Ozymandias, Shelley: Summary, Analysis & Themes
"Ozymandias," written by the renowned 19th-century British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was first published in 1818 in *The Examiner of London* under the pen name "Gilrastes." In this sonnet, the speaker recounts a meeting with a traveler from an ancient land. The traveler describes the ruins of a massive statue of a great pharaoh, highlighting not only the shattered remains scattered across the sand but also the desolate surroundings. The combination of the vast desert and the decaying statue underscores the poem’s central theme: the futility of human endeavors. It also explores themes of the transient nature of power, fate, and the inevitable downfall of rulers. Ozymandias Poem text by 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 shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those …
