Ozymandias, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), is a distinguished sonnet on the accomplishments of King Ozymandias; thought to be Rameses II of Egypt. The Sonnet was written after the poet, Shelley, heard word that remains of Egyptian kings had been found. The sonnet explores the ideas of nature triumphing over humans, and the irony of “boundless” power.

The “antique land” referred to in the first stanza is Egypt; the “sand stretch far away” is also an indication of the setting. “Vast” is also an indication of the history of the land and its civilization that had perished long ago. In the sand there were “two vast and trunkless legs of stone” leaving it safe to assume that this “sculpture” is monolithic and has been broken into pieces from the years of harsh environment exposure. The ellipsis in “stand in the desert … Near them on the sand” alludes to the immense area between the sculpture and the pedestal. The “shatter’d visage” which lay “half sunk” in the ground, represents the king’s “shatter’d” power. The rhyming scheme of “land” and “sand” in the first stanza imitates the lingering effect of the immense “land” and the boundless “sand”; it reflects the amount of limitless earth that has been left exposed after Ozymandias’ fall from power.

The “frown… and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command”, portrays Ozymandias’ true personality which has been encapsulated by the sculpture. The assonance in “cold command” releases the sensation of cruelty and power over the reader. The “sculptor” fashioned the true character of Ozymandias; cruel, powerful and bursting with intimidation. The “lifeless things” which still “survive” is a sign of the king’s empire; which had been reduced to nothing more than a “thing”; we can deem it accurate that this king was very important, but now he is nothing more than a simple “thing”. The sculptor had “mocked” the king by creating a true vision of him; it seems that the intention of the sculptor was to reflect the true king. The “heart that fed” is deduced to the “heart” of the king, which “fed” on the misery and misfortune of others around him.