Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1818 poem “Ozymandias” describes a colossal statue of an ancient Egyptian ruler bearing the inscription “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; / Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” However, only fragments of the statue remain, and the king’s “works” have all vanished, as in the lines “Nothing beside remains” and “The lone and level sands stretch far away.” The irony is in the contrast between the boastful inscription and the empty surroundings, which highlights the fleeting nature of power.
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