Daddio: Blog of the Day 5/26/10

For today's blog of the day, I want you to read a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley called Ozymandius.  Percy Bysshe Shelley was a famous poet during his time because he was friends with another famous poet, Lord Byron, and he was also married to Mary Shelley, who was famous for writing Frankenstein.

Read the poem and then write what you think the poem is about.  In preparation for your post, ask yourself these questions (but don't just repeat the questions and give answers in your post- these questions are meant to help you try to interpret and understand the poem): Who was Ozymandius? When Ozymandius was still alive, who do you think he was?  How important do you think Ozymandius thought he was?  How important do you think the Traveler thought Ozymandius was? What are some of the ideas you think Percy Bysshe Shelley wanted you to understand about how the passage of time can change your perspective?

OZYMANDIUS

By Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveler 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 upon 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.