Ozymandias

by
Percy Bysshe Shelley

[Biography of Percy Bysshe Shelley]

Shelley was born in 1792, the son of a Sussex squire. He was educated at Eton, went up to Oxford, but was expelled for writing an atheistic pamphlet. At the age of 19 he married 16-year-old Harriet Westbrook, but when he discovered she did not understand poetry, he left her and fell in love with another girl, Mary Godwin (authoress of Frankenstein). Harriet committed suicide by drowning herself in the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

In 1818 Shelley left England with Mary, never to return. He went to Italy where, in 1822, he was drowned in the Bay of Spezzia. His body was cremated on the beach in the presence of, among others, Lord Byron.

[Class discussion]

The title of this sonnet is the Greek form of the name of the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II. Ancient history tells us that this pharaoh ordered a statue to be made of himself that was to be the largest in Egypt.

The poem describes how much, or how little, is left of this mighty statue. The legs, though very big, are 'trunkless'. They do not support a body, and are therefore ridiculously useless. The face is 'half sunk' into the sand. It has almost disappeared, like the rest of the body. From what is left of the partly destroyed face it becomes clear that the man who made the statue understood what kind of character Ozymandias had. It is the face of a tyrant, heartless, proud and arrogant. These qualities have survived in the pieces of stone long after both the sculptor and the pharaoh died. The artist, 'the hand that mocked them', expressed the qualities of the tyrant so clearly on the stony face that the result was almost a caricature. The pharaoh himself must have been unaware of the caricature, for it was his 'heart that fed' these qualities. He was proud of them.

The inscription at the bottom of the statue was addressed to other kings. The words were meant to make them feel small and make them 'despair' of ever attaining to so much power and glory. The irony of the situation is that the inscription is still addressed to other 'mighty' people, but now warning them to 'despair' because here they can see what happens to power and glory. Only a few 'lifeless' pieces of stone are left, still 'colossal', but forming a 'colossal wreck'. The bad qualities of the tyrant can still be seen, but what he rules now is a 'boundless' and empty desert.

In this poem Shelley shows one of his most important characteristics: his spirit of rebellion against oppressive power. He was a revolutionary, both in political and religious matters, as well as an idealist.

[Opening assignment for students]

What exactly did the traveller see?
Draw a picture of the things he saw by looking closely at the clues in the poem.
Afterwards compare your drawing to these two artist's impressions of the statue:

Which of the three drawings is the best one? Why?

[Questions for students]

-1-
Which words or images in the poem convey the idea of
a) power and greatness,
b) ruin and destruction?

-2-
What impression do we get from the poet's description in the last three lines?
How does the sound of the words reinforce the meaning?

-3-
Why do you think Shelley used a traveller to tell the story?

-4-
In this poem Shelley makes frequent use of alliteration.
Find five examples.

-5-
Someone once said: "Shelley intended Ozymandias as an ironic comment on Man."
Do you think this is true?

[Closing assignment for students]

Julius Caesar, Napoleon and Hitler could have actually seen the statue and learned its lesson.
Which 'mighty' ruler from the present would you like to see the statue and learn its lesson as well?
Write down your thoughts about this man or woman in 190 to 210 words. Why did you choose him or her?