Ozymandias

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias” was originally published in the 11 January 1818 issue of “The Examiner” of London.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was born on 4 August 1792 in Warnham, West Sussex, England, and he died on 8 July 1822 in Gulf of La Spezia, Kingdom of Sardinia (now Italy), at the age of 29.

A poet, dramatist, and essayist, Shelley was a radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views. He did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death, and he became an important influence on subsequent generations of poets.

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Posted: 13 September 2022
Word length: 97
Video length: 2:03

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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