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Ozymandias
1

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 passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked 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.'

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Modified on May 03, 2023

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Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is regarded by critics as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. more…

All Percy Bysshe Shelley poems | Percy Bysshe Shelley Books

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Discuss the poem Ozymandias with the community...

5 Comments
  • delano
    Nice
    LikeReply11 days ago
  • Xuan-An
    Studied this almost 6 years ago, time passes by
    LikeReply13 days ago
  • jonsaviours
    Beautiful, time erodes all things
    LikeReply21 days ago
  • robertrad2021
    Brilliant!
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • jim.rainey
    What brilliant, lyrical irony. I have read this poem a hundred times and still am baffled by one line: "The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed."
    LikeReply2 years ago

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