Europe was swept by a philosophical movement during the late 18th to early 19th century known as Romanticism, a shift in values from the objective to the subjective. It emphasized the importance of emotional self-awareness in opposition to the advent of industrialization and scientific rationalization. Percy Bysshe Shelley, a poet of this literary period, displayed Romantic ideas of intense aesthetic passion and political radicalism in both his life and work. Shelley’s poems often conveyed a keen optimism and joy that was tempered by a deep skepticism, characteristics that set him apart from the other Romantics and made him one of the most significant English writers of the early 19th century (“Percy Bysshe Shelley”). Percy Bysshe Shelley was …show more content…
In addition to his long-form poetry, Shelley also wrote many political pamphlets. His devotion to his beliefs of atheism, vegetarianism, sexual freedom, and radicalism made him a controversial public figure, as well as unpopular with his parents, who demanded that he forsake his beliefs. Shelley married twice in his life, both times in spite of disapproval from his parents. On July 8th, 1822, he drowned while sailing his schooner from Livorno to Lerici. Shelley lived and died quickly, and stuck passionately to his heart and …show more content…
The great and imposing likeness of Ozymandias, a powerful Egyptian pharaoh, is shown in stark contrast to the half buried ruins of the statue many years later. In line one of the poem, when the speaker says that the traveler is “from an antique land”, where he uses the word “antique” to denote a land that is old and dull (Collins). Additionally, in lines four and five, the speaker contrasts the “wrinkled lip” and “sneer of cold command” of the ruins by first describing the “shattered” and half-buried head of the statue. Finally, the imposing command of Ozymandias to his subjects to look at his works and despair is immediately contrasted with the simple statement that there is “nothing beside remains.” Shelley uses these ironic juxtapositions in order to demonstrate that all human power is, in the end, transitory