"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;/ Behold my works, O mighty one, and despair!" (10 ) requires the previously mentioned statue pedestal of the ancient ruler. Out of context, a casual passerby with the sculpted likeness of the king might deduce that Ozymandias was a powerful presence in the region and had dominion over not just his loyal subjects, but abstract concepts like time and death In context, knowing that his statue is now mostly rubble, abandoned and forgotten in the desert, one can recognize that it is Ozymandias who is actually the one ruled by time The speaker meets an unnamed traveler who tells of the reign of Ozymandias long ago, a legend which is contradicted by the crumbling statue the speaker came across in the desert Percy Bysshe Shelley highlights this theme in the poem through the use of provocative diction and juxtaposition of different things, communicating. to the reader that nothing is permanent and that everything is ultimately lost due to the stubborn march of time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayFirst, through the use of diction, Shelley presents Ozymandias as a concept of monarchical power and glory. This pays off later in the poem, when the reader realizes that even the mighty Ozymandias is powerless against time, reinforcing the assertion that time dominates us all. For example, Shelley chooses in the first line to describe the desert where the ruined statue of Ozymandias lies as an “ancient land.” This attributes to Ozymandias the connotations of the word ancient, particularly the idea that something that is ancient has extra value over its less historical counterparts. This gives the character of Ozymandias royalty and historical value. It is in these first lines of the poem that the speaker constructs the image of a powerful Ozymandias, which is later reinforced by the choice of the word "face" in the fourth line to describe the king's facial features. Although the face is “half-sunken” and “shattered” (4), the elitist nature that the word face connotes offers the reader a glimpse into Ozymandias's actual pomposity. Although the speaker admits that this is not the case today, and that more relevant to this era is the destruction of the statue, this depiction of a once powerful king reinforces the weight of his fall. If the great Ozymandias now lies in ruins, we are truly helpless in the face of time that dictates destiny. The speaker provides a final glimpse into what Ozymandias was like as a king when he describes the "wrinkled lip," "scowl," and "sneer of cold command" (4-5) that remain in the sculptor's depiction of Ozymandias. . Here it is revealed not only that Ozymandias was powerful, but that he was also particularly cruel in subjugating his people. This choice to depict Ozymandias as cruel rather than benevolent inspires the image of a government without checks and where all of the king's wrath could be brought to bear. Compared to his current state in the desert, where his likeness is now passive and shattered, this is a significant change in characterization and supports the speaker's assertion that even the most powerful and dominant will fall to the master of time. Throughout the poem, there is a juxtaposition between Ozymandias as a powerful ruler and Ozymandias as the abandoned remains of a statue. So while there is diction that portrays Ozymandias as a powerful force in his rule, the word choice that contradicts that idea is equally important to the overall meaning. For example, in line 12, the shattered remains of his statue are described as “decay.” The connotationof the word decay with dying plant or animal matter is an obvious change from the Ozymandia who wore a “cold command sneer” (5). The result is that while the memory of Ozymandias is that of an active and albeit perhaps violent ruler, his current condition is revealed to be in complete contradiction to this, as the rubble of his statue lies lazily forgotten in the desert. All that remains of Ozymandias at this point is his "scowl," "wrinkled lip," and "sneer" (4-5), but even these lose their meaning since they were "stamped on [this] [thing] lifeless" (7). Describing the carving process as molding has the connotation of a quick impression rather than a careful chasing process, but equally important is a possible separate meaning. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, another meaning of stamp is "to extinguish or destroy with or as if struck with the foot, usually used without." Perhaps this additional meaning was unintentional, but in the context of the poem it is not unreasonable to view this word choice as a conscious signal of the extinction of Ozymandias and his memory due to the constant passage of time. Diction is important in revealing this theme, but it is the juxtaposition of the diction describing Ozymandias as ruler and the remains of his abandoned statue that highlights the contrast between Ozymandias' power and passivity before and after his disappearance over time. the juxtaposition of the poem is in lines 10-12, following the description on the pedestal of his statue "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; / Behold my works, O mighty one, and despair!" with "Nothing but remains.", referring to the barren desert where the statue of Ozymandias was abandoned. This serves to contrast the two competing narratives that underlie the poem: that Ozymandias was a strong and powerful ruler but is now alone and crumbling, completely lost in the world. Throughout the poem, however, other juxtapositions serve to highlight the theme in a similar way. Another example can be seen in lines 4-7 with “Half sunken lies a shattered face, whose frown,/ And the wrinkled lip, and the sneer of cold command,/ Say its sculptor reads those passions well/ Which nevertheless survive, lifeless things imprinted on these." The juxtaposition of words and phrases such as “scowl” (4) and “sneer of cold command” (5) that portray Ozymandias as cruel and authoritarian in his rule, with the description of his statue as a lifeless “[thing]” ( 7) and his "shattered" face (4) again serves to reinforce these two competing depictions of Ozymandias as both powerful and powerless. The juxtaposition is not only used to compare these two ideas of his character, but it is also used to contrast other aspects of his character. Ozymandia. This is used in line 8 with “The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed them”; where Ozymandias' cruelty and benevolence are juxtaposed partly in the development of Ozymandias' characterization as a leader. Juxtaposition is also used to establish the setting. In line 13, “Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare / The lonely and flat sands stretch away” the rubble is juxtaposed with the lonely desert in which it was lost. This reinforces Ozymandias' defeat and abandonment by time and supports the theme of the lack of permanence of not only Ozymandias, but everything. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Customize EssayIn Shelley's “Ozymandias,” diction and juxtaposition are the formal features most often used to support the theme. Other features such as alliteration in "boundless and bare" (13), "solitary and level" (14) and.