Abdul Aleem

Mr. A

The New Colossus poem analysis

1/24/17

The New Colossus was written in 1880 by Emma Lazarus. Emma Lazarus was an
American who lived in New York City. She used to write about the persecution of Jews in Russia
when she was a teenager. She wrote The New Colossus in New York City while the Statue of
Liberty was being built. A line from her poem was written on the pedestal of The Statue of
Liberty. The New Colossus mentions the old Greek Colossus of Rhodes, America being for the
unwanted, and America being for everyone.
In the beginning of the poem, Emma Lazarus starts off by saying that the new statue is
not like the Greek Colossus of Rhodes.With conquering limbs astride from land to land refers
to the Greek Empires conquests and expansion, as well as the Colossus of Rhodes. The Colossus
of Rhodes was an ancient Greek statue at a harbor at the city of Rhodes. The Colossus of Rhodes
was designed to look intimidating. The Statue was supposed to send a message of greatness to
foreign traders on ships docked at the harbor. The new colossus however, is supposed to look
graceful and much more accepting. The Colossus of Rhodes was destroyed during a great
earthquake in 226 BCE. Emma Lazarus basically says that the new statue will be nothing like the
Colossus of Rhodes, and that the new statue is the mother of exiles, meaning that she would
accept exiles, or unwanted people from across the globe.
Emma Lazarus talks about the Statue of Liberty welcoming all people from all over the
world. From her beacon hand glows world-wide welcome basically says that Lady Liberty
invites anybody from around the world to come to the United States. Emma Lazarus says that the
Statue of Liberty says Keep, ancient lands, your story pomp! That quote can mean that Emma
Lazarus doesnt want people to forget their heritage and the stories from the countries that the
immigrants came from. Instead she wants people to assimilate into the new American culture,
while remembering their old heritage from the other countries that they left.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, many people were emigrating from their home
countries, and coming to the United States of America. The lines 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! mean that
America is going to accept the type of people who are considered unwelcomed by other
countries. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free means the groups of people that are
oppressed, which means that America is a safe haven for people who are oppressed in other
countries, like the Russian Jews she used to write about. The Statue of Liberty invites all of those
people into America.
 In conclusion, The New Colossus was written about the Statue of Liberty, and the poem
mentions the Colossus of Rhodes, America being for unwanted people, and America being for
everyone. This poem is still relevant today as the last few lines are written on the pedestal of
Lady Liberty. The Syrian refugee crisis is bringing in a lot of foreigners into America and not
every American likes this plan. Many people who support bringing in Syrian refugees uses the
last few lines of this poem as justification for brining in Syrians.