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1. 
   ms-mcgregor Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   Romantic writers believed in the strength and beauty of nature. The poem "Ozymandias" is a haunting reminder that man made things and earthly glory pale in comparison to nature. Ozymandias had written an inscription on monument that said" Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair." However nature, in the form of "lone and level sands" had totally covered the monument and the statue had been broken by the winds and forces of nature thus destroying Ozymandias' glorious statue that he thought would exist forever.

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   Posted by ms-mcgregor on Monday February 9, 2009 at 1:27 PM
   
   

2. 
   shannonsuddath Teacher
   College - Freshman

   eNotes Editor

   The Romantic poets, Shelley in particular, were disdainful of the government and institutions requiring conformity as well as glorifiers of nature.  Ozymandias is an Egyptian pharoah, who sought to glorify himself through "great" works, which he felt would stand as an everlasting monument to his rule. Shelley would have found him a fitting symbol for the transience of life and worldly possessions as they are taken over by nature, which is the only truly powerful, constant force in the world.  Shelley would have found Ozymandias's demand for conformity and worship to be an affront to the individual will he glorified in his works and life. 

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   Posted by shannonsuddath on Monday February 9, 2009 at 1:35 PM