After seeing the new trailer, I'm surprised none of you have yet taken the time to analyze the Ozymandias poem and dissect its meaning, especially in regards to Heisenberg and his reign. Guess I'll have the honors. WARNING: This is very long, and probably reaching in a lot of areas.
The poem is as follows:
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Okay, let's take a moment to analyze this poem. It's well regarded by most literary enthusiasts and readers of poetry that this particular piece is about the eventual fall and decay of empires and kings. We all know that Heisenberg is currently the reigning king of his drug empire at the moment, and this poem's place in the story confirms the eventual fall of that reign and empire. But the poem is a bit more specific.
I met a traveler from an antique land
This could refer to someone in New Hampshire meeting Walt and hearing his story. In the poem, it's a man from Egypt who saw and witnessed the decay of the statue of Ozymandias, and he is relaying this tale to Percy. This poem, in the context of Breaking Bad, could be told by anybody who lived in the ABQ and heard of the great Heisenberg.
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert."
This section of the poem refers to the only remains of the statue of Ozymandias, the great Egyptian king (based on the actual ruler Ramses the Second), being his stone legs. If Breaking Bad follows this poem to the letter, Heisenberg should leave something behind, even if it is unidentifiable to him. Something as vast as large legs of stone.
Near them on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies
In the sand, embedded, the face of the once powerful Ozymandias lies. Shattered would imply the face is in multiple pieces. A broken face. Whoever we saw in the Denny's in the first episode of the fifth season, could represent the broken face of the once powerful Heisenberg. He is not Walt. He is not Mr. Lambert (a new persona). He is most certainly Heisenberg. But he has been broken and forgotten in the sand, and realizes it.
whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
This part of the poem refers to how the statue of Ozymandias accurately reflected the appearance of the actual Ozymandias. A look of absolute, unquestionable power and control. And we've seen this look many times from Heisenberg, especially in the opening scene of "Say My Name." He's nothing but smug.
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things
Shelly, the author of the poem, is noting the irony of such a look of absolute, unquestionable power appearing on such a wasted, broken depiction. This is yet another possible link to the version of Walt from New Hampshire being a wasted and broken depiction of Heisenberg. Walt is dead, and Heisenberg is destroyed. The man we have seen is almost an empty shell.
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed
Ozymandias was a mocking, arrogant leader, much like Heisenberg, however, he also provided food for his underlings. This could represent how Heisenberg, even though as a ruler he is arrogant and feels everyone is below him, still makes it a mission to provide for his family. His family is still important.
And on a pedestal these words appear
This refers to a plaque underneath the statue. Perhaps there is graffiti in the ABQ that will refer to Heisenberg.
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
This statement means two things. There is the way Ozymandias intended it: "Look upon my empire, and despair, for I have accomplished more than you ever will." and, there's the way that the mighty shall view the tale and remnants of Ozymandias' reign and despair, for his statement is ironic. The mighty shall look upon the reign of Heisenberg and despair, not for him being greater than them, but for him revealing that all kingdoms must come to an end.
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away.
This passage reveals Shelly's theme that the idea of permanence is a myth. Nothing, not even vast kingdoms and reigns are permanent. Everything will eventually fall. Heisenberg and Ozymandias may have built vast kingdoms over desert, but eventually the desert shall reclaim them.