Ozymandias ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

 Ozymandias is a poem that ruminates on the ephemeral nature of power, and was originally published in The Examiner (a British news publication) on the 11th January 1818.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was born in Sussex, England on the 4th August 1792. Shelley was born into some affluence (wealth), and received his education first at Syon House then Eton (the most famous and elite boarding school for boys in England) and completed his education at University College, Oxford. A radical and liberal in his political and social views, he was expelled from Oxford after refusing to apologise for the publication of The Necessity of Atheism. 

Shelley continued with a somewhat non-conventional approach when he eloped with Harriet Westbrook, who has vastly his social inferior. Enraged, his Father and Grandfather cut him off from the family money, hoping it would force him to conform. Instead he travelled to Dublin in Ireland, where he protested against the English hegemony, and printed pamphlets advocating for the independence of Ireland, rights for Roman Catholics and other freethinking ideals.

Percy Bysshe Shelley by Albert Clint (wikimedia)

Eventually Shelley met Mary Wollstonecraft, much his younger and fell in love with her. He eloped with her to France, and Harriet Shelley eventually committed suicide after her husbands abandonment of her. After this he was free to marry Mary. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an accomplished writer, amongst her most famous works is the novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. 

Shelley's work falls within the Romantic School of literature.

Romanticism 

(roughly 1790-1850) Formed as a reaction against the rationalism and physical materialism of the 19th Century. They rejected the principles of order, harmony, calm and balance of a rational society, and instead focused on the individual, subjective, irrational, imaginative, emotional and transcendental thought (adapted from Encyclopaedia Britannica). Romanticism took place against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), which was characterised by increasing travel, increasing pollution and sharp social shifts, as well as a dramatic increase in poverty as many people lost their jobs to machines. Seeing the ills of the Industrial Revolution, the Romanticists looked back to the past as a more idyll time, where such stark inequalities were not so apparent and were mankind was more in touch with nature, and spirituality.

Ancient Egypt & Pharaonic Rule

 Ozymandias the titular pharaoh of the poem is named Ramses II today. 

Ramses II ruled over the 19th Egyptian Dynasty, and his reign from (1279-1213 BCE) made him the second longest ruling pharaoh in Egyptian history. He was famed as a soldier and lead many military victories most against the opposing Hittite Empire, as well as against other smaller nations such as the Moabs, Negeb and Edom. 

Population Movement in the Middle-Eastern Region circa 1200 B.C. (from WorldHistory.org)

However after his reign he is most remembered due to his extensive construction programs that resulted in the Hypostyle Hall in Karnak, a funerary temple in Luxor, and Temples with colossal statues of Kings at Abu Simbel. Much of this occurred during the later part of his rule which was marked by economic prosperity and political stability.

Abu Simbel World Heritage Site (from UNESCO)

Engineering such monuments requires a great deal of wealth and manpower. To display their prestige as well as successful rulership such monuments were common, and a sign of success. The relation of the pharaoh to the sun deity 'Ra' also lends a religious purpose to the construction of such buildings, in particular the mausoleums that were used to house the deceased pharaoh's body. 

Poem - Ozymandias

I met a traveller 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 Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Analysis

Character and Narrative Voice

The main narrator of the poem announces himself only once at the start of the poem, talking about what someone else has told him of. This is called narrative framing. It is important to note that this is a recounting of someone else's experience and not the actual narrator's opinion. The narrator is removed from the other person's experience, as he is also removed in history from Ramses II. This is also likely introduced as Shelley didn't wish to upset the politicians of his day, especially King George III, whose power and declining empire Shelley has implied in the poem.

The "Traveller" becomes the main figure of the story, and it is his experience that is being expressed. We know this as the narrator very clearly tells us this in the second line where we have the quotation "Who said". 

We can't tell very much about "The Traveller" except indirectly from his observations of the sculptures and how he chooses to describe them. This makes the Traveller an enigmatic figure in the poem, not only are we left uncertain as to his identity but also as to his biases, and viewpoints. We can only infer from the few opinions he gives us what is values are. The enigma of who he is is additionally enhanced by the exoticism of the poem. The 'antique lands' not only gives a sense of distance in time, but also physical distance especially to the European reader of the time who would have thought of Europe as the pinnacle of modernity and progressive thought and science. This acts to highlight the exotic nature of the poem, as it is not only "far away" but also of a time long past when ideals and beliefs should be different... 

The sculptor is much like Shelley himself as well. His slight rejection of the pharaoh he is depicting is instantly conveyed, in the idea of 'mocking'. Although the sculptor doesn't directly mock the pharaoh, his choice of depicting him accurately to his character and nature "cold command" offers to the reader a view that he was quietly objecting to and criticising the Pharaoh, even as he depicted him in the grandiose statues. This view of art was highly congruous with Shelley's views on art, which is to criticise the powers and politics of the day and as a rejection of rationalism that drove the political philosophies of his day.

Plot

The traveller arrives and meets the narrator of the poem, and upon beginning talking he tells the

Image by Nick Derington

narrator of his journeys to far away lands. The narrator highlights one piece of information the traveller told him which was his encountering a fallen statue in the desert that was carved to look proud and cold and carved into the statue was the name of the person depicted in the statue and his threat to those who would challenge his power. However his empire has gone, and nothing remains of it, or his other statues and temples, as all things eventually decline in time, offering an entropic view of human civilisation. (Entropy is a principle that states that things become more disordered over time and eventually decline).

Line by Line Analysis

The poem begins with the introduction of the exotic traveller, "from an antique land", and then shifts to the narrators specific piece of information that he wants to impart and has specifically recalled from their discussion. 

The principle focus of Lines 3 and 4 is what was observed, in this case the remains of the statue, "two trunkless legs", that are the only intact pieces remaining. By focusing on these the fact that it is in ruins is highlighted to the reader. Only after this in line 4 are we shown the "shattered visage", since we as humans tend to focus on faces first, rather than later, the fact that the face is only described to us after the legs shows just how ruined the statue is, and also as it is "half sunk" the observance of identity through the face is given far less importance. This has repercussions later in the poem when the identity is finally given, reducing it in importance as well.

In lines 4 and 5 we are given the traveler's viewpoint of the person depicted in the statue. His 'frown' could indicate displeasure, meaning this could be an exacting king, who was constantly critical and stern of his subjects... leading us to the interpretation of him as a tyrant. This is further reinforced in the description of his 'wrinkled lip' that would be the result of disgust and/or contempt towards his subjects, and "cold command" indicating his distance from his subjects as 'coldness' would indicate his failure to have a relationship with his subjects, and showing a lack of care or compassion towards them. The most significant word is of course the fact that it is described as a 'sneer' which shows again his utter contempt towards those beneath him as well as his pride and belief in his own superiority. 

In lines 6-8 the truth of the Traveller's opinion is reinforced, encouraging the audience to believe his opinion and interpretation of the statue. Though many of the words in lines 4-5 indicate the Traveller is  judging the King depicted in the statue, his interpretation is reinforced in the following lines with phrases such as "the sculptor well those passions read", highlighting the fact that the Traveller believes the sculptor had accurately depicted the physiognomy of the King.

Physiognomy is the belief that a person's physical appearance and expression indicates their character.

The fact they "yet survive" both highlights their antiquity and also that sense of historical longevity lends credibility to their truth. 

Egyptian Sculptors from ClipArt etc

In lines 7 and 8 the tone of the Traveler shifts, to a reflection of the sculptor and his art, how the sculptor "mocks" the King, by depicting him accurately rather than in a manner that purely uplifts him. Art is often viewed as having two opposite political purposes, firstly as a means of propaganda, and secondly as a means of criticising the status quo of power. Whilst Shelley clearly leans towards the latter, Ozymandias and the sculptor  are engaging in propaganda. The statue is clearly intended to be intimidating and created to reinforce Ozymandias power, through 'awe' and 'respect', but the sculptor still manages to add some criticism of the pharaoh as he depicts him as 'cold' rather than a benevolent ruler. This raises an interesting question of whether Ozymandias saw his sneer as something beneficial to his rule as a means of instituting fear, or whether it should be viewed negatively as many modern readers will find themselves in disagreement with such tyranny. 

In Lines 9-11, we are finally properly introduced to the name of the statue and the man it depicts. As mentioned above, a person's identity lends them significance. That we learn the identity of the statue so late indicates how much his power and prestige has declined. This is immediately shown with the irony of the lines speaking of his greatness, which instead lies abandoned as inconsequential relics in the sands of a desert. 

The significance and symbolism of the desert itself as barren and lifeless, speaks exactly to the collapse and failure of his kingdom to support life. In addition the sands speak not only to the literal sands of the desert but also to the figurative sands of time, that have laid his kingdom to waste. The intention of Rameses in these lines was to declare his mightiness and power, but instead as we read the lines upon the collapsed statue the despair he tried to use to instill fear in his subjects turns to a sense of despair in the future, where no human accomplishment can ever be preserved, except as ruins. 

The religious connotations, in the lines "King of Kings" which is a biblical allusion to Jesus, and the coming of an eternal Kingdom on earth, further enhances the irony here. Not only is the Ramessian dynasty linked to the enslavement of the Jews, Gods chosen people, therefore he is most certainly not their messiah and chosen King, but the temporal nature of his fallen empire is contrasted with the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. Egyptian pharaohs did consider themselves as Gods incarnated upon earth, as well so the allusion again to King of Kings speaks to his attempt to express himself as a God (usually the pharaohs were linked to the Sun Deity 'Ra') but of course the expressions of eternity in stone (the statue) has broken and failed, so he never managed to even claim the divine trait of immortality by preserving his name and likeness in stone. 

Lines 12-14, conclude the vision, expressing the primary nihilistic philosophy of political power. (Nihilism is a philosophy that rejects all religious and moral principles in the belief that life is meaningless). The diction lends itself powerfully to a nihilistic interpretation with words of negation such as 'nothing', 'decay', 'bare' and 'lone'. We are left with the vision of just the empty desert sands devoid of life. All of Ozymandias' pride and pursuit of glory was meaningless as it has not left even a mark upon the desert dunes. This fatalistic and cynical conclusion, is incredibly power in establishing just how empty and devoid of meaning are man's works, and the power of nature and time to level even the most mighty. Man is subject to nature even as in his pride he strives to overmount his coarse nature. Though we might conceive of eternity and try to strive for it, at heart he must know that our pursuit of power and dominion is inherently meaningless as it is contrary to our nature.

Structure and Style

With 14 lines, a regular rhyme scheme and developed meter, as well as each stanza tightly focused on a specific subject Ozymandias is recognisable as a sonnet. 

Sonnets are traditionally associated with declarations of love. In 'Ozymandias', we don't see the traditional expression of love for another, however we can infer Ozymandias self-love in the creation of his own statuary. This makes an interesting contrast with the disrespect and mockery offered towards him, by his Sculptor and even the narrator shows contempt towards Ozymandias inverting the original purpose of the sonnet.

Ozymandias is also known as an ekphrastic poem - a poem about another piece of art.

Themes

The primary themes of the poem are:

Power: the desire and ambition for power and to display it are symbolised by Ozymandias statue of himself that he commissioned in his hubris. And how Power is transient and can never be retained, as time, entropy and decay will level all eventually.

Art and Power: The sculptors relation to Ozymandias and the fact that it is the sculptors work which would be admired and his skill that actually made the statue last for so long.

Sources

Encyclopaedia Britannica

WorldHistory.org