Yes, there may be controversy whether Ozymandias is a perfect sonnet or not as this poem’s rhyme scheme (ab ab ac dc ed ef ef) conforms neither to a Shakespearean nor to a Miltonic sonnet. In spite of its technical drawbacks as a sonnet, Ozymandias is universally accepted as one of the finest poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The theme of his sonnet- ravages of time- is the favorite theme of Shakespeare, and it its presentation with detachment and poetic skill, Shelley has indeed come very near to the great master (Shakespeare). If he had not wriggled out of the fetters of the sonnet form, he would never have been able to attain such magnificence for this poem.
Ozymandias was one of the Greek names of Rameses II (1301-1234 B.C.). Ozymandias was supposed to have ruled Egypt and conquered a few Asiatic countries 4000 years ago. This poem is about the ruin of his statue, said to have been found in the Sahara desert. Ramesseum (of Rameses II) at Thebes is described by Diodorus Siculus as the tomb of Ozymandias. In this poem Shelley describes the broken statue and reflects upon the impermanence of earthly things. The king, once powerful, is no more. His relic, the statue, is broken to pieces and will soon crumble to dust. Time destroys everything.
The poet is the speaker of the first line and he introduces a traveler coming from an antique land, who speaks of the rest of the poem. The traveler tells the poet that two vast and trunk less legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them his shattered face lies half-buried in the dust. The sculptor, being a psychologist, could read his passions well and dexterously convey his frown, sneer of cold command and wrinkled lip through the sculpture. The sculptor dislikes and hates the passions of vanity, pride, and frowns and successfully captures them on the face.
In the sestet the traveler recites the inscription on the pedestal. In the possible fewest words the poet speaks through the inscription the king’s name, position in the world in his life-time and futility of his tyrannic power. The inscription also shows a great lesson to the mighty rulers of the world. It says Ozymandias was the king of the kings, but now his power has been smashed to the ground. Ozymandias addresses the mighty rulers to see his works and their tragic consequence. The king thinks if the powerful persons observe his ruins they will despair. Nothing is left of his power. It is an irony that the more men are powerful in the world, the greater is the decay of their work. Nothing of their power and reign stands the test of time. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless, and bare the sands without living beings stretch far away. The sestet displays the theme-through antithesis which smacks of irony. Ozymandias is king of kings but his end is nothing but some handfuls of dust. The statue or the sculpture of the king is a fruitless and tragic endeavor to immortalize the king and his works. His power has now crumbled to dust. In his life-time he had numerous attendants, many a servant was at his beck and call. Now he is companionless; he is solitary in the desert. So futile are power and human life!
Desmond King Hele writes; “………Shelley’s habit was to aim high, sometimes impossibly high and even though he would often turn out the most rewarding type of poem which yields new layers of meaning at, each re-reading, his success was rarely, complete. In Ozymandias, however, he is content with a limited objective, a straight-forward piece of irony, and he succeeds completely.
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