The New Colossus

Book

By: Emma Lazarus

Date: 1883

Source: Lazarus, Emma. "The New Colossus" in 100 Greatest Poems by Women. The Ecco Press, 1995.

About the Author: Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) was one of the earliest successful Jewish American authors. She was born in New York City and became part of the elite literary circle of her time. In addition to writing her own poetry, she translated the works of other authors, particularly the poems of German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine. Lazarus became increasingly involved in speaking out for Jewish rights and against anti-Semitism in her later years, prompted in part by the plight of Russian Jews who were being killed in pogroms, and was one of the first people to voice the idea of a Jewish homeland years prior to the start of the Zionist movement.

INTRODUCTION

Emma Lazarus's poem, "The New Colossus," was written in 1883, and included as a donation in an arts auction that was intended to raise capital in order to finance the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus was hesitant to participate in the project at first, but later agreed when she learned what an important image the statue would project for new immigrants just arriving by boat in New York harbor. The poem was later inscribed on a bronze plaque and mounted inside of the pedestal itself, and Lazarus's words helped to cement the statue's role as the first sign that immigrants had reached the end of their journey to America.

PRIMARY SOURCE

    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-tossed to me,
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

SIGNIFICANCE

Immigration to the United States increased dramatically during the nineteenth century, due to a combination of the improved speed and safety of travel methods, and the political and economic situations in much of Europe. From the late 1880s on, the first indication that most immigrants had that they were nearing shore was the Statue of Liberty. The statue itself, sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, was a gift from the French government for America's centennial in 1876, to honor both France's and the United States' dedication to the idea and promise of liberty. Although the statue technically had no direct correlation to immigration, and no mention of immigration was made during the dedication ceremony, Emma Lazarus recognized that the placement of the statue made it a sort of symbolic guardian of the entrance to the nation, as well as a representation of all the things America stood for, and which immigrants sought out when they decided to risk the trip across the ocean. When writing her poem, "The New Colossus," Lazarus attempted to capture this spirit in her words, uniting the hopes and fears of the immigrants with the welcoming sentiment of the Statue of Liberty.

The opening phrase of Lazarus's poem, as well as the title itself, reference the Colossus of Rhodes, a giant statue of the Greek god Helios, the daily bearer of the sun, which was erected on the island of Rhodes between 290 and 283 b.c. The original statue was approximately the same height as the Statue of Liberty, and also stood positioned at the entrance to a harbor. The Colossus of Rhodes is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In citing the similarity between the Colossus and the Statue of Liberty, Lazarus drew a comparison between the old world and the new one, and everything they each stood for in the eyes of the people migrating from Europe to America. While the Colossus of Rhodes was the sun bearer, shining brightly over the harbor at Rhodes, the Statue of Liberty held the torch to light the way for the immigrants entering the United States. She offered them democracy, freedom, and a wealth of opportunities to recreate their lives. Many immigrants fled from persecution, due to religion and economic class, poverty, famine, and servitude. They were often the lowest members of society in their homelands, barely able to scrape together the fare to pay for the voyage. Those who were slightly better off were still searching for a better life, away from the political whims of royalty and the harsh working conditions that never allowed them to improve their situation. Lazarus calls these immigrants tired, poor, and wretched; she refers to them as refuse and homeless. While the tone can be considered harsh, it still offers hope. There is a door to the new world, an entrance through New York harbor, and the Statue of Liberty holds the light to shine the way.

Though born in the United States, Emma Lazarus became passionately involved in the plight of immigrants, and in the mistreatment of people in other parts of the world. She spoke actively for Jewish rights, despite having been raised very much without religion, and incorporated Jewish and immigrant themes into her writing even before she became an activist. She used her popularity as a poet to get her message across to as broad an audience as possible, speaking out against anti-Semitism and the use of stereotypes that encouraged people to continue in their prejudiced thinking against Jews. Although the words of "The New Colossus" can easily be applied to the majority of European immigrants coming to America through Ellis Island in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it is possible to see how Lazarus could have been applying them to a very specific portion of the immigrant population: the people suffering from brutal persecution that Lazarus could have experienced herself had she been born in a different part of the world.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Books

Merriman, Eve. Emma Lazarus Rediscovered. New York: Biblio Press, 1999.

Weinbaum, Paul Owen. Statue of Liberty: The Story Behind the Scenery. Haddonfield, NJ: K.C. Publishing, 1988.

Web sites

Jewish Women's Archive. "Exhibit: Women of Valour: Emma Lazarus." 2006 〈http://www.jwa.org/exhibits/wov/lazarus/ell2.html〉 (accessed June 20, 2006).

U.S. State Department. "The New Colossus." 〈http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/63.htm〉 (accessed June 22, 2006).