Surviving the Test of Time

In just fourteen short lines, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias” eloquently captures a moment in time and history. Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792-1822, was born into wealth, educated at Eton and Oxford, traveled widely throughout Europe, wrote extensively, and died regrettably young in a boating accident (Wikipedia.org). “Ozymandias”, written in 1818, is believed to have been written “in competition with his friend Horace Smith, as Smith published a sonnet a month after Shelley's which takes the same subject and makes the same moral point” (Wikipedia.org). “Ozymandias” is not considered Shelley’s best work by experts, but has become his most well-known as it has been his most anthologized (Sparknotes.com). The obvious moral of “Ozymandias” is simple: the mighty and powerful are subject to, and victims of, the inevitable forgetfulness of time and history. Less obvious but far more profound is the idea that the work of the artistsans is what gains the respect and honor of history. Through use of theme, structure and word choice, Shelley’s “Ozymandias” shows that it is not the work of the mighty and powerful that stands the test of time, but the work of the artists.

The theme of “Ozymandias” is simple: the narrator meets a “traveler from an antique land” (Shelley 453.1) who vividly describes the remains of an immense statue of Ramses II seen while traveling in Egypt. By starting out with the story itself told second-hand, Shelley is paying respect to the art of oral history. The statue is “(h)alf sunk, a shattered visage” (453.4) lying in and surrounded by nearly endless sand, with little of its original glory remaining. On the pedestal are inscribed the historically ironic words, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!” Ironic because one cannot help but feel despair looking upon the shambles that remain of Ramses’ “mighty works,” works he put so much time, money, and effort into having created. At the same time, there is no cause for despair, for the statue does remain, albeit in a less-than-glorious state. Shelley pays homage to the skill of the artisans who created the statue with lines such as “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read / Which yet survive…” (453.6-7). It apparent that Shelley understood it is rare for someone to look at an ancient sculpture and say “Wow, who is that?” It is far more likely that the viewer will say, “Wow, how did they do that!” In other words, the viewer of the statues’ remains does not see the subject of the statue per se, but the skill of the sculptor. It is not the glory of Ramses one feels when looking at the remains: it is the glory of the unknown but highly skilled artisans who created the statue that has truly passed the test of time.

The structure of “Ozymandias” is a 14-line sonnet in iambic pentameter. The oldest known sonnets date to the 1200s, and Petrarchan sonnets date to the 1500s (Wikipedia.com). While “Ozymandias” does not fit the standard rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan pattern overall, it does so for the first six lines (Wikipedia.com). Sonnets, particularly iambic pentameter sonnets, were a more than 500-year-old style at the time Shelley wrote “Ozymandias” (Wikipedia.com). Using an “old” traditional form is in itself a statement that the works of the artist survive long after the mighty and powerful have become nameless, like endless grains of sand. Shelley is in essence honoring the history of poetry and the writers that came before him: for their many works have survived the test of time, even though the subjects of their works may no longer be remembered.

Through effective word choice, Shelley again illustrates that that it is not the mighty and powerful that survive history with honor but the work of the artists. Ramses is described as having “trunkless legs” (Shelley 453.2) and a “shattered visage” (453.4), with a “frown, / And wrinkled lip … (a) sneer of cold command” (453.4-5), words that effectively convey the contempt Ramses may have had for those he ruled, but at the same time, conveys that he himself is but shattered remains, decayed and a “wreck.” Ramses no longer exists, the contempt he may have felt has become, ironically, a sort-of pity and almost contempt to be felt by those who view what he has become: shattered remains. Yet the skill and work of the artisans remains. The ability to capture Ramses’ expression so well, and the simple fact that there are remains, is recognized and honored. Ramses is dead, “stamped on these lifeless things” but the sculptor’s work is still alive in a sense, viewed since with respect and awe.

Shelley’s moral statement - that the mighty are as subject to the inevitable forgetfulness of time - is obvious. Less obvious is the more subtle but profound message that artisans of all types – sculpture, writing, and others – survive the passage of time, quite often with far more awe and respect than the most skillful of leaders. It is ironic that were it not for the skill of the sculptor, we would likely know little of Ramses II. Yet it is not Ramses II who has gained the respect and honor of time and history, but the very artisans who created his image for us to look upon with awe. Through his choice of words, structure and theme, Shelley has created a poem that has already survived the passage of time, and likely will continue to do so for many years to come.

Works Cited

Shelly, Percy Bysshe. “Ozymandias.” Class handout from A Collection of Poems.

Sparknotes.com. “The Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley.” Sparknotes.com. 5 March 2004. 5 March 2004.

Wikipedia.org. “Sonnets.” Wikipedia.org: The Free Encyclopedia. 4 March 2004. 4 March 2004.

Wikipedia.org. “Ozymandias.” Wikipedia.org: The Free Encyclopedia. 4 March 2004. 4 March 2004.

Wikipedia.org. “Percy Shelley.” Wikipedia.org: The Free Encyclopedia. 4 March 2004. 4 March 2004.

Written for Professor Stephenson's Masterpieces of Literature II class at Pikes Peak Community College, 8th March 2004.