The Timelessness of Art as Epitomized in Shelley’s Ozymandias

Abstract

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a poet whose name itself is a Metaphor for exquisite, rhythmic poetry laden with images of Nature as well as Man. He possesses the magical power of transporting the reader into an alternative world with the unique use of metaphors and imagery. His personal sadness was translated into sweet songs that are echoed in the entire world defying all boundaries and straddles. One of the most renowned works of Shelley, Ozymandias is a sonnet that challenges the claims of the emperors and their empires that they are going to inspire generations to come. It glorifies the timelessness of art. The all-powerful Time ruins everything with its impersonal, indiscriminate and destructive power. Civilisations and empires are wiped out from the surface of the earth and forgotten but there is something that outlasts these things and that is art. Eternity can be achieved by the poet’s words, not by the ruler’s will to dominate.