Thursday, November 29, 2012

How does the narrator feel about the king in "Ozymandias"?

The narrator of Shelley's classic poem "Ozymandias" has an ironic yet somber tone as he describes the shattered, broken remains of the once mighty king's intimidating statue, which is now in pieces strewed across an empty desert. In the poem, the narrator describes what a traveler once told him about the ruins of Ozymandias's statue. All that remains of the statue are two vast legs made of stone and a "half sunk" image of a head buried in the sand. In addition to the ancient king's crumbling visage that once threatened his subjects, there is an ironic message carved on the pedestal celebrating Ozymandias's works. The narrator then employs a mocking yet melancholy tone when he refers to the statue as a "colossal Wreck" and describes the vast, boundless desert stretching over the horizon.
Although the narrator mocks the proud, arrogant king, who has nothing to show of his past achievements, the poem's irony is somber and influences the reader to contemplate their own mortality. The narrator challenges the audience to think about the ephemeral nature of political power, examine the manifestations of hubris, and reflect on the insignificance of human beings to the passage of time. Overall, one could argue that the narrator feels that Ozymandias had an inflated perception of himself, which is worthy of ridicule, but also was defenseless against the passage of time like all humans.


The narrator adopts an ironic attitude towards this mighty king for having been knocked off his pedestal--and through Ozymandias, sends a warning all tyrants. He feels a certain contempt for the bragging and egomania in Ozymandias.
The poem goes as follows: the narrator meets a traveller who has seen the statue of a once mighty ruler in the desert. Now it is just two legs standing up. The face, called the "visage," lies shattered on the ground, where the traveler see its "sneer of cold command." "Sneer" is an especially derogatory term. 
On the base of the statue, the following words appear: 

'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

But none of these works remain. The desert is completely empty, except for sand. The narrator is calling on "the mighty" to despair, because their delusions of grandeur will also be reduced to this. Like Ozymandias, none of them are as great as they think they are. In the end, they are empty braggarts.

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