This poem contrasts two statues.

The word “new” is in the poem’s title since Emma Lazarus prefers the new one--the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France. It is a colossal figure of a woman welcoming those entering New York Harbor. It was new in the 1880s when the poem was written.

The famous statue is on Liberty Island near Ellis Island. The "twin cities" refers to New York City and Brooklyn, which were separate cities at that time.

The old "Greek" statue is the ancient Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Statue of Liberty ties in with our novel since both send a message about common people having value. Dickens implies the French Revolution broke out since rich people did not believe that.

The poem says the Statue of Liberty holds a "torch," but let’s use the French word "flambeau" since torches are sometimes used for destruction whereas a flambeau is not destructive.

Dickens used "flambeau" often in a recent chapter. Look for the word on quiz #5 this week.

Lady Liberty holds a flambeau or candle-flame that is friendly, not a torch that destroys the world with fire.

Nobody knows what the ancient Colossus of Rhodes held since that old statue, shaken by earthquake, is now at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. All visuals of the ancient Colossus of Rhodes are “made up” by modern artists since we don’t know what it looked like.

The two statues are contrasts as symbols--they are opposites in gender, too.

The new female statue talks with “silent lips” (is that possible?) to disenfranchised people throughout the world, showing a light to people who feel they are without opportunities and are in the dark: “I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The statue seems to say, "Welcome! If you are poor, you are all the more welcome! America wants you! Come out of the darkness to this place where I hold a light!"

It's a beacon of hope for people around the world. Or at least that used to be America's attitude. America has changed. Modern Americans are divided on whether we should spend billions on a wall that goes from sea to sea. Such a wall says "Keep out," which is the opposite of the statue's message.

The poem is about the contrasts between the Old World and America. It turns out that America is very special. The “ancient lands” (think Europe) gave privileges to rich people, who are called “storied pomp” in the poem--the kind of rich people you find in stories like Cinderella and in novels like A Tale of Two Cities.

But America--again, a special place--welcomed common, even destitute, people. That a nation of immigrants would welcome fellow immigrants makes sense! But our history is complex since we’ve had racism and discrimination, too. By the way, immigrants from Asia didn’t come via New York. They entered through the West coast--maybe San Francisco or Seattle.

Your teacher is required by this Catholic school to say what Jesus would do or say. Would Jesus give a thumbs-up for a wall or for the Statue of Liberty? Jesus prefers symbols that say "welcome!" Jesus might add that walls don't work (do you know how ladders and tunnels work?).

Lazarus' poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, also called an Italian sonnet. A Petrarchan sonnet has two rhyme groups: a section of eight lines (octave), followed by a section of six lines (sestet).

But why is this American poem using an Italian form? Well, there is no American sonnet form.

The rhyme scheme of the octave (opening 8 lines) is abbaabba. It is followed by the sestet (last 6 lines) of cdcdcd.

Don’t confuse the Petrarchan sonnet form with the Shakespearean form, or English sonnet, which has abab, and then cdcd, and then efef, and finally gg. My quiz won't ask about this.

The octave of Lazarus' sonnet (opening 8 lines) stresses the contrasts between the old Colossus of Rhodes (masculine and oppressive) and the New Colossus (feminine and welcoming).

But the female statue is not weak. There is no contrast in strength. The “mighty woman” with the torch commands “the imprisoned lightning"--the power of Zeus, Thor, and other male gods!

The New York statue once had a reddish-brown color. It turned green after oxidation. The Statue was partly designed by Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame. Seven spikes represent 7 continents and seas. My quiz won't ask about such background stuff.

A quiz may ask about alliteration, such as in "world-wide welcome" and (in the last line) "tempest-tost to..."

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

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