Ozymandias



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.'

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

34 sec read
1,933

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACADEDFEGHGH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 623
Words 116
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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

9 fans

Discuss the poem Ozymandias with the community...

5 Comments
  • delano
    Nice
    LikeReply8 days ago
  • Xuan-An
    Studied this almost 6 years ago, time passes by
    LikeReply9 days ago
  • jonsaviours
    Beautiful, time erodes all things
    LikeReply18 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

Translation

Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Citation

Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Ozymandias" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29194/ozymandias>.

Become a member!

Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

December 2024

Poetry Contest

Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
29
days
10
hours
51
minutes

Special Program

Earn Rewards!

Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

Quiz

Are you a poetry master?

»
"He was like a rainy Tuesday" is an example of ________.
A metaphor
B analogy
C idiom
D simile