OzymandiasPercy Bysshe Shelley

The Sonne t

I met a traveller from an antique land…

…Who said: Two vast and trunk less 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:

…Nothing besides remainsRound the decay of that

colossal wreck, boundless and bare…

…The lone and level sands stretch far away...

Ozymandias is a powerful sonnet about the Ozymandias is a powerful sonnet about the transitory nature of life and its transitory nature of life and its pretensions of fame and fortune. pretensions of fame and fortune.

Shelley chose, however, to poke holes in the Shelley chose, however, to poke holes in the “great man” theory of history, questioning “great man” theory of history, questioning its validity and its rationality.its validity and its rationality.

Romantics criticized the glorification of science. They cherished intuition, mystical feelings and emotions.

This new generation of poets flouted tradition, inventing their own vocabularies, subject matters, and poetic form.

“Ozymandias” exemplifies both in theme and in execution these “rebellious” notions.

PB Shelley belonged to the creed of

Romantics. William Blake, George Gordon, Lord Byron, John Keats, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth were some other Romantics.

Shelley’s original draft of Ozymandias

About the PoetBorn:Born: August 4, 1792August 4, 1792

Famous as:Famous as: Romantic and lyric poetRomantic and lyric poet

Place of birth:Place of birth: Horsham, EnglandHorsham, England

DeathDeath: July 8, 1822July 8, 1822

Nationality:Nationality: EnglishEnglish

Famous works:Famous works: OzymandiasOzymandias, , Ode to the West Ode to the West WindWind, , Music, When Soft Voices Die,Music, When Soft Voices Die, The The CloudCloud and and The Masque of Anarchy.The Masque of Anarchy.

Ramses IIRamses IIRamses II also known as Ramses the Ramses II also known as Ramses the

Great, was the third pharaoh of the Great, was the third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty of Egypt. He is often 19th dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most regarded as the greatest, most celebrated and most powerful celebrated and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian empire. He pharaoh of the Egyptian empire. He is also known as Ozymandias in the is also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a Greek sources, from a transl iteration into Greek of a part transl iteration into Greek of a part of Ramses' throne name, of Ramses' throne name, ‘Usermaatre Setepenre’. ‘Usermaatre Setepenre’.

Shel l ey began wr i t ing h i s poem in 1817, She l l ey began wr i t ing h i s poem in 1817, soon af ter the announcement o f the soon af ter the announcement o f the Br i t i sh museum's acqu i s i t ion o f a large Br i t i sh museum's acqu i s i t ion o f a large fragment o f a s ta tue of Ramses II. fragment o f a s ta tue of Ramses II.

She l l ey wrote the poem in fr i endly She l l ey wrote the poem in fr i endly compet i t ion wi th h i s fr i end and fe l l ow compet i t ion wi th h i s fr i end and fe l l ow poet Horace Smith, who a l so wrote a poet Horace Smith, who a l so wrote a sonnet on the same top ic . She l l ey and sonnet on the same top ic . She l l ey and Smith ' s sonnet s were publ i shed in the Smith ' s sonnet s were publ i shed in the same magaz ine on January 1 1 , 1818.same magaz ine on January 1 1 , 1818.

The End