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2) Personification: Shelley has used personification that means to use human emotions for inanimate objects. He has used personification twice in the poem. The fifth line “And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,” refers to the broken head of the statue.

The poem uses the figures of speech of synecdoche and oxymoron; the poetic devices of alliteration, enjambment, caesura, imagery, and symbolism; and the dramatic device of irony in contrasting Ozymandias’s excessive pride with the reality of his statue’s ruin.

Ozymandias is first and foremost a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of political power, and in that sense the poem is Shelley’s most outstanding political sonnet, trading the specific rage of a poem like “England in 1819” for the crushing impersonal metaphor of the statue.

The main message of Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is that political power is not destined to last. It is temporal, not eternal, no matter how powerful or fearsome a particular ruler may be. Even the most ruthless dictators will one day die, and what they regarded as their eternal achievements will also eventually pass on.

The irony in the poem lies in the fact that the mighty ruler had the following words engraved on his statue “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look upon my works ye Mighty and despair!” These words conveyed he was so powerful that no other king could surpass him.

As a literary device, irony implies a distance between what is said and what is meant. Based on the context, the reader is able to see the implied meaning in spite of the contradiction.

OZYMANDIAS- A SYMBOL OF MAN’S HUBRIS. Percy Bysshe Shelley in his Ozymandias illustrates the vanity of human greatness and the failure of all attempts to immortalize human grandeur. Ozymandias was a great Egyptian king, a life-like statue of whom was made to immortalize him.

“Ozymandias” is an ancient Greek name for Ramses II of Egypt. Ramses II was one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs, and many of the most famous tourist sites in Egypt, including the temple of Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum in Thebes, were built or planned during his incredibly long tenure (he lived until he was 90!).

Like several other episodes of Breaking Bad, the title of “Ozymandias” has a deep metaphorical significance to the story of this installment, as it relates back to a very famous 19th Century poem of the same name and the much more ancient historical figure upon whom that piece of literature was based.

The irony in the poem lies in the fact that the mighty ruler had the following words engraved on his statue “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look upon my works ye Mighty and despair!” These words conveyed he was so powerful that no other king could surpass him.

The Latin phrase means “so goes glory.” The central irony is situational, and is illustrated in the obviously pathetic, pompous etched proclamation of the great pharaoh that he is king of kings and that all who look upon this monument of him should despair. A very ominous poem.

Value Points :thinks he is the greatest of all Kings arrogant vain conceited egocentricDetailed Answer :Ozymandias refers to himself as the king of kings because he thought he was the mightiest of all the kings and no one was more powerful than him. He was boastful arrogant vain conceit egocentric.

Expert Answers The vision depicted in the poem indicates that Ozymandias was a strong ruler. He was probably one that ruled out of fear and conquest, and ruled with a strong sense of control.

The statue is of course ruined – the legs remain but the body has fallen. According to the inscription, which has survived, the king Ozymandias set up the statue to draw attention to his ‘works’ – but his own face has not survived, let alone the empire he may have once ruled.

The moral of “Ozymandias” seems simple. A great tyrant, otherwise known as Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, has apparently commissioned a monument to his lofty works. Fry won’t deny that “Ozymandias” has an ironic soul, but he locates its mischief in an elaborate game Shelley is playing—on the reader.

Shelley makes usage of cacophonous alliteration to present the power Ozymandias once had, ‘cold command’ and ‘King of Kings’, these suggest Ozymandias was a stern and authoritative ruler. ‘King of kings’ also alludes to divine power as Ozymandias believed himself to be as or more omnipotent than God.

Ozymandias’ power is presented as being dictatorial and cruel- this is clear in the description of his statue’s facial expression- “sneer of cold command” and implied through the inscription which appears on the statue’s pedestal: “king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” in which Ozymandias …

“Ozymandias” is a fascinating and powerful poem written by early 19th century poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The compelling poem says a great deal with minimal use of words. It tells of a once great leader – a “king of kings” – named Ozymandias.