Poetry Corner

The New Colossus

By Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

‘Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she

With silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’

This poem is in the public domain.

About the poem: Written in 1883, the poem helped to shape the popular idea of the Statue of Liberty as a welcoming mother, and of America as the great nation of immigrants. ‘The New Colossus’ was commissioned to help raise money for the Statue of Liberty’s construction, but it was only after her death, in 1887, that the poem was published. The poem was inscribed on a bronze plaque, installed in 1903 on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

About the poet: Emma Lazarus was born on July 22, 1849, in New York City into a large Sephardic Jewish family. She was privately educated by tutors from an early age, as she studied American and British literature, as well as several languages. A collection of her “Poems and Translations”, verses written between the ages of 14 and 17, appeared in 1867, and would be followed throughout her life by other publications. Lazarus contributed toward shaping the self-image of the United States, as well as how the country understands the needs of those who emigrate to the United States. Her themes produced sensitivity and enduring lessons regarding immigrants and their need for dignity. She died in New York City on November 19, 1887, most likely from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and was buried in Beth Olam Cemetery in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn.