Ozymandias

Introduction

The poem Ozymandias is one of the most famous creations of P.B. Shelly. This is a poem about the temporariness of human life. A traveller tells the story of a stone statue that he interacted with in the desert. The statue was of the famous king Ozymandias. He was the most powerful king of his time. This poem shows that no matter how powerful a person is or how magnificent a statue is, it all will eventually fall but the stories and art will live forever.

Summary

The poet meets a traveller who had come from the old land. The traveller tells the poet about his adventures. He tells the story of a stone statue that he found in the middle of the desert. The statue was destroyed and only the legs were left. He then saw the face of the statue laying some distance away from the legs. The statue was in the middle of now where in the desert. There once used to be a big empire and great monuments. The inscription on the statue tells that it was a statue of the great king Ozymandias. The inscription says that he was king of kings and a very powerful king. The inscriptions were directed to all the other kings who came after him and claimed that none of them could reach the heights of glory as the Ozymandias reached. but the traveller found that hard to believe as, the statue and all the glory of that great kingdom were destroyed by nature. There were only ruins to support the claims of Ozymandias.

The traveller praises the sculptor as he had accurately depicted the egoistic and arrogant face of the king in the sculpture. The engravings on the sculpture made no sense now. The inscriptions were written to show the glory and greatness of Ozymandias but all of it is lost to nature.

The poet thinks about the irony of the situation. They had engraved the statue to show his greatness and to show to other kings his power and glory. But over time, all the glory and monuments were destroyed and the only thing that remains are the engravings.

This shows that the materials in the world are one day destroyed but the only thing which is not affected by time is arts and stories.

Conclusion

The above poem is written by P.B Shelly. In this poem, the author has tried to show that no matter how powerful a person becomes and no matter how much wealth and glory he acquires, he cannot become immortal and that glory will not last forever. Nature is the true enemy of monuments and glorious statues. The author tries to convey that only one thing which can be saved from the brute force of nature is art. Arts in forms of stories and tradition will flourish for generations.

Questions and Answers

Q. "The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed." Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to in this line?

Ans. The heart refers to the King’s heart whose sculpture was made. The hand refers to the hand of the sculpture.

Q. "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings". Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as King of Kings? What quality of the king is revealed through this statement?

Ans. Ozymandias refers to himself as the king of kings because he was the most powerful king of his time, and it shows the powerful and arrogant nature of the king.

Q. "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Who is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?

Ans. Ozymandias is talking to other rulers who came after him. He is telling them to despair because they cannot be as great as he was.

Q. Bring out the irony in the poem.

Ans. The poem shows the irony of Ozymandias and other rulers like him, but it also shows the irony of temporariness of humanity. The sculptor and Ozymandias thought of his creation to last forever but it was the story and tales of the travellers that lasted longer.

Q. 'Nothing beside remains.' What does the narrator mean when he says these words?

Ans. The narrator wants to say that humanity is bound by time and every life and every creation will be extinct one day.

Q. What is your impression of Ozymandias as a king?

Ans. Ozymandias was a very powerful, boastful and arrogant ruler. He was the most powerful king of his time.

Q. What message is conveyed through this poem?

Ans. This poem explains the ultimate truth of human lives, that nothing is permanent. Everything in this world is time-bound and not immortal. However, the poet also conveys the power of art, which can outlive its creators and becomes immortal.

FAQs

Q. What are the major teachings we acquire from this poem?

Ans. Some of the most important things we learn from this poem is that one should not be egoistic and arrogant about his power and glory, because material things do not last forever and they will end one day.

Q. Who was Ozymandias?

Ans. Ozymandias was a very powerful king in old Egypt. His original name was Ramesses. He called himself the king of kings.

Q. What was the condition of the statue when the traveller found it?

Ans. The traveller found the broken statue. The upper body of the statue was missing and only the legs were on the ground. The head was fallen near the statue.