In his Bibliotheca historica, Diodorus states that the following phrase was inscribed at the base of a statue of Ramesses II: 'King of Kings Ozymandias am I. In writing his poem, Shelley was highly influenced by ancient Greek writings on Egypt, particularly those of a historian named Diodorus Siculus. Ancient Egypt in general was also very much in vogue among the British upper classes, and many of Shelley's contemporaries took a great interest in the period and any new archaeological discoveries in Egypt.

This may have been the inspiration behind the theme of the competition. Earlier in 1817, it was announced that archaeologists had discovered the remains of a statue of Ramesses II and were sending the fragments to the British Museum. The Shelleys moved in literary circles, and they and their friends would often challenge each other to writing competitions, so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.įor this competition, Shelley and Smith wrote about the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II ('Ozymandias' is the Greek name for Ramesses II). During this time, Percy Shelley and Smith challenged each other to a poetry competition. The poet Horace Smith spent the end of 1817 with Percy Shelley and his wife Mary Shelley (the author of Frankenstein). Furthermore, sonnets are usually associated with love and harmony, however ironically, the only love here was the self-love of Ozymandias.There are actually two Ozymandias poems, and they were written as part of a friendly writing competition. The sonnet structure also gives it formality and ‘dignity’, as does the stately, rhythmic iambic pentameter construction of the lines. Actor Bryan Cranston recited the poem in promos for the show (see video above). The poem gained renewed popular attention in 2013 when “Ozymandias” was used as the title of an episode of TV’s Breaking Bad. Shelley chose to give a voice to the ‘nobody’, often at that time forgotten by literature. The traveller is an ordinary man, yet he is the one who tells the story, not the great king. It is also a comment on humility - or the lack of it. Shelley points out the power of nature, and its ability to destroy, a classic theme of Romanticism. The essence of the message is the hubris of a man who believed that he would be remembered forever. Signed “Glirastes”– meaning roughly a “preaching doormouse”–Shelley’s “Ozymandias” has become one of his most famous poems.

It was also written in competition with Shelley’s friend Horace Smith, who produced his own “Ozymandias” sonnet and published it a month later. Shelley’s poem is thought to have been inspired by the news of the 1821 acquisition of a statue of Ramses II by the British Museum in London. Far from standing forever, even the most imposing of man’s creations wear away. Ramesses II, also called Ozymandias, as a symbol of the decline in time of personal possessions and power. This classic sonnet uses a decaying statue of

Ozymandias by percy bysshe shelley