Part one of term paper
This sonnet is written to express to the speaker that possessions don't mean immortality - ironically, the king who seemed to think that his kingdom would remain under his statue's egotistical gaze forever teaches us this through his epitaph. "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" becomes good advice, though in an opposite meaning than t ...

Part two of term paper
... a statue proclaiming as the greatest king the world has ever known is now reduced to rubble; and not just the physical aspect but the glory of the king is also long forgotten. In Shelley's "",there are two speakers; the first speaker introduced the poem for the first line and then the second speaker carries the poem to realization. It is ironic that the words inscribed on the pedestal "Look on my works. . . and despair!" reflect the evidence of the next line, "Nothing beside remains," that is, th ...