OZYMANDIAS

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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Review:

Theme: Man and social reality

The sounding guidance of Ozymandias "is that all power is temporary, no matter how powerful authority you have or the prideful ruler you are. Nothing stays forever."   My favourite verse of the poem is My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair.  The poet uses art to depict the transience of political authority and to extol the ability of art to preserve the past. We can relate it to our society as it discusses how time triumphs over all human endeavours and accomplishments. Everyone should know that all of our accomplishments won't stay with us for the rest of our lives, nor will we stay here. Everything comes to an end and loses it significance with time.