Ozymandias (1818)



by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)



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 lips, 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:     [variant: And on the pedestal this legend clear:]
My name is OZYMANDIAS, King of Kings,
Look on my Works ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay     [variant: No thing remains beside. Round the decay]
Of that Colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.” –




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