The B-Side of “Ozymandias”
Shelley’s close friend wrote his own version of the famous poem — and it might be even better
“Ozymandias” has been called “the most metal poem ever”, and I can find no way to disagree.
It’s a magnificent riff on the vanity of extreme ambition, and how quickly humanity’s brief accomplishments are destroyed by the march of time.
You’ve probably already read the poem; it’s the most famous of Percy Bysse Shelley’s works. But just in case you haven’t seen it recently, here it is in full …
Quite the gut punch, those final lines, eh?
A vegetarian, feminist, atheist and socialist, Shelley was often a fiercely political writer. He loathed the cruelties of the powerful, whether religious or governmental; you can read his longer “The Mask of Anarchy” if you want to hear him rage with operatic fire against the church and state. But I think “Ozymandias”, with its sheer brevity and cool-handed tone, is an even fitter riposte to the bombast and savagery of tyrants. Nothing beside remains.
