Ozymandias

This poem is how nothing lasts through time. The traveler told the speaker of this statue he had found that no longer stood solid. "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck," (Lines 12-13). The traveler was saying that like this statue that is left alone and decaying, so is this king long gone and forgotten. Now what is left is the wrecked remains of his success. This king had boasted confidence in himself with the saying that was "stamped" on this statue, "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (Lines 10-11). The king was warning others to see how mighty he was and to fear him, so now it seems almost silly that this statue was in shambles and not very mighty looking anymore. The speaker of this storyhad heard this story from someone else and felt that it was important enough to retell. The other speaker was the traveler that had told what he had found to the first speaker. His statement of how the saying that was carved in the statue mocked the creator of this work that is no longer standing. All that is left are the remains of his work in sand that stretches on and on.