Ozymandias
Ozymandias (1818)
I met a traveler 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, 5
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; imitated
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: 10
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.
Humans throughout history have striven to overcome their mortality
by leaving something of themselves behind -- evidence of their existence.
The subject of Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" is an ancient king who shared
this common desire, but not in a common way. He not only wanted to......
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Approximate Word Count: 867
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |