I.Introduction Ozymandias is a poem by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley It was first published in 1818 The poem tells the story of a traveler who describes the ruins of a statue of a powerful ruler, Ozymandias II.Summary of the Poem The statue of Ozymandias lies in ruins in the desert The inscription on the pedestal reads: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Despite this boastful proclamation, nothing remains of the once-great empire that Ozymandias ruled The poem is often interpreted as a commentary on the transience of human power and the ultimate futility of all efforts to achieve immortality through monuments and works of art III. Poem and Literary Dissection Ozymandias By Percy Bysshe Shelley 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