Ozymandias

Summary of this poem:

In this poem, the poet met a traveller from the ancient land of Egypt. He told the
poet about the ruined statue of the great powerful king, Ozymandias. He says
that the statue is made up of stone in an old land. Moreover, it stands on legs
only. The upper body was destroyed. Furthermore, the face of the statue lay
nearby on the sand. It was damaged and destroyed by the passage of time. The
face of the statue had expressions of displeasure and a taunting smile. The
wrinkles and lines of the face were also there. The poet says that the sculptor
who had made the statue had read the expressions on the Egyptian king
Ramesses’s face very well as he was able to copy them onto his statue so
accurately. These expressions continued to exist even after the king’s death
through this lifeless statue.

The traveller next described the word inscribed (written on something) on the
pedestal (lowest part of the body) of the statue, which say, ‘My name is
Ozymandias, king of the kings: Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair!’
The king announced himself as the mightiest. He wanted others king to feel
belittled (insult) in front of him. The poet says that now nothing else other than
this engraving (something like grave) remains. The statue broke down by the
passage of time and its broken pieces could be seen lying around. The vast
desert stretched all around and it seems to be endless. The statue of the great
king Ozymandias was nowhere to be seen.

Thus, in this poem the poet brings out the vanity of the human power.
Everything in this world is temporary and is bound to crumble and brought low
with the passage of time. Even the mightiest ruler, dynasties (royal ancestor/
bloodline) and regimes (rulers) will bite dust and their works be buried in the
level sand. Nothing can stand and withstand time forever.