Tweetspeak Poetry

Commit Poetry: “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Ozymandias
I read a Facebook post on January 11 of this year announcing that it was the 200th anniversary of the day The Examiner published Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem, “Ozymandias.”

Ozzy who?

I had to look up the pronunciation. Several folks say Ah-zee-mahn-dee-us. Others say Ah-zee-man-dee-us. But some say to fit the meter of the sonnet, the name should be scrunched into four syllables—something like Ah-zee-man (or mahn)-jis.

I’ll bet you thought I knew what a sonnet was, right? I can never remember, so I had to look that up, too.  Count the lines (14). Count the syllables (10). Notice the rhyme scheme (abab). Check out the infographic.

Come back to Ozzy. I read the poem through a couple of times and then set off to follow not a few bunny trails. One blogger wrote that the poem “is so famous that it really needs no introduction.” If that’s the case, how come the first I heard of it was maybe six months ago when my life coach included it on a list of poems she thought I should tuck into my heart? Did I fall asleep during high school English? Did my college friends memorize it while I was memorizing the 12 cranial nerves in nursing school?

The story goes that Percy (husband to Mary who dreamed up Frankenstein) and his friend, Horace Smith, were sharing cups of tea (or maybe glasses of something stronger) and chatting about some recent archaeological finds. They remembered that an ancient historian had written about the statue of a character named Ozymandias, a.k.a. Ramses II, possibly the same Egyptian Pharaoh from the Book of Exodus. Inspired by their conversation, the two decided—or maybe they dared each other—to write sonnets about this “colossal wreck,” sight unseen. Apparently, these little games were rather common pastimes in those days. “In such competitions two or more poets would each write a sonnet on an agreed subject against the clock,” explains Stephen Hebron of the British Library.

As it happened, Shelley was the winner. His poem became “one of the best-known sonnets in European literature,” according to David Miciks at Poetry Foundation. Who knew? Not me.

Smith’s poem, with the colossal title “On a Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, with the Inscription Inserted Below,” was printed in The Examiner on February 1, 1818, but it never gained the stature that Shelley’s poem did. Now it mostly gathers dust, though sometimes someone may dig it up and brush it off. I’m glad that one wasn’t on my list. It’d take a few days just to memorize the title.

A phrase from The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian regarding an inscription on an Egyptian monument of Ramses II reads:

I am Osymandyas, king of kings; if any would know how great I am, and where I lie, let him excel me in any of my works

Hebron wondered if those words might have served as a poetry prompt for the “dare” since both poets used a similar phrase in their poems.

“I am great Ozymandias,” saith the stone,
“The King of kings; this mighty city shows
The wonders of my hand.”

—Horace Smith

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

—Percy Shelley

In my wanderings with tour guide Mr. Google, I found several references to the television series Breaking Bad (which I’ve never watched). The 60th episode was titled “Ozymandias” and “draws on the poem’s theme of collapse following greatness.” It has been hailed as one of the finest episodes of the series, and some say it was one of the most powerful episodes of dramatic television ever produced—though the description sounds a little too graphic for my taste. Here is a video of Bryan Cranston, the lead actor of the show, reading the poem:

And here’s an animation based on that reading:

I decided to celebrate the poem’s big birthday by committing it to memory (it’ll make my coach proud). And I’m going with the four-syllables-to-the-name pronunciation for proper sonnet rhythm.

Also, I’m kind of wishing now I’d named that Cheerio-begging duck that frequents our back door “Ozzy” instead of “Dude. “

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.”

—Percy Bysshe Shelley

Here’s a dare for you (okay, two dares):

1. Write a poem based on the phrase “I am Osymandyas, king of kings; if any would know how great I am, and where I lie, let him excel me in any of my works.” It can be a sonnet or a haiku or any form you choose.

2. Had you ever heard of “Ozymandias?” (Please tell me I’m not alone.) I dare you to memorize the poem.

For further reading: Find out more about “Ozymandias” from Shmoop.

Photo by Fernando Garcia, Creative Commons license via Flickr. Post by Sandra Heska King.

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Comments

  1. Megan Willome says

    Bravo, Sandy!

    I knew the poem existed, but I didn’t really get it. Thanks to you and your work with Mr. Google, now I do. Starting today smarter, thanks to poetry.

    P.S. I have never watched “Breaking Bad” either, but I do know they’ve used poetry in the past, specifically Walt Whitman’s “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer.”

    Reply

    • Sandra Heska King says

      I occasionally watch Criminal Minds because in flipping channels I heard one of the actors reciting a couple lines of poetry. Happens every episode. Also, it’s one of the things I like about Blue Bloods. D and I discovered that show last year and have been catching up on back episodes. I love it when I can identify the poet (or source cuz sometimes it’s simply a quote) before they name him/her.

      Reply

  2. Laura Brown says

    So this poem might have come from a dare? Fascinating. Thanks for this backstory (and for your reports that spring is on the way).

    I remember studying this poem in Dr. Organ’s British lit course in college, when a few lines of it lodged in memory (though Wordsworth stuck better than Shelley). We may have read it in Mr. Klenowski’s class in high school.

    Osymandyas,
    Time has scoured you down to dust.
    That’s how great you are.

    Reply

    • Sandra Heska King says

      Well, it kind of sprouted from Prufrock dare followed by a month of coaching? That coach is tricky. 😉

      I love that you can remember your college lit professor. I remember nursing school instructors, but not one name from any college classes–not even an English Lit professor who shot down what I thought was exceptional insights into Beowulf. I’d worked so hard on it and loved what I was seeing. But it was “wrong.”

      Love that haiku. So true.

      Reply

      • Laura Lynn Brown says

        Oh, I meant that “Ozymandias” came from a dare between Shelley and the other guy.

        Most of my English professors were great, and I had several classes with several of them. Dr. Organ also was the faculty adviser for the newspaper and taught a rigorous editing class.

        I had a hard time with Beowulf too. Maybe you need to redeem that by memorizing a section of it and telling us something new about it?

        Reply

  3. Laurie Klein says

    Sandy, I love this post, so specific and lively and informative! I read the poem (silently) in college, in Pat Stien’s Oral Interpretation of Lit. class. You’ve greatly enlarged my understanding and charmed me in the process.

    You could re-name that duck . . .

    Reply

    • Sandra Heska King says

      Thank you, Laurie. And I’m impressed that you, too, remember an instructor’s name.

      I *could* re-name the duck, and it might be especially fitting since he won’t likely be around forever. But now he’s forever “Dude,” I think. But I’m going to hang on to Ozzy cuz that name might come in handy for someone/something else. 🙂

      Reply

  4. L.L. Barkat says

    Hilarious and informative, both. I love when you write like this, Sandra. 🙂 And, yes, I am *very* proud!

    “Ozymandias” was probably the first poem that really made me understand that poetry was something I wanted in my life. It took years after that first encounter to have this be the reality it is today, but there was something about the poem that made my soul say yes.

    Reply

  5. Marilyn Yocum says

    Like Megan, I was acquainted with the poem, but never really got it. I LOVED reading your post about it, though. It inspired me to be more curious. (I need regular reminders.) Speaking of curiosity, I watched the entire “Breaking Bad” series last year. My kids referenced it so often I just had to.

    Reply

  6. Bethany R. says

    This is the first time I’ve heard and read that poem. Love how you help make these classic poems accessible, Sandra. 🙂

    Reply

    • Katie says

      Sandra and all,

      I realize I’m really behind in commenting on this (was out of town) but wanted to chime in now as I SO enjoyed reading your post!

      First time reading this poem for me – seems I may have heard it referenced in a movie once – ?
      Thank you for all the neat links!

      After reading David Mickis’ review, “A Poem to Outlast Empires” on the Poetry Foundation site and the mention of both Shelley and Smith writing different Ozymandias poems, but Shelley’s becoming famous while Smith’s was mostly forgotten (well with a title like: “On a Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, With the Inscription Inserted Below” what did he expect!? LOL 🙂 I came up with these:

      Imagine this conversation:
      Shelley to Smith: “Hey, bro – didn’t I tell you that was waaay too long of a title?! . . . unless you’re going to claim it’s a double haiku?”

      On a stupendous
      leg of Granite Discovered
      Standing by Itself. . .
      In the deserts of
      Egypt, with the inscription
      Inserted below.

      Also, I wrote these haiku as if Smith were speaking:

      oh, unfortunate
      title, you caused my poem
      to be forgotten

      why did I not heed
      Shelley’s much more sage advice
      and just keep it short?

      Thank you for the intriguing and informative post, Sandra. 🙂

      Reply

      • Sandra Heska King says

        Love it, Katie. How clever to write as Smith to Shelley. Wouldn’t it have been fun to have been in the room as they discussed the recent finds and challenged each other to the duel? And I would have loved watching them write.

        Reply

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