There is a negative semantic field surrounding this theme, including the language: wrinkled / shattered / frown / sunk / sneer. The speaker is criticising Ozymandias and all he represents, including his power and pride, suggesting that those with power are deluded in their belief of the supremacy of their power. The statue is personified and described as 'sneering, cold and mocking.' The King is confident that the legacy of his power will remain throughout history and this confidence makes him commemorate himself in statue. However, the speaker sees that the statue, and therefore the King's legacy, is destroyed. This is Shelley's use of dramatic irony, the statue has been broken and forgotten with his legacy and empire having been reduced to sand.