Bessie Head Rain clouds

Ozymandias was filled with hubris. He was proud, oppressive, and cold-hearted. The vision depicted in the poem indicates that Ozymandias was a strong ruler. He was probably one that ruled out of fear and conquest, and ruled with a strong sense of control. The fact that he would have a statement such as “Look on my works, ye mighty and despair,” indicates that there is a sense of ego within the ruler. The fact that the statue is now decrepit and broken down indicates that the ruler is not one that is viewed in the modern setting with a sense of reverence of respect. They might have ruled out of fear, but now, when there is no longer a fear of the ruler’s extent, he is forgotten. Perhaps, Shelley is making a statement here about the nature of political power and how it should be utilized.

“the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.”
”my name is Ozymandias,king of kings” he was was a mighty man full of pride and ”look on my work ye mighty and despair” he was a very proud man with power

In the poem, the traveler describes the great work of the sculptor, who was able to capture the king’s “passions” and give meaningful expression to the stone, an otherwise “lifeless thing.” The “mocking hand” in line 8 is that of the sculptor, who had the artistic ability to “mock” (that is, both imitate and deride) the passions of the king. The “heart” is first of all the king’s, which “fed” the sculptor’s passions, and in turn the sculptor’s, sympathetically recapturing the king’s passions in the stone.

Finally, we cannot miss the general comment on human vanity in the poem. Ambition creates achievements, but even great accomplishments are eventually forgotten. It is not just the “mighty” who desire to withstand time; it is common for people to seek immortality and to resist death and decay. Furthermore, the sculptor himself gets attention and praise that used to be deserved by the king, for all that Ozymandias achieved has now “decayed” into almost nothing, while the sculpture has lasted long enough to make it into poetry. In a way, the artist has become more powerful than the king. The only things that “survive” are the artist’s records of the king’s passion, carved into the stone.

3. jill d #170087
Aug 25, 2014 10:03 PM
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The irony comes from the fact that Ozymandias’s statue will not be a source of remembrance for a great man, but rather a testament to his oppression of his people. He did nothing to build a memory built on merit and great deeds, but rather destroyed it by dominating his people during his lifetime and leaving behind a great token to what he believed himself to be in the immortal form of a monument. Source(s): Ozymandias

Ozymandias is the sculptor of the barren statues, one must realize that even kings cannot contain their passions and emotions. Ozymandias erected a statue of his destress where none could see it and without habitation for miles. Leaving these statues behind, the sculptor is given a chance to reveal to others the underlying sadness of his soul. “[Passions read] Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them”. Though the sculptor has left the mortal world, his soul remains for all passers-by to see. He/She is attempting to force others into his/her realm of pain just by seeing his/her creation. This poem causes havoc upon the mind of the reader as they think of utter desolation.

5. The poem has a couple of lines of alliteration:
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away which emphasize the loneliness and barren ruins out in the middle of nowhere