Adventures in Poetry - Ozymandias

Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive choosing Adventures in Poetry – Ozymandia.

Peggy Reynolds explores the background, effect and lasting appeal of popular poems.

Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem 'Ozymandias', first published in 1818, is a sonnet exploring the fading nature of earthly powers.

Featuring contributions from Rageh Omaar, Richard Holmes, Tom Holland and Richard Parkinson.

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.

Producer: Sara Davies

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2005.

BBC Radio 4 Extra's Poetry Extra is produced by Sarah Wade.