The theme of destruction and decay in P.B. Shelley’s Sonnet 'Ozymandias'

Question : Write the moral of the poem “Ozymandias.”

Or, Discuss the theme of destruction and decay in P.B. Shelley’s Sonnet “Ozymandias”

Or, Human being must  submit to the eternal law of destruction and decay.

Or, Is Shelly a pessimist or an optimist?

             

Answer :

In the poem “Ozymandias” the poet P.B. Shelley has described the eternal teuth that nothing on earth is permanent. Everything is subject to death and decay. In the poem ‘Ozymandias’ there is a touch of melancholy and sadness. It makes us reftect over the vanity of human wishes and the failure of our efforts to keep our memory alive forever. The contrast between the past glory of the king and the present condition of the statue is very striking to the mind and emphasizes the mord of the poem. The poem subtle flatters and vanity. We feel after reading it that we are wiser than Ozymandias who never knew the irony of his inscriptions.

With the passage of time Ozymandias empire was ruined and now the statue of the king lay broken and neglected with nothing but desert all around. “Ozymandias” who called himself the king of king’s and boasted of the pried that no other king could equal him in glory; nothing could save him and his memory from the ravages of time. In spite of, his power and pelt. This mighty powerful and haughty king, who had a sense of his own importance had to face death. The razor of time ravaged everything of him. Everything is transient and short lived so the mighty state of “Ozymandias” is also temporary. It is like ten others thing, a subjeet to death and decay. Everything must meet it`s end. So Ozymandias along with his realic has met eternal death and end Ozymandias is the mighty hero; but he is redvce to zero with the passage of time. It is the irony that there is no balance between what is expected and what is acheived. Everything weak or strong must drink the cup of death. Ozymandias’s proud utterance is proved to be futile and meaningless.

“My name is Ozymandias, king of king’s;

Look on my works,ye mighty,and despair.

This poem reminds us of the impermanence of all earthly thimgs beings. The king, once powerful and haughty, is no more on the earth. His relic, the broken statve is broken in to dust. The tone of sadness, prevails every where such a sense of sadness is replected in the poem “Elegy Written in covntry churchyard” by Thomas Gray. All great men think alike. Shelley’s sense of transience is replected in the following lines of thomas gray–

“The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,

A waits alike th’ inevitable hour:-

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”

Ozymandias statue advices all other powerful to look upon his achievements and realize that nothing is permanent and eternal in this mundane world of ouras. This poem points out a universal fact that everything on earth, beautiful or ugly is subject to death and decay. This is inevitable destiny of human being. Shelley seems to point out the moral idea that mundane pomp and luxury are insignif can’t in comparison with the great faet of death. Beauty, glory, power and wealth everything will end in smoke. So human being should act kecping this universal idea in mind. Man wants to live with power and pelf for eternal time but their death stands at everybody’s door. Death lays its icy hands over every living being who does not want to die. Here lies irony of all living neings.

       Thus Shelley has shown the impermanence earthly things and beings.