Poem

[Mr. Heppe]

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

This is a line from Mr. Heppe's favorite poem. Who wrote it? What do
you think of the poem? I'll give a point of extra credit to the
student who does the best job of explaining why the poem is Mr.
Heppe's favorite.

[Ron]

Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote this poem in 1817. The irony is that the
statue says Ozymandias is "king of kings," yet the location in a
desert is totally barren, with only some rubble lying around. I like
this poem because it is short and to the point. It tells us a message
by showing us an image. Gandhi once said that "through history the
ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and
murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end
they always fall. Think of it--always." Ozymandias may have once
thought that he was the ruler of the world, but not anymore. Now he
lives on through a statue sitting in a pile of a rubble in the middle
of a desert, completely powerless. Mr. Heppe likes this poem because
it shows how civilizations come and go. It shows how we look back on
history with a different perspective than if we had lived back then.
Perhaps, Ozymandias was a powerful, ruthless ruler at one point in
time. As economists we also must assume that Ozymandias was a ruler,
because we really don't know for sure. It also shows that war and
violence, (as Gandhi said) may gain respect and power for a short
period of time, but in the end those methods fail. That is why we are
still having wars to this day, and why if one ruler was the "king of
kings," there would be order in the world. But the "king of kings"
collapsed as it always has and always will.

[adou]

"Mr. Heppe likes this poem because
it shows how civilizations come and go. It shows how we look back on
history with a different perspective than if we had lived back then.
Perhaps, Ozymandias was a powerful, ruthless ruler at one point in
time. As economists we also must assume that Ozymandias was a ruler,
because we really don't know for sure. It also shows that war and
violence, (as Gandhi said) may gain respect and power for a short
period of time, but in the end those methods fail. That is why we are
still having wars to this day, and why if one ruler was the "king of
kings," there would be order in the world. But the "king of kings"
collapsed as it always has and always will. "

I'll have one extra credit please.


No seriously. But I will say what I think about the poem:
Titled "Ozymandias", it tells about a man who meets a traveler who
tells him about "two vast and trunkless legs of stone" that stand in a
desert. And inscribed onto those stones is a quote, presumably from "a
shattered visage, whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold
command tell that its sculptor well those passions read": "My name is

Ozymandias, King of Kings, Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Clearly a challenge by a king (or tyrant, by the sound of it) whose
rule has long since passed, this exclamation contrasts with the scene
of ruin, destruction, and waste around that which is left of his
kingdom (Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal
wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far
away.).
The poem indicates that Ozymandias is some sort of power-crazed and
self-confident tyrant, although it is possible that he was somehow
insecure and unsure of his place in history, which is why he left such
a boasting marker for the future. Of course, it is equally likely that
he truly was confident that his Works would last the ages, in the
which case he was grossly incorrect. As history will tell us,
countless civilizations have risen and fallen in the thousands of
years since the conceptualization of "civilization" (except for,
maybe, the Chinese). And if since humans never pay attention to their
past mistakes, it is just as likely that this cycle will continue.

Let's have a "yay!" for depression!

On Sep 7, 10:49 pm, "Mr. Heppe" <matthe...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Mr. Heppe]

Keep 'em coming. Don't feel like you have to compete with the first
posts for length.

Well done.

[ckershner]

This poem, titled Ozymandias, was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
After reading the entire poem, I'm reminded how finite our existence
is on this planet. Each era of the world believes it to be superior to
all previous, only to become "Half sunk, a shattered visage lies"
within history. My favorite lines are at the end, when the imagery of
the desolation of the desert seems very real.

"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
Mr. Heppe likes this poem so much for three reasons. The first being
that it clearly reminds man that nothing he builds will last forever.
No matter what a person may claim (My name is Ozymandias, King of
Kings) there will always be someone to take on the same title.
Civilizations cannot survive long, especially with poor economics. The
second reason Mr. Heppe likes the poem is that it does send the
message that words survive the test of time.
"Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive..." It is a comforting notion to believe that even
though people may not remember a single person, their beliefs and
words may live on. Perhaps Mr. Heppe hopes that his words will live on
through his students. The final reason Mr. Heppe likes this poem is
that he is not a conservative and this is not a conventional poem.
This is not the type of poem he would hear listening to the
conservative radio stations on long car trips, and that is why he
likes it so much.

On Sep 7, 10:49 pm, "Mr. Heppe" <matthe...@gmail.com> wrote: