Quote 1 I met a traveller from an antique land - The poem begins with the pronoun I which implies the speaker holds the most power and importance out of any other person mentioned in the sonnet. This aligns with Shelleys beliefs of individual over establishment. - The speaker only learns of Ozymandias story through the traveller, showing the insignificance of his existence despite having had the title of King at one point in time. - The description of antique land carries implications of fragility which shows that the land has lost the power it once had due to not spreading its influence over other land. Quote 2 Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert - Implications that there used to be more to the statue. - Could have been large and intimidating but now it is empty and missing half of its structure, therefore it has lost the sense of power that would have come with it. - Desert suggests a lifelessness. - Ellipses slow down the poem and could be representative of the slow deterioration of the statue because of nature and the passing of time. Quote 3 Half sunk, a shattered visage lies - The statue has sunk into the sand which presents the power of nature to be stronger than the power of people with status. - Faces are often how people recognise others so the statues face being damaged reflects how Ozymandias lost his fame and power so people would no longer recognise him Quote 4 sneer of cold command - The harsh alliteration of cold command represents the kind of person he was. - The statue has a sneer which is often a mocking expression. Ozymandias would have been mocking his subjects as he viewed them to be lower than himself which presents his arrogance and sense of superiority.
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