculptor though,
created the statue through ?the heart that fed.? Ozymandias is the ?heart that fed.? He fueled the
sculptor?s mocking. The sculpture was supposed to be made to praise Ozymandias, yet another
irony, he fueled a sculpture that was mocking him. The words on the pedestal, ?My name is
Ozymandias, king of kings/Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!? come from the Greek
Diodorus Siculus. He actually recorded of the real pedestal, ?King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If
anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works.? (Siculus?
Library of History vol. 303, taken from Ian Lancashire, University of Toronto) Shelley was
influenced by Siculus and his actual viewing of the statue. The next line carries the shift, major
irony, and theme of the poem. ?Nothing beside remains.? Ozymandias brags about his projects and
works, yet all is left of him is this statue that mocks him. Shelley calls the scene the ?decay of that
colossal wreck [the statue], boundless and bare.? All around, there is nothing but sand.
Shelly raises several themes in the poem. One of

What Is The Meaning Of Ozymandias
OZYMANDIAS ENGLISH 1501 ASSIGNMENT 1DUE DATE: 01 SEPTEMBER 2014 1.After
reading and analyzing the poem I feel that the expression conveys a sense of arrogance and
cruelty. The words "sneer of cold command" in line 5 creates an image that he was a feared ruler,
and that he ruled his empire with an iron fist during his ruling days. The octave pays a lot of
attention to what the traveler sees, whereas the sestet focuses on the fear "Ozymandias" wanted
to install in anyone who came across his supposed great statue. He not only wanted to install fear
In the empire he ruled, but to mock other kings, as he felt, that he truly, was a "King of Kings".
No king could ever be as mighty as he is. Line 10 is a clear indication of his intention of getting
this message across to all who passes by his great statue. 2.In the octave the image evokes the idea
that the sculptor, sculpted with great "passion" and that he captured the expressions of
"Ozymandias" on the statue, exactly as "Ozymandias" wanted to be remembered. The phrase
"lifeless things" evokes the image of the inscriptions the writer refers to in line 10 that...show more
content...
The irony emerges in the sestet, lines 10 and 11, as the Image "ozymandias" wanted you to see was
this mighty statue, that would leave you in despair, when you came across it. . However, there is not
much that remains of the once great statue, nor of his empire, that he once ruled. He was a human
being with no significant power, and, his intention was to be remembered, therefore he created a
monument for himself to be remembered by, but ironically this once great statue, is nothing more
than shattered remains that lay "half sunk" in the desert sands.. The poem ends off with the image of
nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. All civilization, his entire empire is nothing but sand.
Ozymandias, the sculptor and his statue has succumb to time. Nothing besides the decay of his
statue remains in the desert

The Morality Of Ozymandias In The Film
The problem with the Film lies in the omission of this single page from the comic, it is the last we
see of both Dr. Manhattan & Ozymandias in the comic. Ozymandias has left to meditate and
Manhattan comes to talk to him Ozymandias says to Manhattan
"Play Scene from motion graphic Novel"
Though Veidt has been proud throughout the whole story, for one moment in the entire comic he lets
down his guard. He is not the one being paraded around and asked questions, now, the smartest man
on earth has a question and it is a question about the morality of his actions.
He says, "I did the right thing didn't I? It all worked out in the end."
Manhattan answers, "In the end", "Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."
The last 2 panels of ozymandias feature him lowering his hand in defeat and lastly, him alone in
his study with his shadow looming over him. This scene is not included in the Film and thus turns
Veidt into a much less dynamic character. The Film contains no mention of him being haunted by
the Black Freighter and his "feel every death" line is a throwaway line. In a superhero world that is
praised for all the of the heroes being complex and vulnerable, the least vulnerable person in the
world shows vulnerability and it has impact. Not having this makes Ozzy a much less complex
villain.
Watchmen is a failure of a Film because it doesn't have a strong sense of identity, it doesn't exist
independently of the comic and even in its effort to replicate the comic it fails to

Ozymandias Analysis
U3_FT1.3: 'Ozymandias!' 'Ozymandias' is a poem written by famed romantic era poet Percy Bysshe
Shelley. As a poet, Shelley's works were never truly recognized during his lifetime due to the extreme
discomfort the generation had with his political radicalism, or his revolutionary ideology. It was only
after his death that his works were further examined for the masterpieces they are and the way
Shelley thought about revolutionary movements was finally revealed. The Romantic Era in England
was a reaction to the stuffy, undemocratic, narrow–minded Enlightenment Era of the 1700s. Towards
the end of the 1700s, people began to question the belief that their century was a 'perfect era' (as
those intellectuals of the time called it) and the...show more content...
I truly believe this sonnet was meant to be served as a warning to the rich and powerful rulers in
the Romantic Era, those driven by the riches of the Industrial Era and those oppressors in the
French Revolution. The message is clear to me, one who rules with the traits of cold command
and oppression like Ozymandias will never be liable to a great and thriving kingdom, and it will
fall from under them, as it did to Ozymandias. For even as great and powerful these tyrants say
they are there rule will not last, they will be abandoned just like the statue was by the kingdom that
surrounded it; "Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far

Essay On Ozymandias
Current pop culture has been influenced by great works of literary merit for as long as we can
remember. Ozymandias, being the astounding poem it is, evidently had a lot to give to producers,
writers, and musicians hundreds of years after its release. Percy Shelley produced various ideas to
take from the poem; from whom the poem was about to when the poem was written. Each influenced
piece of pop culture uses Ozymandias in completely different ways; making Ozymandias an
incredibly versatile poem.
Breaking bad, a hit television series was greatly influenced by Ozymandias. So much so, they created
an episode named "Ozymandias," and it came complete with the star of the show reciting the poem
himself. It starts off with connections right off the bat, showing the main character in the act that
started it all, the first time he made meth with his accomplice. We relive the memory, just as...show
more content...
The artist is in control of what we see; the artist is capturing his legacy. He is bringing it forth. The
breaking bad episode also leaves us with a connection to this. Will there be someone to take over
Walter White's place?
Ozymandias was also a character created in the well–known Watchmen comic books. He was not a
"regular" superhero, however. Adrian Alexander Veidt was not blessed with uncanny supernatural
powers that allowed him to fly or gave him the strength of 10 body builders. Instead his creators,
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, gave him a rough background and the title of the Smartest Man in
the World. How Adrian Veidt made himself into Ozymandias leads us straight into the history of the
great Pharaoh himself.
Veidt, being a diehard fan of Alexander the Great, gave his parent's fortune to charity to prove he
can make his own wealth and followed his icon's path. Leading him to Egypt where he learned about
the wondrous Pharaoh, Ramses

Compare and contrast Ozymandias and Saddam Hussein.
The poem, written by Percy Shelley, Ozymandias is a Petrarchan sonnet compared to the second
article labelled 'Symbolic in more ways than one' is actually a news article. This is shown through
the piece as it contains a date 'Thursday 10 April 2003', structure and content, the content is more
modern so the audience know that when the subject is addressed, it will be serious rather than
humorous. Ozymandias is a sonnet (a poem of 14 lines), although it doesn't have the same, simple
rhyme scheme or punctuation that most sonnets have. Some lines are split by full stops and the
rhyme is irregular at times. It is written in iambic pentameter, which Shakespeare used widely in his
plays and...show more content...
This is done through a narrative perspective to put emphasis on time and how it weakens. The
newspaper article however is retelling the true life events on what happened over there, to show
the views of some people towards the Saddam Hussein's statue which they feel as it's really him.
This is mixed with humour however, this shows how symbolic the statue was, but its more
serious than the poem as it gives a detailed description of what happened rather than using loads of
similes which could mix up the message they want to get across. Both pieces overall reveal what
power has done to individuals, that even though they had it all, it will come to an end, no matter
how hard they try to make a difference, then they will be mocked for it as they weren't supreme
beings, they just had a very closed minded view of the world.
The poem has a phrase near the end which says 'Nothing besides remains'. This highlights the
message of the poem, which is basically saying that this statue of 'Ozymandias' has no power and
this is what remains of him. This shows that the writers view on power is that there is more power
from the sculptor, as he is more recognised for his/her good craftsmen ship of the statue rather than
the person it is based on, that after all of this time, the sculptor has more of an effect than
Ozymandias has. Unlike the poem, the news article contains humour and is not as serious some
times as the writings by Shelly, this is to show how stupid those

Ozymandias
Ozymandias Numerous settings are taking place in "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The
speaker starts off the poem by meeting a traveler in an "ancient land"(Shelley 1). The setting of this
land was never introduced on where it was, meaning it could be even in the speaker's head or in
dream. Furthermore, their rendezvous transforms into a desert. The desert consists of only a
pedestal and "[a] Half sunk, shattered visage ..."(Shelley 4).There is limited evidence for Ozymandias
's pedestal in telling how it appeared there, and how the speaker had got there, but it suggests that
"The lone and level sands stretch far away"(Shelley 14) meaning it is far from any civilization.
The Statue is a majorly important symbol. The "visage"(Shelley 4)

All is vain The vanity found in all demonstrations of human power and acquisition of riches has
always been exposed by the constant passing of time. The mighty statues built by the pharaohs in
Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Mesopotamia, the fall of the Roman Empire, and the destruction of
the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great are all vivid examples of opulence being crushed by
fate. In the poem "Ozymandias", by Percy Bysshe Shelley, through the use of symbols, several
alliterations, repetitive end rhyme and iambic pentameter the vanity found in human works and the
futility of opulence and power is displayed. All throughout the poem is this vanity present as a
traveler describes the destroyed stone figure, which at some point represented magnificence and
power. All the elements stated above contribute directly to the discovery of such mischievous
vanity. The first example that reveals the inevitable tragedy of oblivion that overcomes every
human work is a symbol found in the second line of the poem. A decaying statue of a pharaoh is
compared to the vanity that consumes all human desire for longevity, power, and opulence that
showcases greatness. In line 2, the "two vast and trunkless legs of stone" carry a profound
significance in order to establish a link between human desires and their fragile nature. The
connotation of this phrase bestows a tangible sense of futility upon every magnificent deed and
human work. The vastness of the two legs does not impede their

Ozymandias is a sonnet in iambic pentameter that was written by English romantic poet, Percy
Bysshe Shelley in 1817. To read this poem and understand the complexities of it, one must
analyze it through the lens of I.A. Richards' concept of "new criticism," which is now understood
as close reading. In this essay, we will compare some of the aspects of criticism that Richards
finds counterproductive and meaningless, such as irrelevant associations and sentimentality to his
profound concept of new criticism and close reading. Through close reading, we as readers are
able to find nuances, decode metaphorical and paradoxical language, and find a deeper meaning of
the poem altogether. First, in order to gain context for what Shelley's worldview was at the time,
we must indulge in some historical background for an English romantic poet in the 19th century.
Most importantly, we must consider the natural events that occurred the year before this was
written: The Year Without a Summer. In 1816, England faced hardship as the country was affected
by the climate and at mercy to the freezing temperatures. This traumatic event in Shelley's life
plays a huge role in the poem and inspires many themes in the poem such as the transience of life
and the beauty and destruction of the natural world. The title, Ozymandias is a pseudonym for the
ancient Egyptian ruler, King Ramses II. The use of the name Ozymandias is in it of itself very
paradoxical. "Ozy" comes from the Greek word "ozium" to

Analysis Of The Poem ' Ozymandias '
In 1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote Ozymandias, which is a highly complex yet compact poem.
The historical context of the poem is important to consider when analyzing the poem for underlying
perspectives. Johnstone Parr, an author that contributed to Keats–Shelley Journal, analyzed the poem
for historical influences, and learned the following: "The ultimate source of information concerning
Ozymandias is the account in Diodorus Siculus' Biliotheca Historica (first century B.C.). Diodurus
remarks that at the second gateway of the funeral temple or "tomb" of an Egyptian king known as
"Osymandyas" are three statues, each of stone, the workmanship of Memnon of Sientias. Historians
and archaeologists of the twentieth century seem to be agreed...show more content...
Most obviously this refers to the Ozymandias' reading of his achievement and the poet's apparent
reinterpretation of it in the light of time's triumph and the surrounding void. But there are more
than two readers here and more than one text to be read. There are two readers of events who
speak the poem: the traveler and "I" (we will call him Shelley") who met him, heard his words
and recorded them. There are two more readers in the poem to whom at least one of the first pair,
the traveler, refers: Ozymandias and the sculptor who "well those passions read which yet
survive..." And there is a fifth reader outside the poem whose job it presumably is to read, interpret,
and understand them all. Taken collectively, they represent a considerable range of types of readers,
of ways in which written or other material may be approached––––––different types, more
completely, of creators and interpreters since all are in some way both" (Freedman). Part of the
complexity arises from the statues expression which is originally relayed through the traveler;
however, the sculptor's unique depiction of the pharaoh may not have shown the pharaoh's true
visage. Therefore, the only accurate portrayal of the pharaoh can be ascertained from the words that
were

Essay about An Analysis of Ozymandias
The poem "Ozymandias" is one of the best sonnets of Percy Bysshe Shelley. In this poem Shelley
described a mighty king who was striving in his whole life for his possessions and got involved in
worldly assignments so much that he forgot his ultimate destiny. Beside this, Shelley reminds the
readers of their mortality through the realization that our earthly accomplishments, so important to
us now, will one day be finished. By drawing these vivid and ironic pictures in readers minds, with
different symbols, Shelley was trying to illustrate that no one lives forever in the world, not even
their assets or belongings. Readers get a physical description of the statue of Ozymandias...show
more content...
Shelley dwells little on the small details of Ozymandias' face, but by Ozymandias' frown,
wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, delivered in less than two lines, immediately carry to
the reader a vision of a cold, callous, yet strong and determined leader who is commanding his
people building his great vast statue hoping his power would be immortal. These concrete items
are vital to the description, but are not as strong as what can not be seen. Shelley gives a nod to
the talent of the sculptor, from whom Ozymandias received a mirror image of his personality,
placed in stone because of his thinking to survive forever as a mighty king. The passions for
power and command are chiselled into a face, but line 8 describes things that are not seen in the
eye of the beholder. Shelley describes the hand of Ozymandias, which mocked, and his heart, which
fed. This one line sums up the metaphysical aspects of Ozymandias' character, both described and
implied. Here Shelley is telling about the reality that one day the king must leave this world.
"Mocked" is particularly well worth noting, since it is one of two words which directly relate how
Ozymandias, treated his subjects. A king, high and mighty, transmuted into high and mighty stone,
exuding airs

Name: Ethan Bell Date: 11/7/17 Graded Assignment Unit Test, Part 2: How Important Ideas Are
Expressed Total score: ____ of 40 points (Score for Question 1: ___ of 20 points) 1.Read the
passage. Then answer the question. Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley I met a traveler from an
antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on
the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold
command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless
things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal, these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of...show more content...
Mrs. Lincoln sat next to him, and Miss Harris in the opposite angle nearest the stage. Major
Rathbone sat just behind Mrs. Lincoln and Miss Harris. These four were the only persons in the
box. The play proceeded, although "Our American Cousin," without Mr. Sothern, has, since that
gentleman 's departure from this country, been justly esteemed a very dull affair. The audience at
Ford 's, including Mrs. Lincoln, seemed to enjoy it very much. The worthy wife of the President
leaned forward, her hand upon her husband 's knee, watching every scene in the drama with amused
attention. Even across the President 's face at intervals swept a smile, robbing it of its habitual
sadness. About the beginning of the second act, the mare, standing in the stable in the rear of the
theater, was disturbed in the midst of her meal by the entrance of the young man who had quitted her
in the afternoon. It is presumed that she was saddled and bridled with exquisite care. Having
completed these preparations, Mr. Booth entered the theater by the stage door; summoned one of the
scene shifters, Mr. John Spangler, emerged through the same door with that individual, leaving the
door open, and left the mare in his hands to be held until he (Booth) should return. Booth who was
even more fashionably and richly dressed than usual, walked thence around to the front of the
theater, and went in. Ascending to

Readers and Reading According to Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle (1995), In Percy Bysshe
Shelley's famous sonnet 'Ozymandias' (1818), the poem tells us about readers and reading. The
poem is related to the acts of reading. The sculptor reads the face of the king, the traveller reads
the inscription the narrative 'I' listens to the tale, and we read the poem. The poem not only can be
read, but also tells us an allegory. It brings up a crucial question of how we can know if our
interpretation of reading a literary text is valid and engages with other questions such as who this
traveller who reads the inscription is and who the 'I' who listens to is, etc. Such questions are
examined by the writers to summarize the developments in literary criticism...show more content...
Such critics consider that correctness or accuracy of the reading is beside the point, so, they won't
be interested in deciding which reading of the line eleven of Ozymandias is correct. The
reader–response criticism leads to the use of interpretation as a function of identity. Literary texts
also have been read in terms of power relations. In Ozaymandias poem, the sculptor read the
power of the king. Power relations also create questions of gender and race such as what it would
mean to read as a woman. Critics concerned with questions of race and ethnicity have also
developed specific strategies of reading and talking about reading. For poststructuralists, the text
determines the reader's role. By contrast, the text may be considered as basically not complete, to be
made in the reading act. However, deconstructive theory of reading suggests that the reader makes
the text and the text makes the reader. Deconstruction highlights that every reading and every text is
unpredictable. Therefore, deconstruction not only requires a faithful reading, but also requires
individual response. Like the word 'appear' in line nine of Shelly's poem. A question, such as what
makes these words appear, make us rethink the relation between a text to be read and a text

Ozymandias Theme Analysis
llison and Shelley's Theme of Power's Inevitable Collapse
The American author Erin Morganstern says, "All empires must fall eventually. It is the way of
things" (Goodreads). In this quote she explores the idea that nothing lasts forever, especially when it
comes to power, an idea explored through literature. Harlan Ellison's 'Repent Harlequin' Said the
Ticktockman explores a society where being late is punishable with death, and the Harlequin rebels,
throwing off the mechanical structure of society, demonstrating the idea of power collapsing. Percy
Bysshe Shelley also illustrates this idea in his poem Ozymandias, where a traveler finds the
destroyed ruins of a statue that has an inscription telling the observer to look upon his works and
despair. The distinctive uses of symbolism and irony in 'Repent Harlequin' Said the Ticktockman and
Ozymandias craft a theme that even the most powerful dynasties will fall, attempting to show rulers
the foolishness of thinking they will be in power forever.
Both Ellison and Shelley use symbolism to illustrate the destruction of power in their works. In
Ellison's short story, the master schedule is symbolic of the Ticktockman's tyrannical power over
the society at that time. When Ellison writes, "...the System was maintained. It was the only
expedient thing to do. It was, after all, patriotic. The schedules had to be met," (Ellison), it shows
how pivotal the schedule is for the Ticktockman's power. If a schedule being met has become a

"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad"
as John Dalberg Acton once said. History has taught us about many great leaders of the past and has
also shown us that people can get power–hungry. These leaders believe that nothing can stop them
and that their works will never be forgotten. Ozymandias by Percy Shelley is about a man who
hears from a traveler about a statue in the dessert. This statue had the words "My name
Ozymandias, King of kings: / Look on my work ye mighty and despair" is inscribe on the pedestal.
Ozymandias like many other leaders from the past were corrupted by their power. These leaders
were blinded by their power thinking that they could overcome anything. In the end their obsession
with power leads them nowhere. The theme of this poem is that power corrupts. Percy Shelley wrote
this poem in 1818. During that time King Jorge the third ruled over England. King George was in
power during many military conflicts in the kingdom. I think Percy Shelley opposed his rule and
the monarchal government and that this poem was criticizing King George. In the poem Shelley
uses negative words to attack powerful people. In the poem Shelley writes "who's frown, and
wrinkled, lip, and seer of cold command". The negative words like frown, sneer, and cold command
describe a harsh and aggressive leader. The leader who he is referring to is King Jorge. This is also
shown in his other poem "To the Men of England". This

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