King of Kings

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". 

1.     What Kind of a person was Ozymandias?

He was a very arrogant, powerful, and cold man who thought that he was the “king of kings” (10). The huge pieces of his statue’s remains suggest that the original statue must have been gigantic, showing the sense of superiority he saw in himself.

2.     Underline words and phrases in the poem that illustrate his character.

3.     Why did Ozymandias have the inscription (lines 10-11) put on his statue?

To boast to everyone who sees his statue, if they haven’t already figured it out just by looking at it, that he is the “Mighty” (11) king and people should feel “despair” (11) knowing that they can never be compared with his greatness.

4.     Restate the meaning of this inscription in your own words.

My name is Ozymandias, king of all kings. Look at my mighty and grand work, and feel sorry for yourself

5.     What is the theme of the poem?

Even the greatest, most powerful people cannot escape the diminishing of significance through the passage of time. Ozymandias’s civilization and kingdom are gone, his statue is now merely broken pieces “half sunk” in the desert, and all has been turned to dust by the impersonal and destructive power of history.

6.     List some historical characters from the past and present who were or are like the character of Ozymandias.

Hitler, Louis XVI, basically all the kings in the past.