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Ozymandias Analysis

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Analysis of “Ozymandias”
The poem “Ozymandias” is considered one of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s best sonnets. It was written in 1817 and is still recognized today as its meaning still holds true. “Ozymandias” illustrates the fall of power and mortality through a once powerful king. This is shown through the pride of the king, the tyranny that the king ruled by, and the transience of his ruling and empire.
The king Ozymandias has a great amount of pride for what he has accomplished during his time as ruler. He had a sculptor erect a massive statue of him, which shows how highly he thought of himself. The pedestal of the statue stated "My name is Ozymandias king of kings: / Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (Shelley, 136, 10-11). This shows that he believed he was the most powerful and accomplished king of all time. This extreme sense of pride and power tend to make people think that they are invincible and can continue their way of living forever. That is what the main theme of "Ozymandias" is trying to refute. No matter the amount of power or things one has accomplished, it will all eventually come to an end. The poems name “Ozymandias” was also another name for the pharaoh Ramesses II (Stephans, 161). This goes along with the theme of the poem well because Ramesses II was referred to as the greatest pharaoh during the Egyptian Empire. Ramesses also had a statue of him built with the encryption “ I am Ozymandias, king of kings; if any would know how great I am, and where I lie, let him exceed me in any of my works” (Rodenbeck, 128). There is no real proof that the poem was written about Ramesses II, but the comparison to the poem and him go rather well together. Ramesses II was a very proud ruler and accomplished many things during his time as a pharaoh. He even had a similar writing on his statue, which goes to show how power can get to a person and make

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