Analysis Of As I Walked Out One Evening And Ozymandias

Human beings have a tendency to exaggerate their respective importance in the world. This is to say that people’s beliefs are often expressed to be everlasting even though those individuals will inevitably die. The universe is in a constant state of change, and one generation outlives the previous generation to create repeated cycles in nature. In this way, concepts such as love and power are ever-present, but not in relation to one specific person. This idea is explored in “As I Walked Out One Evening” by W. H. Auden and “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poems include symbols of eternity in nature juxtaposed to short-lived individual lives. In addition, there is evidence that the events of the world have no effect on time; it will continue to pass in any circumstance. Not even privileged people can attain immortality; dying is unavoidable in both poems. Thus, “As I Walked Out One Evening” and “Ozymandias” are ironic in that natural imagery symbolizes eternity, but not longevity for humans. The concept of eternity is shown in juxtaposition with fleeting human lives in each poem. In “As I Walked Out One Evening,” the image of a temporal flower and the opposing …show more content…
However, this quote contains a conflicting interpretation: mortality will enable love to die. The flower (and even the rabbits) signifies the opposite of eternity, because the flower will soon die and ultimately will be negligible in relation to all that will come after it. This presents the message that the love of the couple will only last as long as they do. Meanwhile, in the poem “Ozymandias,” the statue of Ozymandias gives the impression of endurance although the man who inspired the sculpture is long dead. The stone the statue is comprised of and the sands surrounding it hint at