Historical+Content+&+Historical+Context+in+Ozymandias

media type="custom" key="12879686"Percy Bysshe Shelley’s basis for “Ozymandias” was Ramesses II of Egypt. The short length of the poem makes the Egyption pharaoh its sole source of historical content. The son of Seti I, Ramesses II began his reign in 1279 BCE. The waning years of Seti’s rule had left the country in a weakened state, which Ramesses corrected by “securing an adequate water supply for the gold-mining expeditions to and from the Wadi el-Allaqi in Lower Nubia” (Ramses, II). The early part of Ramesses’ reign was dominated by several wars with the Hittites over the dominance of Syria. This ended with the Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty, which Nocholas Grimal writes “is the earliest known peace treaty in world history” (256). In his later life, Ramesses II become known for his expansive building activity, and his proclivity for erecting immense monuments of himself, in some cases even removing the cartouche’s of previous pharaohs and recreating them in his own appearance. Of these constructs, the most extravagant is the Ramesseum, Ramesses II’s memorial temple near Luxor, Egypt. The massive Abu Simbel temples, carved from a mountainside in commemoration for his victory at the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE, are also a testament to the extravagance of his rule, and his own opinion of himself as a living god.

media type="custom" key="12879688"The particular statue that inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley’s sonnet-writing competition with fellow poet Horace Smith, which in turn led to the creation of “Ozymandias”, was the upper-half of a monument from the Ramesseum. The partial statue, known as The Younger Memnon, is now displayed in the British Museum in London. The anticipation of its arrival in London is the source of the two poet’s friendly competition. Though Shelley had not yet seen the statue before the creation of “Ozymandias”, “ Given the fame of the statue, however, Shelley was probably already familiar with it through description and illustration” (Gillespie).





media type="custom" key="12879692"The historical context of “Ozymandias” is relatively illusive. Being the result of a writing competition, the extreme political and social views held by Percy Bysshe Shelley are somewhat toned down here. What connection one can make may relate to the author’s perspective of tyranny, which began with his time at Eton College, where he was tormented by the older students, and peaked with his fervent advocation of Catholic Emancipation from England during his stay in Ireland. Of this transference, Christina Pomoni explains “Ozymandias is broken into pieces and abandoned in an empty desert, suggesting that tyranny is temporary. Moreover, it signifies that no political leader, especially a tyrant, can expect to have long-lasting power or real influence”(Pomoni).

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