Human qualities are as many and various as faith and skepticism; autonomy and fatalism; love and indifference. All humans experience pain as well as joy, and the perception of one is reliant on the existence of the other; to this law, there are no exceptions. Nonetheless, human existence is governed by a few all-encompassing laws, such as love and death. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poems “To Wordsworth” and “Ozymandias” examine the lives of two remarkably different men; however, in their contemplation of the two lives, both poems agree on the universal elements of transience and permanence in different aspects of human life.
“To Wordsworth” is an elegy for a humble man whose life, although it spanned a brief time in the stretch of human existence, …show more content…
In his pursuit of immortality, Ozymandias erected a huge monument in his image. Some of it still stands, and the traveler in the poem describes it, saying, “Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command / Tell that its sculptor well those passions read” (“Ozymandias” Lines 4-6). One can imagine the haughty contempt of such a face, and if a mere sculptor was willing to disrespect such a despot in this way, one can also imagine the hatred Ozymandias presumably inspired in his own subjects. But it is not only the satirical hand of his sculptor that demonstrates his arrogance and conceit; it is also the sheer irony of his pursuits: he seeks eternal power, and even eternal life, but he seeks them in ways that are inherently self-defeating. There is no earthly monument that will not eventually be destroyed, and any physical attempt at self-preservation will inevitably fail. However, as Wordsworth’s life demonstrates, human beings are able to self-actualize and even transcend the material realm if they strive to embody the ideals of truth, kindness, compassion, and other virtues unique to humans. Instead, Ozymandias pursues power by proclaiming in vain, “‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’” (10-11). This …show more content…
Both men are unable to escape the inevitability of death. In the case of Wordsworth, he was aware of this impending end, and, while he was living, he acted on this reality with dignity and grace. As Shelley talks of his own grief, he notes the contrast between Wordsworth’s and his own feelings in regard to Wordsworth’s death: “These common woes I feel. One loss is mine / Which thou too feel'st, yet I alone deplore” (“To Wordsworth” 5-6). These words illustrate that Wordsworth is indeed aware of his impending death, but his feelings about it are quite different than those of Shelley’s—mournful, somber, and regretful. He sees the life he has been blessed with, uses it for selfless pursuits, and asks for no more. Ozymandias, on the other hand, is virtually the opposite in character. Frozen in stone are the nasty markers of a tyrant’s expression, “Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, / The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed” (“Ozymandias” 7-8). The sculptor who depicted him showed in the statue’s face who Ozymandias was, ridiculing him across centuries for his oppressive selfish character. It is ironic, because at the time the statue was erected, it would not have been guessed that the sculptor had more power than his king, but
“To Wordsworth” is an elegy for a humble man whose life, although it spanned a brief time in the stretch of human existence, …show more content…
In his pursuit of immortality, Ozymandias erected a huge monument in his image. Some of it still stands, and the traveler in the poem describes it, saying, “Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command / Tell that its sculptor well those passions read” (“Ozymandias” Lines 4-6). One can imagine the haughty contempt of such a face, and if a mere sculptor was willing to disrespect such a despot in this way, one can also imagine the hatred Ozymandias presumably inspired in his own subjects. But it is not only the satirical hand of his sculptor that demonstrates his arrogance and conceit; it is also the sheer irony of his pursuits: he seeks eternal power, and even eternal life, but he seeks them in ways that are inherently self-defeating. There is no earthly monument that will not eventually be destroyed, and any physical attempt at self-preservation will inevitably fail. However, as Wordsworth’s life demonstrates, human beings are able to self-actualize and even transcend the material realm if they strive to embody the ideals of truth, kindness, compassion, and other virtues unique to humans. Instead, Ozymandias pursues power by proclaiming in vain, “‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’” (10-11). This …show more content…
Both men are unable to escape the inevitability of death. In the case of Wordsworth, he was aware of this impending end, and, while he was living, he acted on this reality with dignity and grace. As Shelley talks of his own grief, he notes the contrast between Wordsworth’s and his own feelings in regard to Wordsworth’s death: “These common woes I feel. One loss is mine / Which thou too feel'st, yet I alone deplore” (“To Wordsworth” 5-6). These words illustrate that Wordsworth is indeed aware of his impending death, but his feelings about it are quite different than those of Shelley’s—mournful, somber, and regretful. He sees the life he has been blessed with, uses it for selfless pursuits, and asks for no more. Ozymandias, on the other hand, is virtually the opposite in character. Frozen in stone are the nasty markers of a tyrant’s expression, “Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, / The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed” (“Ozymandias” 7-8). The sculptor who depicted him showed in the statue’s face who Ozymandias was, ridiculing him across centuries for his oppressive selfish character. It is ironic, because at the time the statue was erected, it would not have been guessed that the sculptor had more power than his king, but