Ozymandias 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.

So, who’s the mastermind behind Ozymandias? Percy Bysshe Shelly, a major English Romantic poet, published the famous sonnet Ozymandias in 1818 when he was 26. Shelly viewed poetry as a “fountain forever overflowing with the waters of wisdom and delight” (401, 19th Century…) This indicates that he felt as if poetry had an abundant amount of lessons to be learned and joy to be experienced. He was influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann Gottfried Herder. Rousseau was a philosopher and writer of the 18th century. Johann Gottfried Herder was also a philosopher and poet of late 18th century. Their political standings, which all influenced modern politics, and writings possibly were what influenced Shelly.

So, who’s the mastermind behind Ozymandias? Continued… In Ozymandias, a foolish ruler is described through the engraving on the pedestal: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings” (line 10), along with a crumbling empire through the destroyed sculpture which is mentioned throughout the entirety of the poem. Perhaps the view of this poem is taken after being influenced from Rousseau’s and/or Herder’s works. Shelly also admired Wordsworth’s work and dedicated a sonnet to him. Shelly drowned while sailing in the Mediterranean Sea and was cremated after being found. His cremation was considered eccentric because it wasn’t typical. This reveals that he was an independent thinker.

Ozymandias in History Real name is Ramesses the Great (or Ramesses II) Viewed by Shelley as a tyrant Ramesses the Great ordered a temple to be erected in his name. The outside of the temple consists of 4 statues of Ramesses the Great. A salvaged statue from the temple shows the same inscription as the one Shelley has in his poem

Watchmen United States and Soviet Russia on verge of nuclear war Adrian Veidt a.k.a Ozymandias Considered to be one of the greatest minds of all of humankind Adrian used to be part of the Watchmen, but when they retired, he took to running his enterprises

Watchmen continued Took the initiative to “help the world” He destroyed most of New York with Dr. Manhattan’s device. This caused the U.S. and Soviet Union to come to an agreement against a “common enemy” Fellow Watchman, Rorschach, wanted to do justice to Ozymandias, but Dr. Manhattan saw that Ozymandias was right and eliminated Rorschach to avoid corroding the ceasefire between the two nations.

Meaning of Ozymandias Line 5-6 “And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,” - The importance of the sneer on the statues face Line 7-8: “Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;” - Last Laugh idea Line 10-11: “'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my works. Ye Mighty, and despair!‘” - Cockiness of Ozymandias