Power In Ozymandias

The sonnet “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley focuses its attention to the political power and the power of art. Percy Shelley makes a point that those individuals assuming ultimate power are deceived in their firm belief that their power is absolute and too strong to be defeated. This viewpoint puts forward an idea that the extremely powerful leaders hold a thought that they are omnipotent, as their power will never end. In fact, in the sonnet “Ozymandias”, Persy Shelley tries to tell a reader that the enormous power of rulers is not everlasting. At the same time, the art, displayed by the sculptor and the monument, does have continued existence. The poet carefully chooses the words in order to demonstrate that the great art can survive even when

The poem starts with an unusual and elusive approach to the issue. The sonnet uses the first person pronoun at the beginning that appears to be only a structuring device. The word “I” (1) swiftly changes to some “traveler from an antique land” (1). The remaining lines of the sonnet are told by this traveler. Shelley employs the caesurae “Who said” (2) in order to dramatize the moment and prepare the reader to listen to something very important. In fact, the power of time over the past greatness is presented in the second line, where the traveler describes a statue that seemed to be large and impressive in the past, but now only “two vast and trunkless legs of stone” (2) remain. The poet emphasizes the elusiveness of the power by a word “antique” (1), which implies something old and outdated. The next caesurae “Stands in the deserts” (3) creates the sense of loneliness and isolation that surrounds the ruins of the statue. The “shattered” (4) face suggests that nothing is left after the then-powerful person. Using the words “frown”(4), “wrinkled lip” (4) and “cold command” (5), Shelley describes the empire-building and tyrannical ruler. However, the ruler’s pride and power are left in the past, as they are “half sunk” (4) in the desert sands. The poet shifts a reader’s attention from the statue to the sculptor, highlighting the permanent power of art. The word

In this part, Ozymandias speaks for himself with the help of the words engraved on the pedestal. The words “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” (10) clearly indicate the ruler’s pride. In such a way, the poet tries to say that Ozymandias demonstrates his superiority and expects everyone to be inferior to him. He is proud of his deeds and wants to be perceived as the mighty king, the “king of the kings” (10). The last phrase, which is taken from the Bible, shows the complete pride of Ozymandias. At the same time, the obscurity of his personality can be seen as the God’s punishment for the mentioned words. The ruler’s desire to hold his position after death and to be the most powerful person in the world is ridiculed by the sentence “Nothing beside remains” (12). The last caesurae “Nothing beside remains” (12) looks like the lonely statue that stands in the deserts. The words on the pedestal now appear to be rhetorical and meaningless. The last lines of the sonnet demonstrate that the king’s “works” (11) are not remembered now, as they are covered by the desert sands. The ruler’s boast is now a mere collection of stones. The alliterative phrases “boundless and bare” (13) and “lone and level” (14) provide the cruel landscape image, which is left from the influence of Ozymandias and is slowly fading away. These phrases appear to be a proper