Ozymandias Poetry Analysis

Ozymandias Percy Bysshe Shelley was a rebel from the British upper class. He was married to Harriet Westbrook, and friend with Byron. Although he died very young at the age of thirty, he left behind him valuable writings. Ozymandias is without doubt a poem of such kind. The poem is an Italian sonnet, and describes the remains of a ancient "glorious" ruin seen by a common "traveler from an antique land"(1). The subject of Shelley's …

…to leave something glorious and immense behind creates an ironic opposition with the current standings of the ancient ruins of his thumb. The eternal desire of importance and recognition of self existence is present in the poem as the main theme. Imagery and irony complete each other to show the turn from classicism to romanticism. Inspired by nature, its hypnotizing beauty and sublimity, Shelley creates the perfect expression of his own feelings, thoughts and desires.