11/5/13 "Ozymandias" Shelley
Summary: A man tells of his encounter with a traveller who spoke of his “antique land” where there are two headstones that belong to the king Ozymandias who is apparently half sunken in the sand where the stones lie.
Quote: “...the lone and level sands stretch far away”
Significance of Quote: This line is an imagery that makes you think of a never-ending, and empty sand desert. It makes this small poem even more in depth and sad than it already is, because it makes the gravestones of the past king seem distant and forgotten.
Reflection: This poem gives off a very sad, and cold feeling from reading it. Shelleys forgotten king, Ozymandias is a reference to how people can forget their past loved ones, or take them for granted when they are alive. It also portrays the loneliness people can live with, feeling like they are completely alone in a desert of sand that goes on for miles, but they are really surrounded by people everywhere.
Question: Did Shelley write this as a memorial to somebody important in his life whom he had once taken for granted?
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