The podcast A History of the World in 100 Objects (introduced in the last post), contains an episode on the statue of Ramesses II.  If you listened to the Audio Literature Odyssey episode “Six Sonnets by Various Authors,” then you may recall Shelley’s sonnet “Ozymandias.”  This sonnet is about the statue referred to in their program.  Shelley and fellow poet Horace Smith had a competition between themselves to write about the statue.   Shelley’s work is better known.

To listen to the sonnet, visit the Audio Literature Odyssey blog.  If you want to know the history of the statue and the implications of the sonnet, visit A History of the World in 100 Objects and download the podcast episode 020 Statue of Ramesses II 12 Feb 2010.  More information about the statue can be found on the British Museum’s site.