OZYMANDIAS OF EGYPT - PERCY SHELLEY
COMPLETE & IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
, OZYMANDIAS
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
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,
Half sunk a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which
yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d 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!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, The
lone and level sands stretch far away.
, Explanation
"I met a traveller from an antique land,"- The speaker begins by telling us about someone she met, a
traveller from a very old place (an “antique land”), referring to ancient civilizations like Egypt. The traveller
is going to describe what he saw in this old land.
"Who said—'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone"- The traveller tells the speaker that he saw the ruins of
a huge statue. All that remains of the statue are the "vast" (huge) legs made of stone. The "trunkless" part
means the torso (body) is missing—only the legs are still standing.
"Stand in the desert Near them, on the sand," - The two stone legs are just standing alone in the
middle of the desert. The rest of the statue has fallen apart, and the head is lying nearby on the sand.
"Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,"- A broken face ("shattered visage") is lying half- buried in
the sand. Despite being broken, you can still see the expression on the face. It’s frowning, showing anger or
seriousness.
"And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,"- The face of the statue also has a sneer on its lips, as if the
person it represents was arrogant or gave orders in a commanding, superior way. This suggests the person
was a ruler who thought highly of themselves and looked down on others.
"Tell that its sculptor well those passions read"- The traveller notes that the sculptor, the artist who carved
this statue, was very skilled at understanding and capturing the ruler's personality and emotions in the
sculpture—these are the "passions" that the sculptor "read" and portrayed.
"Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,"- Even though the statue is now broken and "lifeless,"
the emotions and personality of the ruler (anger, arrogance, etc.) are still "stamped" or preserved in the
stone, as if those emotions have outlived the ruler himself.
"The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;" - This line is a bit more complex. "The hand that
mocked them" likely refers to the sculptor, whose hand "mocked" or imitated the ruler's emotions in the
statue. "The heart that fed" could refer to the ruler’s heart, which was full of pride and power, feeding the
arrogance and command that the statue represents. (This line refers to how the sculptor beautifully
explained the personality of the ruler ‘Ozymandias’)
"And on the pedestal, these words appear:" - Now the traveller tells us about the inscription on the pedestal
of the statue. The words that follow are supposed to convey something important about the ruler.
COMPLETE & IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
, OZYMANDIAS
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
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,
Half sunk a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which
yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d 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!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, The
lone and level sands stretch far away.
, Explanation
"I met a traveller from an antique land,"- The speaker begins by telling us about someone she met, a
traveller from a very old place (an “antique land”), referring to ancient civilizations like Egypt. The traveller
is going to describe what he saw in this old land.
"Who said—'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone"- The traveller tells the speaker that he saw the ruins of
a huge statue. All that remains of the statue are the "vast" (huge) legs made of stone. The "trunkless" part
means the torso (body) is missing—only the legs are still standing.
"Stand in the desert Near them, on the sand," - The two stone legs are just standing alone in the
middle of the desert. The rest of the statue has fallen apart, and the head is lying nearby on the sand.
"Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,"- A broken face ("shattered visage") is lying half- buried in
the sand. Despite being broken, you can still see the expression on the face. It’s frowning, showing anger or
seriousness.
"And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,"- The face of the statue also has a sneer on its lips, as if the
person it represents was arrogant or gave orders in a commanding, superior way. This suggests the person
was a ruler who thought highly of themselves and looked down on others.
"Tell that its sculptor well those passions read"- The traveller notes that the sculptor, the artist who carved
this statue, was very skilled at understanding and capturing the ruler's personality and emotions in the
sculpture—these are the "passions" that the sculptor "read" and portrayed.
"Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,"- Even though the statue is now broken and "lifeless,"
the emotions and personality of the ruler (anger, arrogance, etc.) are still "stamped" or preserved in the
stone, as if those emotions have outlived the ruler himself.
"The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;" - This line is a bit more complex. "The hand that
mocked them" likely refers to the sculptor, whose hand "mocked" or imitated the ruler's emotions in the
statue. "The heart that fed" could refer to the ruler’s heart, which was full of pride and power, feeding the
arrogance and command that the statue represents. (This line refers to how the sculptor beautifully
explained the personality of the ruler ‘Ozymandias’)
"And on the pedestal, these words appear:" - Now the traveller tells us about the inscription on the pedestal
of the statue. The words that follow are supposed to convey something important about the ruler.
