In "Ozymandias," a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, we learn that Ozymandias was a powerful king. Ozymandias, in reality, was Egyptian king Ramses II, called "Ozymandias" by the Greeks. He ruled for a very long time and was considered a tyrant. In the poem his face is described:
"Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read..." (Shelley ll.4-6)
This...
In "Ozymandias," a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, we learn that Ozymandias was a powerful king. Ozymandias, in reality, was Egyptian king Ramses II, called "Ozymandias" by the Greeks. He ruled for a very long time and was considered a tyrant. In the poem his face is described:
"Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read..." (Shelley ll.4-6)
This tells us that he was cold and calculating, and not a warm, benevolent king.
We also know that Ozymandias was arrogant and thought he was one of the most powerful kings ever, evidenced by the following lines:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (Shelley ll. 10-11)
This is saying that not even the mightiest of kings was as great as Ozymandias and could never match the power he held. For all his power and arrogance, however, now all that is left of him is a broken statue, reminding those who read this sonnet that all of us, no matter how great we may be, eventually succumb.
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