23rd
The Memorable Emma Lazarus Poem Collected And Shared By Tony Johansen
THE NEW COLOSSUS
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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
- Emma Lazarus
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Lazarus wrote this sonnet in 1883. She had been originally disinterested in the Statue Of Liberty but friends pointed out its significance to those seeking freedom from religious persecution (Lazarus was Jewish so this was important to her.) Even so the poem was ignored and forgotten until its rediscovery after her death among her papers. It was soon published in newspapers and its fame grew quickly. Its words about “…your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” started to catch on among the migrant populations of New York and in 1903 the poem was inscibed on a tablet insde the Statue’s base. The poem changed completely the way people viewed the Statue. Its original purpose was nothing to do with immigration, it was intended to celebrate the republicanism that France and the United States shared. The Emma Lazarus poem, however, was a a simpler, less abstract, more welcoming concept that millions of Americans could relate to in a deeply meaningful way, especially since the statue was the first view ship board migrants would see of New York and it became their symbol of freedom and the French political connection was largely sidelined. In 1945 the poem was moved to pride of place above the main entrance to the Statue and the poem is now one of the most famous and loved poems in American history.