# How do you pronounce Ozymandias? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400 "2008-12-16T14:55:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/21 "2008-12-17T09:32:50Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I’m surprised everyone seems to be on the same page. I’ve always pronounced it in my head as OZ-ih-man-DYE-ass. That’s not unreasonable, but I think that in the context of the poem, putting the stress on MAN fits the meter better. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/22 "2008-12-17T11:35:47Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I’m surprised everyone seems to be on the same page. I’ve always pronounced it in my head as OZ-ih-man-DYE-ass. Difficult to support for two reasons: first, it breaks the meter of the poem, and second, it’s not a correct pronounciation of the Greek letter iota, and the name is an English spelling of a Greek transliteration of one of the names of Rameses. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/23 "2008-12-17T12:36:16Z")
“my NAME is OZ-ee-MAN-jus KING of KINGS” is how Shelley wanted it pronounced, at least in that line, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/24 "2008-12-17T13:29:31Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Difficult to support for two reasons: first, it breaks the meter of the poem, and second, it’s not a correct pronounciation of the Greek letter iota, and the name is an English spelling of a Greek transliteration of one of the names of Rameses. Gotcha. I admit I hadn’t thought about it much in the context of the poem, so that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/25 "2008-12-17T15:21:49Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > Americans call Australia _Arse_-trailia > > — snigger – snigger — Where the hell did that /r/ come from? Say the word ‘red’ and tell me honestly if you think anyone says ‘Australia’ with that sound in the _first syllable_. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/26 "2008-12-17T15:28:11Z")
To be fair ,the folks who" warsh their laurndry" do talk about “Arsetralia” ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/27 "2008-12-17T15:30:46Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > “my NAME is OZ-ee-MAN-jus KING of KINGS” is how Shelley wanted it pronounced, at least in that line, anyway. Given that the sonnet is not strictly iambic, I’m not sure this is a given. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/28 "2008-12-17T15:31:08Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > To be fair ,the folks who" warsh their laurndry" do talk about “Arsetralia” OK, fair enough. But that’s heterodox even in America and I find it odd someone would think _all_ Americans talk like that. That, and I’ve never been clear on how ‘arse’ is meant to be pronounced. I guess this is confirmation it does contain /r/, right? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400/29 "2008-12-18T15:34:24Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > That, and I’ve never been clear on how ‘arse’ is meant to be pronounced. **I guess this is confirmation it does contain /r/, right**? Nope, no consonantal /r/ there. Not when spoken by an overwhelming majority of British speakers – not from the perpective of an American listener, anyway. “Arse” is a real word in British English, and is a forerunner of “ass” in American English. Both have the primary meaning of “backside, bum, buttocks”, and loads of secondary invective meanings. BTW … from the perspective of most British listeners … this American, in fact, say “Arse-tralia” 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-ozymandias/477400.md?page=1)