The lone and level sands stretch far away. Ozymandias is first and foremost a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of political power, and in that sense the poem is Shelleys most outstanding political. Whether the form be open or close, a reader will have the ability to comprehend the meaning and resonance behind the poem. Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair ' Nothing beside remains. The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair' Nothing beside remains. In Shelleys poem, Diodorus becomes a traveller from an antique land. Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work. Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,Īnd wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair’ Nothing beside remains. It explores the idea that all power is temporary, no matter how powerful or tyrannical the ruler is, and that ultimately nature is more powerful than any human power. Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Ozymandias was written by the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817. ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair’ Nothing beside remains. You can probably find audio of it on the internet (which I recommend), but I can't youtube at work. Nimoy reads these quotes aloud, in this game, and ''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.'' is the chosen quote for the 'Construction' technology. Everything in the world perishes with the passage of time and under the powerful influence of the.

And for anyone unfamiliar with what my parent's comment means: In the game Civilization IV, researching a technology is accompanied by a quote. The poem highlights the vanity of human glory and power. It's one of the few poems I'm at all familiar with, and I like it a lot.Įdit: Here's the poem, below, for anyone interested. The statue seems to be saying to any ‘Mighty’ rival emperor who might be tempted to try and invade Rameses’ kingdom: look around you at everything I, Rameses II, have built, and despair of ever vanquishing me or the empire I have made! The grandeur of his kingdom will never be matched, and they should despair of ever trying to equal it.'Ozymandias' will always be in his voice in my mind. The declaration ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ is supposed to be triumphant, and originally was: when the statue was first built, people gazing at it were meant to look at the empire built by Rameses and be cowed into submission by its vastness and power. Who was Ozymandias? Ozymandias was the Greek name for Rameses II, an Egyptian ruler whose empire crumbled to dust long ago. They are inscribed rather than spoken, but in a sense, the words ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ give us a third speaker within this short poem. It is appropriate, then, that ‘Ozymandias’ one of his most famous poems is a warning about the arrogance of great leaders.

Adrian Veidt : Will they By exposing me, you would sacrifice the peace so many died for today. Rorschach : We were meant to exact justice Everyones gonna know what youve done. The inscription ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ is ironic, for reasons which are worth analysing. This is as much your victory as it is mine.

Ozymandias quote