One of the many poems you may need to analyse as part of your GCSE English is Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley. In this guide, we help you with some analysis of the poem.
In this guide, we'll cover:
- a summary of the poem and its themes
- poetic form of the poem
- context of the poem
- poetic devices and language used
What is Ozymandias about?
Shelley's poem is one of many that is used for GCSE English analysis, along with the likes of Nettles by Vernon Scannell.
The poem itself, Ozymandias, imagines a meeting between the narrator and a 'traveller' who describes a ruined statue he - or she - saw in the middle of a desert somewhere. The description of the statue is a meditation on the fragility of power and on the effects of time.
The message of the poem is generally understood to suggest that all leaders, even tyrants, come to the same end and that all power (and perhaps abuse of power) is temporary and fleeting.
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half-sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Form
The poem is a sonnet - a fourteen-line single stanza form that originated in Italian love poetry and was popularised in England by Shakespeare. Most sonnets break into two parts: an 'octet' (the first eight lines) and a 'sextet' (the last six lines), with the second part commenting on the first. It is not until those six lines that we totally understand the poem and its meaning.
In this sonnet, the first part sets up the frame narrative and then describes the statue the poem pertains to.
The second part ironically relates the king's words and adds the final description of the desert setting. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, but there are several variations in the pattern, including reversed first feet ('Nothing beside remains' and 'Tell that its sculptor…').
The structure and form being rigid contrasts with Praise Song For My Mother, another GCSE poem which follows no such structure and is instead a piece of "free verse".
Language
Ozymandias calls himself 'king of kings' - a phrase taken from Biblical language - which smacks somewhat of arrogant pride. It could imply that his subsequent obscurity was a punishment from God - a subject that Shelley considered in several of his other poems.
It could also imply that hubris can contribute to a downfall, referencing the ancient saying "pride comes before a fall".
Shelley coined several other powerful phrases in this poem and the final lines have entered the language and have been used for the titles of several books and games. Both 'boundless and bare' and 'the lone and level sands' use alliteration to remain memorable - as does the sneer of 'cold command' which trips off the tongue as the poem is recited.
The 'colossal wreck' refers to the statue again; 'colossal' of course means 'giant', with a particular reference to giant statues like the Colossus of Rhodes and 'wreck' means anything that has been broken or ruined. This can be considered an oxymoron, depending on your analysis of the language. "Colossal" can imply that something is impressive, and when twinned with the term "wreck" makes something of an oxymoron.
Caesurae
A caesura is a break of meaning and rhythm within a line. Shelley uses several within the poem and each one has significant effects.
The first falls after 'Who said:' in the second line. The pause here mimics the traveller's intake of breath before telling his story, dramatising the moment as well as creating distance between the description of the statue and the poet's retelling, almost as if recalling from memory.
The second caesura comes after 'Stands in the desert.' The very final full stop and ending of the sentence reinforce the sense of isolation surrounding this strange, ruined object.
The final caesura repeats this effective trick, following 'Nothing beside remains.' This short, grammatically complete and isolated sentence stands within the poem like the statue in the desert. This particular phrase hits hard due to its brevity and the full stop.
By contrast, much of the rest of the poem is formed of long, complicated sentences that stretch on and on, could this be a metaphor for the desert or time itself? This deliberate technique helps with the flow of the poem, similar to how My Last Duchess flows with long sentences packed with rhythm and rhyme.
Context
Ozymandias is the greek name for the Egyptian Pharoah Ramesses II. Interest in Ancient Egyptian history was fashionable in the period and the importation of statues to British and French museums was beginning in earnest. It isn't clear whether Shelley would have seen statues himself and whether he was inspired by a real piece of sculpture.
Pharaoh during Egypt's golden age, King Ramesses II built more monuments and sired more children than any other Egyptian king.
In terms of the context of the poem and it being published, it was written at a time of war, and by leader Napoleon, who would ultimately fall in battle. Whether Napoleon was any form of inspiration, we don't know, but the timing is certainly appropriate.
Interestingly, Shelley's contemporary, Horace Smith, also wrote a sonnet on the same topic as a form of competition. It even had the same title. If you read Smith's alternative sonnet you will see that many of the themes are the same.
Even from a brief summary of the poem, you can imagine these friends discussing the sculpture itself and taking inspiration:
In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:—
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
The wonders of my hand."— The City's gone,—
Naught but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.
We wonder — and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place
It is interesting that some of the phrasings are the same, including "king of kings" and the poems undeniably focus on similar themes, though Smith focuses more on a destroyed empire. It is definitely worth mentioning this poem in your analysis, but of course, we are focusing on the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem first and foremost.
Irony
Irony is one of the biggest themes in the whole of Ozymandias.
The statue is of course ruined - the legs remain but the body has fallen. The face ('visage') lies on the sand, 'half-sunk' and 'shattered', making it hard to recognise. According to the inscription, which has survived, king Ozymandias set up the statue to draw attention to his 'works' - but his own face has not survived, let alone the empire he may have once ruled. The former king is boasting over something that no longer matters. Perhaps the author is asking, in a roundabout way, whether his achievements ever meant anything?
Irony can also be found within terminology in the poem such as:
“Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
The king's boasts are already disproven by the state of the statue itself. This closely ties to the poem's theme of downfall and power being fleeting.
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‘The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.’ Nobody has been able to explain this to me. The hand that mocked them could be the sculptor, but hardly the heart that fed (the passions). So that would leave Ozymandias as the subject of both. But mocking his own passions? That is hardly the sneer of cold command. So we come back to the word ” mocked”. Can it have a different meaning? One more in line with making them as in a mock up?
Hey Peter thanks for your question! “Ozymandias” is all about the rise and fall of power, the ticking clock of time, and how even the mightiest rulers and their accomplishments don’t last forever. Now, that line you’re curious about – “The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed” – it’s a bit of a poetic riddle itself and can be understood in different ways:
The Sculptor’s Insight: “The hand that mocked them” likely refers to the sculptor who crafted the statue, portraying Ozymandias’ emotions accurately. The “heart that fed” might allude to the sculptor’s deep understanding of Ozymandias’ ambitions. This interpretation emphasises the sculptor’s ability to embody both the exterior and the essence of Ozymandias in the statue.
Ozymandias as Both Subject and Creator: Another view is that Ozymandias himself is the focus of both “mocked” and “fed.” Here, “mocked” could represent Ozymandias’ ambition, while “fed” refers to his emotions. Yet, this notion is complex, as it’s hard to envision Ozymandias mocking his own passions.
Different Meaning of “Mocked”: Your suggestion about “mocked” being akin to making a representation is intriguing. This would imply the statue symbolised Ozymandias’ dreams, and “heart that fed” might refer to the feelings driving his grand ambitions. Such an interpretation aligns with the idea of the statue representing his legacy and aspirations.
Overall, “Ozymandias” is like a wakeup call, shouting out that even the biggest leaders and their fancy monuments crumble over time. The smashed statue and the inscription “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” really jab at the idea that nobody – no matter how powerful – can escape time’s grasp.
So, there you have it, a bit of poetic unraveling. Hope that helps clear things up a bit!
Like many, I’m puzzled by line 8 (“The hand that mocked …”).
Some people suggest that this refers to Ozymandias in relation to his subjects, and others that it refers to the sculptor vis a vis Ozymandias.
I’d suggest it appears to Ozymandias and that “them” refers back to the preceding noun (“ye Mighty”).
That is, the reference is perhaps to Ozymandias’ dominance of the other potentates (“the hand”) and to his heart feeding on their fear or envy (real or at least perceived).
Fantastic point, thank you for sharing!