"Ozymandias" is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of "The Examiner of London". The poem was created as part of a friendly competition in which Shelley and fellow poet Horace Smith each created a poem on the subject of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II under the title of "Ozymandias", the Greek name for the pharaoh. Shelley's poem explores the ravages of time and the oblivion to which the legacies of even the greatest are subject.

In the poem, a traveler comes across the ruins of a statue which has the inscription,

""My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!".

Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death.

Shelley's life was marked by family crises, ill health, and a backlash against his atheism, political views, and defiance of social conventions. He went into permanent self-exile in Italy in 1818 and over the next four years produced what Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill call "some of the finest poetry of the Romantic period". His second wife, Mary Shelley, was the author of "Frankenstein". He died in a boating accident in 1822 at age 29.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org