THE STATUE OF LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD CARD

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD The poem originally titled "The New Colossus", a sonnet that American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) wrote in 1883. 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 harbour 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!" Notes: The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet. The title of the poem and the first two lines refer to the Colossus of Rhodes, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, sometimes described as standing astride the harbour. The "sea-washed, sunset gates" are the mouths of the Hudson and East Rivers, to the west of Brooklyn. The "imprisoned lightning" refers to the electric light in the torch, then a novelty. The "air-bridged harbour that twin cities frame" refers to New York Harbour between New York City and Brooklyn, which were consolidated into one unit in 1898, 15 years after the poem was written. The "huddled masses" are the many immigrants coming to the United States (many of them through Ellis Island at the port of New York).