Developing an insightful central theme, Percy Shelley uses two powerful literary tools, imagery and irony, to shake readers with a startling revelation. Imagery, for example, guides the audience to what is truly emphasized in the poem: literary art as opposed to physical, plastic art. It also serves to characterize a key character in the poem, Ozymandias, who is attributed with cold, arrogant, and pretentious qualities. The speaker juxtaposes the words inscribed on the pedestal with the image of the dilapidated monuments and bare, limitless sands that surround it. When these two stark descriptions contrast, the visual imagery, through this juxtaposition, actually reinforces the irony of the situation. In fact, the irony of the situation dominates and governs the very impression that the reader has of the ancient pharaoh at the end of the poem; worn and disintegrated, the Ozymandias monument gives an image of ruin and insignificance; while the poem itself paints an image that, which withstands time, has successfully attempted what Ozymandias himself desired: eternal fame and a lasting legacy. Using imagery and irony, Shelley conveys the idea that poetic verse, linguistic expressions, and literary legacies outlive those of monumental and architectural forms. It is interesting to note that Shelley uses the phrase “ancient earth” (1) to begin with; the diction in this case highlights the context and our perspective of time, because antiquity denotes belonging to the past and not being modern. The style in which the poem is rendered is reminiscent of a folk tale retelling since the story is told to us by an obscure traveler and the reader is naturally drawn into the mysticism and mystery. However, in this way, Shelley infinitely alienates the audience... middle of paper. The debris that remained hardly survived the sands of time. Thus, the reader perceives that a heritage through a simple monument is a heritage that fades. So what remains of Ozymandias? The poem itself – and what's more, the poem actually strikes at the very heart of the former king's desired legacy. We actually see how easily the Pharaoh, for whom monuments had been built and who once ruled a great empire, is easily thwarted in the reader's mind by linguistic expressions, subtle and delicate phrases, and by literary persuasion. Shelley's work lives on through the years to remind many of Ozymandias. On the other hand, we also see that the lifespan of physical art, monumental designs and sculptures as a means of inheritance is less than that of the powerful and powerful literary weapons that Shelley uses from his arsenal of ink and parchment..