Ozymandias

Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is a poem that deals with one of the most important anxieties in the modern man: time. Using a striking imagery and virtuosic diction, “Ozymandias” is a sonnet that describes the haughtiness and naïveté of a powerful pharaoh who believes in his immortality and perpetual power. In fact, the poem starts with a detailed account of some ruins in the middle of the desert. The speaker describes this monumental structure that has lost its glory through the time: 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 (2-5) This description reveals the ever present force of time and decay on all the aspects of human life. Although the emperor is convinced of his immortality through the construction of an “eternal” monument, time will follow its course and will destroy a forlorn remembrance of a powerful civilization. Shelley, a a great Romantic poem, follows the major themes of Romanticism, and through this poem question the power of humans to challenge time, and destiny.

Gustavo Vargas