The-New-Colossus.docx

The New ColossusFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search The New Colossus is a sonnet by Emma Lazarus (1849-1887), written in 1883 and, in 1903, engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the Statue of Liberty.Wikisource has original text related to this article: The New ColossusThe plaque at the Statue of LibertyThe New ColossusNot like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries sheWith 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!Emma Lazarus, 1883Contentshide 1 History of the poem 2 Contents 3 Impact 4 External links 5 Referencesedit History of the poemThe poem was written as a donation to an auction of art and literary works 1 conducted by the Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty, the aim of which was to raise money for the pedestals construction 2 The contribution was solicited by fundraiser William Maxwell Evarts. Initially Lazarus refused, but Constance Cary Harrison convinced her that the statue would be of great significance to immigrants sailing into the harbor 3.The New Colossus was the only entry read at the exhibits opening, but was forgotten and played no role at the opening of the statue in 1886. In 1901, Lazaruss friend Georgina Schuyler began an effort to memorialize Lazarus and her poem, which succeeded in 1903 when a plaque bearing the text of the poem was mounted on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty 2.The line Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! has read Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp! on the plaque hanging inside the Statue of Liberty4 since its unveiling in 1903.edit ContentsThe title of the poem and the first two lines refer to the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The poem talks about the millions of immigrants who came to the United States (many of them through Ellis Island at the port of New York).The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame refers to New York City and Brooklyn, not yet consolidated into one unit in 1883.edit ImpactAuthor John T. Cunningham wrote that The Statue of Liberty was not conceived and sculpted as a symbol of immigration, but it quickly became so as immigrant ships passed under the statue. However, it was Lazaruss poem that permanently stamped on Miss Liberty the role of unofficial greeter of incoming immigrants 5.James Russell Lowell wrote that the poem gave the Statue of Liberty a raison dtre 2 and Paul Auster wrote that Bartholdis gigantic effigy was originally intended as a monument to the principles of international republicanism, but The New Colossus reinvented the statues purpose, turning Liberty into a welcoming mother, a symbol of hope to the outcasts and downtrodden of the world 6.edit External links The sonnet in Emma Lazaruss own handwriting from A Century of Immigration, 1820-1924 (Library of Congress website)edit References Text of The New Colossus from Liberty State Park1. Sutherland, Cara A. (2003). The Statue of Liberty: The Museum of the City of New York. Barnes and Noble Publishing. ISBN0-7607-3890-4. p. 77: auction of art and art and literary work; Mark Twain also contributed2. a b c Young, Bette Roth (1997). Emma Lazarus in Her World: Life and Letters. The Jewish Publication Society. ISBN0-8276-0618-4. p. 3: Lowell says poem gave the statue a raison etre; fell into obscurity; not mentioned at statue opening; Georgina Schuylers campaign for the plaque3. Felder, Deborah G.; Diana L Rosen (2003). Fifty Jewish Women Who Changed the World. Citadel Press. ISBN0-8065-2443-X. p. 45: Solicited by William Maxwell Evertsic; presumably a misspelling of William Maxwell Evarts; Lazarus refused initially; convinced by Constance Cary Harrison4. Shapiro, Gary (2006-12-08). Misprint is spied in Lazarus poem at Liberty island. The New York Sun. /article/44816. Retrieved 2007-06-08.5. Cunningham, John T. (2003). Ellis Island: Immigrations Shining Center. Arcadia what did it so Publishing. ISBN0-7385-2428-X. pp. 46-486. Auster, Paul (2005). Collected Prose: Autobiographical Writings, True Stories, Critical Essays, Prefaces, and Collaborations with Artists