I Wish. More than Anything. More than Life

("Ozymandias", Shelley)

Materialism is a mocking theme in this piece. Tyrant Ozymandias is defined by his decaying and ruined building which stands out of place in the middle of the desert. The speaker reflects on Ozymandias' reign as a joke by critiquing his methods of demanding power and wealth shown in the quote: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings, look at my works, ye Mighty, and despair!". The current crumbling state of the works ironically shows the lack of worth found in materials. Ozymandias did not last, his people did not last, the speaker will not last; humans will die and hopefully leave this world and only materials will be left behind. Who needs to flaunt and demand materials if they will only be lost after death. The speaker displays the fate of such extensive materials: to be a laughing stock for the generations to come.