The Elements Of Figurative Language In 'Ozymandias'

Abrams, M. H. "Ozymandias" The Norton Anthology of English Literature. General Editor Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. New York: Norton, 2013. Pg. 1794. Print.

In the poem “Ozymandias” the speaker mentions encountering traveler who tells a story of an old, shattered stature of a king in the middle of the desert. Although the stature is severely damaged, its sneering face is still visible and there is an inscription that encourages those who pass by to admire his mighty works. Ironically, there are no mighty works around to admire, only a boundless, bare desert remains.

Shelley tells this ironic story of King Ozymandias in order to show that things change and nothing lasts forever. This source is considered unbiased, and reliable because it comes directly out of a literature book. It is very different from the other sources because it states the poem instead of going into detail on the meaning of the poem.

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One of the primary elements of figurative language represented in the poem is that of irony (Edwards 2). The king wanted the statue of himself to be built so that every person that laid eyes on it in future generations would see how powerful he was and all the great things he created, but in reality the statue ended up broken and abandoned in the center of the desert with nothing around it remaining. It is also ironic that few people ever pass by the statue, but even when someone does come across it they view Ozymandias negatively and believe him to be a harsh ruler who did not care about the well-being of his people because of the cold, sneering facial expression the sculptor created on the statue. Another form of figurative language in this poem is imagery. The visually descriptive way that Shelley wrote the poem “Ozymandias” allows the reader to imagine in their minds what the statue must have looked