Ozymandias is cast as a reflection on the passage of time and the mortality of effort, fame, and completion. It is that. But there’s also a dig at a de facto King...
I thought I remembered you covering Ozymandias, Ben. I'm researching for a planned trip to Egypt in December. I found reference to this poem as part of a competition with Horace Smith, who was decidedly trounced.
Apparently Egypt was all the rage as there was another competition between Shelley, John Keats and Leigh Hunt on the subject of the Nile. I think Hunt's "A Thought of the Nile" took that one handily. Quite the upset.
I thought I remembered you covering Ozymandias, Ben. I'm researching for a planned trip to Egypt in December. I found reference to this poem as part of a competition with Horace Smith, who was decidedly trounced.
Apparently Egypt was all the rage as there was another competition between Shelley, John Keats and Leigh Hunt on the subject of the Nile. I think Hunt's "A Thought of the Nile" took that one handily. Quite the upset.
I didn't know about the contest. I need to read about that and look at the other entries. Thanks for that.
One snide thought without having seen any of the other entries: Hunt published - so employed - those guys. Maybe they didn't want to one up the boss?
Egypt sounds great. My mother in-law took a Nile cruise a couple of years ago and had a blast.
IIRC, they had a 15 minute time limit. Maybe the boss proposed the competition with a verse or two already in mind?
We are going with Viking for their Nile cruise + Cairo.