by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)

Language: English 
Our translations:  ITA
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast  ...  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:
"I am Ozimandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing besides remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Composition:

Text Authorship:

  • by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), title 1: "Ozymandias", title 2: "Sonnet", first published 1818

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 111