Ozymandias
"I met a traveller from an antique land"
Shelley frames the poem as a story to make it clear that even the narrator hasn't even seen the statue himself, he's only heard about it. this emphasises how unimportant Ozymandias os now.
"Shattered visage lies"
Ironic- even a powerful human can't control the damaging effects of time.
"Which yet survive stamp'd on these lifeless things"
Having 'survive' and 'lifeless' in the same line hints at how art can outlast human power, but the ruined statue shows that ultimately art can't inmortalise power.
"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone"
Emphasises size and stature but also shows the statue is incomplete.
"Stand in the dessert"
The setting suggests an absence of vitality and life.
"sneer cold of command"
The sculptor understood the arrogance of the ruler.
"The hand that mock'd them"
'Mock' can mean to ridicule, or to create a likeness of something- perhaps the sculptor intended his statue to make fun of Ozymandias.
"King of kings"
Arrogant and powerful- he even challenged other rulers.
"Look"
Having a stressed syllable at the start of the line heightens Ozymandias' tone of command.
"Despair!"
"Ye mighty"
"Round the decay"
Irony- he tells the other rulers to "despair" because of the size and grandeur of his "works", but in fact they should despair because their power is only temporary and ultimately important, like his.
"Of that colossal wreck"
The ruined statue shows how human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.
"lone and level"
Alliteration- emphasises the feeling of empty space in the surrounding desert.
"stretch far away"
The desert is vast and survives far longer than the broken statue, emphasising the insignificance of the statue and of Ozymandias.