An unnamed individual who has visited an ancient desert region and relays their findings to the speaker. They describe the massive, broken statue of a king and interpret the cruel expression carved into its stone face. Through their observation, the traveler points out the irony of the king's grand boasts contrasting with the barren sand.

An ancient king, based on the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, who once ruled a vast empire. He commissioned a colossal statue of himself to intimidate rivals and secure his historical legacy. His arrogance and cruelty are ultimately defeated by the passage of time, as his works have vanished entirely into the sand.

The narrator of the poem serves primarily as a framing device. They encounter an unnamed person and listen to a tale about a ruined statue in the desert. The speaker remains unidentified and offers no personal commentary, simply passing on the story they were told directly to the reader.

An unnamed ancient artist tasked with carving the grand monument of Ozymandias. Highly skilled and perceptive, the sculptor accurately captured the king's sneering, cold nature in the lifeless stone. The artist's work has outlasted the king's empire, preserving their faithful reproduction of the tyrant's arrogance for future generations.