Ozymandias

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

Shelley uses the poem as a vehicle to expose how absolute power is often corruptive force - leading to callousness, and narcissism. Inspired by the image of the fallen statue of Ramses II, who Shelley had read was a ruthless military man and megalomaniac, ‘Ozymandias’ serves as a reminder that all human power is fleeting and will ultimately be obliterated by the transcendent power of nature.