Select the correct answer.
What is the subject and theme of "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley?

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and 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:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."

A.
The subject is death and the theme is that death overpowers all.
B.
The subject is art and the theme is that art can immortalize beauty.
C.
The subject is human vanity and the theme is that human vanity is destroyed by time.
D.
The subject is immortality and the theme is that human vanity is not subject to time and nature.

C is the best answer due to the theme being human vanity is destroyed by time, this great and powerful statue once represented this great king. But as time went on his kingdom and name eventually turned to nothing, the only thing left was a broken down statue.

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jacknjill jacknjill · Answer 2 · 2019-11-05T13:06:50+01:00

The subject is human vanity and the theme is that human vanity is destroyed by time of "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Answer: Option C

Explanation:

The words on the pedestal talks about how mighty Ozymandias’ empire was, but in reality there is nothing around it. Although it might have existed when he was alive, it does not remain now.

This implies that the idea of power or pride over achievements cannot be permanent but can rather be destroyed with passage of time, thus making human vanity as the subject and the theme being human vanity can be destroyed by time, also making time a very powerful element.