Introduction
The poem Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelly, is a fascinating examination of a decaying statue that resonates a central principle: history marches forward and no man can stop it. It is through various literary techniques that Shelly’s belief — art and language outlast politics — shines through. As the poem creates the mysterious sculpture found in “an antique land” and subsequently destroys it, the reader experiences a sense of ironic loss that almost hedges into hopelessness. Shelly’s poem Ozymandias effectively communicates that political power is not everlasting and even the most feared of leaders cannot halt the passage of time through its use of irony, alliteration, and metaphor.
Main body
Shelly’s main literary device in Ozymandias is his use of irony to emphasize the decay of political power at the hands of time. Ironically, Ozymandias’ statue bears a “wrinkled lip” and “sneer of cold command”, features that indicate a powerful and foreboding king, but the statue itself is falling apart. Even the inscription declaring that people should “look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” is ironic; the reign would no longer strike fear in anyone for it had crumbled many years ago. Shelly examines the statue, constructing an image of the king and his rule only to rip it apart in the latter half of the poem by pointing out that there was very little left of even the statue, just as there is nothing left of Ozymandias’ reign. This sense of irony, that a king who was so feared that his people suffered by “the hand that mocked them…” lost his kingdom and life to the sands of history, which eventually overtake all men, runs deeply in Shelly’s Ozymandias.
Shelly uses alliteration frequently in Ozymandias to draw attention to certain images throughout the poem. The use of alliteration gives the poem a rhythm and flow in addition to illuminating the importance of certain lines. The letter ‘s’ in particular is repeated on three separate alliterative occasions. At the beginning of the poem, Shelly describes where the traveler found the statue, “…on the sand, [h]alf sunk, a shattered…”. This draws the reader’s attention to the hidden, already destroyed image of the statue; it is not proudly displayed anymore, it is buried and hidden and alone. The ‘s’ alliteration continues as Shelly describes the sneer and “cold command” that “…yet survive, stamped on…” the statue’s pedestal. This particular point is alliterated not once but twice because it is, simply, the entire point of the poem. Shelly uses “sneer”, “survive”, and “stamped” to reiterate the ‘s’ sound as well as “cold command” within the same sentence to emphasize that art lives on, the sculptor’s work survived, even though Ozymandias is long dead and his period of rule long since over. Finally, Shelly says that “the lone and level sands stretch far away” at the end of the poem, giving the illusion of never-ending space that stretches forever; history goes forever, no one can stop it. Through the use of alliteration, Shelly commands his reader’s attention to the central theme of his poem; no political power is strong enough to resist the decay of time.
The decaying statue in Ozymandias is a metaphor for the decay of political power. Shelly effectively utilizes this metaphor throughout the poem to emphasize that political power is not ever-lasting. Art, however, is eternal and despite the march of time, the statue remains as evidence of what was and what has been lost. The broken statue itself is a metaphor of a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ sentiment. Shelly describes the statue, the king, the rule, and even the people under Ozymandias, but in the latter half of the poem, the statue is nothing but a “colossal wreck”. “Nothing beside remains”, save for the inscription and the sneer on the statue’s ancient face. Ozymandias is lost and his kingdom gone. He is even further removed from the reader because Shelly uses the narrator as a person relaying a story he heard from yet someone else. Not only is the reign of the king over, not only is his statue a decaying mess, but he is not even directly known to the author; Ozymandias is so far removed from history, he may as well not even exist. But the statue heralded a much-feared, strong king from a bygone era, illustrating Shelly’s metaphor that encompasses the entire poem. The lost king Ozymandias could not hold onto his power, but the sculptor’s statue lasted throughout the ages.
Conclusion
The poem Ozymandias is an incredible illustration of how nothing can last forever; no man can hold onto absolute power for all time. Everyone who lives also dies, every era and every kingdom will eventually dissolve or morph into something different. Art, however, carries forward forever, even if it is a “colossal wreck” by the time it is rediscovered. Through Shelly’s use of irony, alliteration, and metaphor, the reader experiences a dramatic sense of haunting reality: everything ends and people are powerless to stop it.