Shelley wrote this poem against an important historical backdrop: Napoleon was ruling France and King George III was ruling England. Both rulers were wreaking havoc on the world and Shelley meant to remind them of their destiny.

@priyanshubaranwal363

3 жыл бұрын

Really? Is that true?

@drac4932

3 жыл бұрын

@@priyanshubaranwal363 mhm Shelley was a pacifist and hated the way conquerers were running the world he lived in, and wrote the poem as a callback to the fate of King Rameses II of egypt, who is directly mentioned as Ozymandias

@severusfloki5778

3 жыл бұрын

@@drac4932 What era was that

@drac4932

3 жыл бұрын

@@severusfloki5778 i honestly dont know the era, or who you're asking about, but its a pretty easy google as both their names are there

@sammomin8115

3 жыл бұрын

@@severusfloki5778 Shelly wrote the poem in or around 1815 but published later.

I just realized Ozymandias is being told from the perspective of a man recalling the story of another man who saw the ruins. He’s that forgotten.

@quinnsine1650

Жыл бұрын

The man is named Diodorus Siculus, and when Percy says that he met a man from an antique land, what he means is he read this account of the statue in a book and is relaying it to the reader

@JB-mb1ro

Жыл бұрын

Good point

@preciousbees5721

Жыл бұрын

like I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy, but time, distances us from his great works that only lasted his time... Some great works

@adriansteele7023

Жыл бұрын

Thrice forgotten or thrice remembered

@mr.badwolf7356

11 ай бұрын

Well nearly forgotten. Ozymandias was Ramses the Great

The point of this poem is that in the end, no one will know or care who you were and what you did. Ozymandias, Ramses the Great, was the king of kings in his day, a god; and even he is forgotten. Quite literally the sands of time have buried him and his city, and whatever good he did is lost to time. Nothing beside remains.

@vanhminglianitochhawng3209

4 жыл бұрын

In my poem assiagnmet,they asked me what the theme is and o said 'powerful people's power wouldn't last forever',is that kind of correct?

@swolejeezy2603

4 жыл бұрын

Vanhmingliani Tochhawng Yeah, that no mark you could make on the world is permanent. The universe always overgrows humans

@milesfort2193

4 жыл бұрын

Swole Jeezy then how is that motivation? You do things nobody has ever seen, you work through blood sweat and tears and pain, and your gonna tell me that in the end it’s all useless?

@Carter-xy7fs

4 жыл бұрын

@@milesfort2193 There is a video on youtube somewhere which describes a philosophy called Optimistic Nihilism. This poem is quite obviously nihilistic, but I would argue that because all things end, both the good and the bad, you may as well enjoy the ride.

@theJDfromCA

4 жыл бұрын

This is the comment that should be pinned. The current one totally misses the mark.

"The earth is littered with kingdoms that once though they were immortal"

@Mattsta2010

3 жыл бұрын

impermanece of all things. The Tao knew, The Stoics knew.. Ancient wisdom has much truth. Please read it, important now as it was then.

@NavidIsANoob

3 жыл бұрын

Just like the United States thinks itself immortal today.

@paramasivamsivakumar1093

3 жыл бұрын

Supper

@nalapala_

3 жыл бұрын

@@NavidIsANoob history repeats itself i guess that’s a universal law

@Red0543

3 жыл бұрын

@@NavidIsANoob Hear hear... One of my best friends (who’s American) claimed with certainty that “When America falls, the world will end.” When I pointed out that every empire in the world (from the Babylonian Empire to the Soviet Union) claimed the same thing he became very, very quiet...

_"My name is Homo Sapien, Hominid of hominids; Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"_ -Exurb1a

@JCarrera27

3 жыл бұрын

Ah I see you're a man of culture as well

@altairrising

3 жыл бұрын

In which video does he say that?

@life-hardenedschoolstudent2284

3 жыл бұрын

@@altairrising we're the last humans left

@annatjajajugana6727

3 жыл бұрын

🙂

@raytracer2651

3 жыл бұрын

Opening scene of 2001 a space Odyssey comes to mind.

The right poetry, the right music, and the right voice. The three aspects that can change a heart, all used together, change many hearts. Keep doing more of these poems. They deserve to be told with such power.

@schmidtythekidd

3 жыл бұрын

My favorite adaptation kzread.info/dash/bejne/pYSgtapvnpadpNY.html

@Flaming_penguin

3 жыл бұрын

@@schmidtythekidd Love that one, Breaking Bad is such a good show! They used that adaptation as a promo

@user-zm4bx8yx6t

6 ай бұрын

Please I need to know the name of the music

@tellntales4750

6 ай бұрын

@@user-zm4bx8yx6t Lamellophone and the Gulf of Mexico by Slow Meadow

This poem is a beautiful reminder of the fragile and often short-lived nature of power. Regardless of how powerful you were, how wealthy you were, how charismatic or great, no man can escape the paradoxically cruel yet universally fair fate that awaits at the end of the line. Once you’re gone it isn’t your fortune, fame, or strength that puts you in the history books, but rather your effect on the world. That is to say, you aren’t defined by what you had, you were defined by what you did with it.

I've always loved this poem

@chancellorpalpatine4035

3 жыл бұрын

peace leader i love it because it’s a poem that sums up the futility of ego in less than a paragraph. Ozzymandius obviously believed his works would stand forever instead his monument only discourages others from similar ideals. If this “King of kings” lays forgotten in the desert what hope do other “great men” have of their monuments to their own vanity.

@jennymulhall816

3 жыл бұрын

Me too. It’s full of sadness and prophecy. The words fall deliciously on the ear. Have a lovely day. ❤️

@Tamoor622498

3 жыл бұрын

To me, it has many means. On of them is that we will be remembers by our actions, but only through the lens of other people. Much like all of history. The face in the sand had a "sneer of cold command" not because of Ozymandias, but because "its sculptor well those passions read". Ozymandias may have had the statue built, but the sculptor 'immortalized' him as cold through history. This theme is also present at the very start of the poem where the narrator heard this entire scene from someone else, again we no way of telling what the truth is except for what we are told. The most prevalent theme is impermanence, no matter how great we are, history will turn us to dust.

@drexlwashingtonian2978

3 жыл бұрын

No you didn’t

@savagehunter3368

3 жыл бұрын

And I never did

What if Ozymandias knew of this and was warning us? Despair, look at all my work, forgotten by time, despair, for it is impossible to remain. Look upon my work, despair, for there is nothing to see.

@helloMRdj1

3 жыл бұрын

**existential crysis increasing**

@0Havianas

3 жыл бұрын

but the time live Ozymandias, he is lives well, so many lives bad time

@severusfloki5778

3 жыл бұрын

@@helloMRdj1 Don’t let it get to you. Being a doomer is rational but miserable. Get your head out of it.

@wilsonduplessis7139

2 жыл бұрын

@@severusfloki5778 wow. Sometimes simple advice is the best. I suppose it is rational to look at all the deadlines and news pieces and death and think how horrible everything is but, we only live once I guess it is better to roll with the punches and take life seriously, but not yourself as much.

@severusfloki5778

2 жыл бұрын

@@wilsonduplessis7139 Yes! Except I would say it is important to take yourself seriously for it to translate into a good life. You have to love yourself, but not enough to "overthink" yourself into apathy. Let your self-love be one of actions. Conquer what you can, knowing that you have nothing to lose anyways-yes it’s temporary, yes it’s meaningless, yes you’ll be forgotten... but what do you want? Do the most with this unidealistic existence we were offered. The ony alternative to it is being a loser AND be forgotten even quicker.

Big thanks to Sad-ist for showing us this wonderful piece of art!!

@ToibiDoesStuff

2 жыл бұрын

the fact that you had the bravery to say this in the face of people probably going to comment "ew dream stan" amazes me /gen

@jhayworth1234

2 жыл бұрын

YESSIR SHEEEEEE-

@okie956

2 жыл бұрын

YES AGREED

@okie956

2 жыл бұрын

@@ToibiDoesStuff yeah. But like how can you not its SADIST

@LZARD_-fd7yy

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. thank you @Sad-ist for making a artwork

No one could've read this better than Vincent Price. Powerful yet soothing voice.

Had to see what this was all about from Sad-ist

@sudipto4447

2 жыл бұрын

me too man

@kd1683

2 жыл бұрын

@@sudipto4447 the poem is really cool

Beloved Vincent Price - always loved his voice

@craigfoulkes

2 жыл бұрын

I've just been taken back many years to watching the mask of the red death

@Jpk1000

2 ай бұрын

Bravo vince

I actually find the poem very motivating, and freeing. My interpretation is that Shelley points to fragility and meaninglessness in fighting for status and power in of it self. Ozymandias is building his story of his own greatness, clinging on to the ide of who he is, tryng to create security and pemanence in an universe of inpermanence. Eventually it is all swept away, but some feeble ruins, which now almost comicaly serves as a reminder of Ozymandias ignorance. For me this does not mean that nothing matters. It points to just being natural, feet on the ground. It points to that we are all vulnrable beeings, and in this we are all the same. It points to the possibility of dropping the false security of power and status, and embracing reality, the humbling reality of death, vulnrability and impermanence, which we all share. For me the last sentence "Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away.”, is an invitation to stepping away from the constructing and defence of a story of who you are (the wreck) and into the eternal nature, and discovering the wast boundless nature that lives in all of us (consciousness). So it is motivating in an spiritual sense.

@robhamrick2273

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, tho it’s a very bleak poem, it’s also very zen. In that, people shouldn’t sweat the small stuff enjoy and be grateful for what u have because inevitably it will be gone. Therefore this poem helps keep me grounded in a strange way.

@onurubu

Жыл бұрын

Idk if it’s an intended interpretation but I also like how although the “empire” of ozymandias is gone and the power he once must have had is irrelevant, the art that the sculptor made still remains and is given notice to its quality. Fighting for status and power for itself is shown as meaningless, but the fact that art and creation and mastery can last is very motivational to me.

@60sspider-man29

Жыл бұрын

@@onurubu power structures fall but art is ever lasting. I like it.

@mtlewis973

Жыл бұрын

i disagree, it’s a warning against hubris. it’s essentially a memento mori, it even has a shattered visage.

@Gettingback997

Жыл бұрын

Shelly should have added something to the effect that he was part of an empire and benefited from conquest , or else he would be toiling and not having time to think these things and write these lines. In a way he too was Ozy

Vincent Price is good in literally everything he does.

I read this one in school, this poem is so great that it became a symbol for BREAKING BAD and made the Greatest Episode Ever....

So I'm not very knowledgeable in poems, but I think that from among the ones I've read/listened to, this one is my favorite. It's such a powerful message, and so iconic.

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.”

The background melody and the man's voice gave me chills.

Omitting I just noticed is the inscription on the plaque is a microcosm of the role of art in society because it has one meaning, to express glory of the king and instill fear into those who dare object his magnificence, as all great statues do. But it also carries another rmeaning only found after years of decay. Despair both means look on with fear and in a sense, barren nothingness. While the plaque was referring to the king at the time, in the current time it's saying look at what's left after all is said and done. Heros are born and villains die but time outlines all of it and what is left to show for but despair. So really, art changes over time. It gains new meaning with new contexts.

There is no mistaking the voice of Price nor the words of Shelley. Oh to have those voices among us today.

That's my poem. You're goddamn right!

Vincent Price's recitation is so powerful, peaceful, liberating and mesmerizing.

even the greatest deeds of us will not withstand the hardship of time , what whose written on stone will eventually disappear , time has the best formula to eradicate the best and worst actions in our frail lives ...

Vincent Price his voice will never be forgotten ✨✨✨

Prolly the best string of words ever put together by a human being.

@tirame001

Жыл бұрын

You’ve never heard who let the dogs out?

No matter how amazing or great you were, and what you left in this world, everything passes, everything will be forgotten eventually, nothing lasts forever. Entropy wins, Entropy always wins.

I recited this poem in one of my school competition.. this brought back those sweet memories 🥰

I find myself listening to this poem quiet regularly, I have no idea why it resonates with me so much or why I'm drawn to it. I find it truly beautiful

Vincent Prices sonorous, precise diction and timing of emphasis give this sonnet a haunting quality which echoes across time.

"Ozymandias" is Shelley's great canvas of the maze of time, space, corporeality, consciousness. And, this is a stunning audio-visual work on it. -G. I. Sheriff

@NightTimeDay

3 жыл бұрын

No need to quote yourself on KZread, lol.

I think we can interpret this in a modern setting as you shouldn't take life too seriously for we all shall be forgotten, so enjoy this moment and don't let egotistic ambition or desire of material things cloud a benevolent life

A masterpiece which transcends all time!

The fact that Vincent Price is narrating this makes it exponentially better if that is even possible

Not sure how a poem about the impermanence and futility of all things is supposed to be inspiring, but hey. This is one of my favourite poems.

The mellifluous tones of Vincent Price add so much, to my mind, to this great life lesson. Thanks. F.

It's Magnificent to hear Vincent Price read this great poem! Thank you for posting this!

ويبقى وجه ربك ذو الجلال والإكرام

1 Peter 1:24-25(KJV) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

These childhood poems are all coming back to life, coming back to me again.

After this recital, I can’t recover for long. The lyrics, the voice, the music and above all the point,/poenta/ it all shook me to the bottom. Thank you for giving me the depth of that knowledge.

“I watched Jane die”...

@Flaming_penguin

3 жыл бұрын

also here from breaking bad

@harikrishnan-xk6tr

3 жыл бұрын

10/10

@jon_doe4763

3 жыл бұрын

I could have saved her... But i didn't

Well done. makes you stop and think about what it all means.

I'm speechless, what a masterpiece of phrases. 👍👍👍 Very very powerfully recited.👍👍👍

A beautiful poem, stunningly narrated. Thank you for sharing.

It doesn't matter what we accomplish, what we create, who we conquer. In the end, the sands of time will render our accomplishments to dust in the endless desert of history.

So powerful. I remember studying this one in junior high school. But hearing it read by Vincent Price is just the best.❤

Great reading by Vincent Price

This poem was part of my High school English Syllabus. A master piece indeed !

The voice of Vincent Price! Great

Beautiful interpretation by Vincent Price...

I am so glad that I subscribed to this channel. Such great pieces of work I love the music, his strong yet subtle voice. Everything in this video is just right.

I remember hearing the fragment of ozymandias' saying from a character named David in Prometheus who had contempt for humans and the supposed creators of human kind and sought to destroy them, which he succeeded and before killing them said, "My name is Ozymandias king of kings, look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

@VegaSirius

2 жыл бұрын

Its so much more layered than that. The movie is actually Alien: Covenant, and David, who is a robot, destroyed the creators of mankind because he believed he, as the creator of the xenomorph, was above humans and their creator. However, when reciting the poem whilst commiting genocide, he credits the poem to Byron instead of Shelley, showing his flaws as he destroys those who he thinks he is superior to. Those movies are incredibly layered, and David is one of the best movie villians ever. God, the two Alien prequels are criminally underrated.

@jinkhazama4114

7 ай бұрын

David is actually addressing the engineers that even they cannot match him

I’ve just come across your page and I’m so thankful. Everything about your videos is epic. Congratulations and thank you!

Best reading i've heard. Thanx mr. Price

Anyone else here from Sadist ?

Song name is: Lamellophone and the Gulf of Mexico

@calicoD

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you !!

@davidreames384

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Love Vincent Price and his voice

Such a brilliant poem, so beautifully read by Vincent. Reminds me of the quote: ' the graveyards are full of indispensable people'.

“If every 8-year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” - Dalai Lama

@SiliconBong

4 жыл бұрын

Mr. Lama might be right 'bout that.

@lanesmith1465

4 жыл бұрын

Then he underestimates the vile nature of people.

@johnsmith-vk6sf

4 жыл бұрын

@@lanesmith1465 I agree. You can raise kids with all the love and ethics ever known but there will always be a small percentage who are born psychopaths.

@kensyskye8965

4 жыл бұрын

Melodious Dharma Sound I think meditation alone would not.....We need our children to value every form of life before anything else......✌🏻

@kensyskye8965

4 жыл бұрын

Lane Smith you are people.......Are you admitting to having a vile nature?

I always wanted such voice to recite poems.

I like it,the poem is classic ,the poetry performed everything is the impermanence, suffering and nonself or unwholesome.

I am reading this poem in class 8. For me. Ozymandias signifies that "Nothing is permanent in this, world of decay."

I'm so incredibly glad this is read by Vincent price !

My favorite poem by my favorite poet!

Like tears in rain

@DarthDuck404

29 күн бұрын

Another great quote about how all is forgotten.

There is one who lived 2000 years ago.. What he did and how he did it is still so fresh And all he preached was for us to care for each other...

Come my friend ti's not to late to seek a newer world for our purpose holds to sail beyond the sunset... Tennyson. Thankyou for your work in these hard times 👍❤️

Nothing short of marvellous ❤

Absolutely fantastic!

There is a kind of magic during these 2:17 seconds of this specific artistic manifestation....marvellous!

The poem could be also mocking such arrogance of “royalty” and “kings” by showing that nothing is left of his kingdom and glory and legacy other than a broken statue in the middle of the desert that animals piss and shit on and people pass by without caring. Even after his arrogant words of telling people to despair in front of his success.

@silverpact1008

4 жыл бұрын

You seem to have missed the point of the poem entirely. The poem has several layers: First, that a man once lived who called himself the king of kings. Second, that a man once lived whose job it was to depict said king. Third, that the king of kings was cruel, and arrogant. Fourth, that the man depicting him knew of this in enough detail to do his likeness justice. Fifth, that he and his came in to ruin and failure. Sixth, despite his success and accomplishments, all he built has crumbled. Seventh, despite his failures, and shortcomings, his legacy still remains for us to see. Eighth, what we can learn from him is that no matter how horrid one may be, to affect the world in profound ways has no moral guise. He is remembered. He is not loved, he is not cherished. But he is remembered. We remember all that we can about the great actions of the past, good or bad. And we must not forget that our great actions will be remembered. Good. Or. Bad.

@irfaniskandar4825

4 жыл бұрын

@@silverpact1008 How can you even pretend to claim you know the "correct" interpretation? This is a poem. All layers of analysis is equally valid, as was the comment above. Pretentious.

@karalguidubaldi1517

4 жыл бұрын

Silver Pact TY, makes it clearer to me...

@Omar-if1cu

4 жыл бұрын

Silver Pact Yes people are remembered for good or bad in human history, and that is actually a good thing that we also remember the bad people because it explains why shit got fucked up or why certain things happened in history, but lets remember also that it is better to be remembered for good things as human being. Us humans are naturally emotional and empathetic when in groups/tribes which is why we are naturally inclined to coming up with a moral system, and we as a collective see bad people as trash because of that. On a large history scale would you rather be remembered as dictator Pol Pot was or as nikola tesla was? and on a smaller history scale would you rather be remembered as legendary boxer and activist muhammad ali was or as serial killer ted bundy was? What you are remembered for is just as important as being remembered at all, and it is better to not ever be remembered than to be remembered for something horrible or disgraceful.

@kensyskye8965

4 жыл бұрын

Silver Pact thanks for sharing this....✌🏻🙏🏼

Remarkably well done one of my favourite poetic piece

A 'being' into a desert might step And for a while, here may stand. Then, slowly, it comes to mind Earned power which Some in life command Like Ozymandias, one day Becomes a trillion grains of sand

@ibay7734

2 жыл бұрын

Underrated

@ansumanc

Жыл бұрын

Jeez that's beautiful

@tedtombling2770

Жыл бұрын

@@ibay7734 thanks

@tedtombling2770

Жыл бұрын

@@ansumanc thanks

This is by far the best rendition of the poem. Yes, there are a couple of videos out there with better visuals and the powerful voice of Mr. Cranston. But in those videos and / or renditions, the narrator does not take the time to tell the story. They go thru in a rush. Mr. Price knew how to take his time to capture the audience and take them on a journey

This is, in my opinion, the finest poem ever written.

Still my favourite

The lone and level sands stretch far away 💜🖤

I remember reading this poem in 6th grade english book. Brings back nostalgia

I listen to it every night To remind myself of how humble I should be 🙏🏼

Put goosebumps down my arms listening to this

Vincent Price..... such a unique voice

Hands down amazing channel.

This filled out the empty gap's of my mind thank you

Bro this is great another 1 been in my playlist, please create more of these even if you have 💯 views, I will always save these to my playlist. Love and 🙏.

I love this poem so much

Dear Lord, this is astounding...

We are only here for a short time. What we build is legacy What we are is stories. Stories that stir the sands.

I have this poem for my 8th grade exam it really moved me once I understood the meaning

The advert at the beginning is worth a watch! Entertaining.

The irony of the poem lies in the contrast between the grandiose boast of the inscription and the desolate reality of the ruined statue. Despite Ozymandias' claims of greatness and power, all that remains of his empire are broken ruins in the desert, surrounded by empty sands.

Shelley, my favorite poet.

Thank you.

If anyone is wondering what this poem is about, it’s a poem about arrogance. This ruler, Ozymandias had built an empire and built a statue of himself, displaying his power and invincibility. As time has worn on, the empire has fallen and long since been forgotten and only his smug pride remains of him. The only thing left for people to remember him by.

That voice! ❤️

Amazing work !!! Thank you .

Beautiful ❤️

Thank you 🙏 Sir

Is really nice for motivation