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VOL. 2, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Sonnet as a Weapon: Structure, Irony and meaning in P.B Shelley’s Ozymandias
Authors
Dr. Panchanan Tripathy
Abstract
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ozymandias exemplifies how poetic form can
function as a powerful instrument of critique. This paper examines the sonnet
as “weapon” in Shelley’s hands, analysing how its unconventional structure,
layered narration, and pervasive irony dismantle the very notion of political
and imperial permanence. Though traditionally associated with love and ideal
beauty, the sonnet form is deliberately subverted in Ozymandias to expose the
fragility of human power and the futility of tyrannical pride. The poem’s
fractured rhyme scheme and disrupted Petrarchan expectations mirror the broken
statue it describes, reinforcing the theme of decay. Further, Shelley’s use of
narrative distancing—through the traveller’s voice—intensifies the irony by
separating the ruler’s grandiose self-image from the desolate reality of his
legacy. By juxtaposing the arrogant inscription with the surrounding “lone and
level sands,” the poem transforms language itself into an agent of resistance
against authoritarian authority. The study argues that Shelley’s sonnet does
not merely depict the downfall of empire but actively enacts it through form
and irony, thereby affirming Romantic poetry’s capacity to challenge power,
rewrite history, and assert the supremacy of time and nature over human
ambition.
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Pages:25-28
How to cite this article:
Dr. Panchanan Tripathy "Sonnet as a Weapon: Structure, Irony and meaning in P.B Shelley’s Ozymandias". World Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Vol 2, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 25-28
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