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1. Ozymandias Percy Bysshe Shelley Presentation by Vibhor Singh

2. Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets. Shelley is best known for such classic poems as ‘ Ozymandias ’, ‘Ode to the West Wind’, ‘To a Skylark’, ‘Music’, ‘The Cloud’ among many others. He was often used as symbol of rebellion as he questioned those that fell into power through inheritance. As he was a member of the Romantic movement, he thought the pen was mightier than sword and privileged art and literature over short lived power of individuals.

3. About The Poem The Poem ‘ Ozymandias ’ is a form of sonnet (Petrarchan) which comprises of fourteen lines in which the first eight lines are said to be octave that presents a conflict or a dilemma, followed by a sestet or a set of next six lines that offers some commentary upon the proposition introduced in the octave. Actually, Ozymandias is an ancient Greek name for Ramses II (ruler) of Egypt. So, it represents the ruler Ramses II. The ruler was powerful and self-obsessed. Ramses II was responsible for a huge amount of building works and paid for a sculptor to carve a statue of him with the inscription ‘Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair’. He wanted his statue built so his powerful rule would be remembered.

4. Ozymandias The title suggests the theme of power as Ozymandias was a powerful figure in Egyptian history. The statue in the poem is Ozymandias , also known as Rameses II. He was a powerful Egyptian Pharaoh (King). Shelley was known to rebel against powerful figures the reader may immediately assume that this poem will give a cynical account of the Egyptian ruler.

5. Theme Themes:power and the temporary nature of power; ‘pride comes before a fall; the power of art. T he poem stresses on the transitory nature of life and its pretensions of fame and fortune. The decaying and broken ancient statue bears witness to the fact that the pursuit of power and glory for their own sakes are not only fleeting, but also illusionary. Erecting statues and monuments are not the tinge which make us all powerful but the good we do is remembered for generations and posterity.

6. 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,

7. Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

8. 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 !

9. Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck , boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

10. OVERVIEW The poet attempts to convey the message that no matter how great we think we are - we all ultimately succumb (give in) to the power of Time.  Ozymandias believed he would be invincible and would live on forever in his statues etc; however this is not to be. Time conquers all — the mighty and the humble, the powerful and the ordinary.