Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
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The glory of political power soon passes away.
Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote this poem in friendly competition with fellow-poet Horace Smith. Ozymandias is an ancient Greek name for Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC).
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The poet reflects on the obscure lives that most of us lead.
We find in a churchyard people who had the same talents as the great figures of English history and poetry, but not their chance to achieve fame.