Ozymandias

Imagery reinforces this poem’s theme by creating a mental image in the reader’s head that there was a statue, built years ago, but as time moves forward, eventually, nothing is left standing. “I met a traveler 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 shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command…Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare”. (Shelley) This quote gives the reader the image of what the statue was in its past glory, and what it looks like today. Using different speakers in the poem also adds irony to the poem. On the pedestal the words, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (Shelley) The creator of the statue wanted to make people fear him as if he were a god. However, as what happens to all things on earth, Ozymandias died, along with his statue which was unable to stand the test of time. The only thing that is able to outlast this poem is time.