“The New Colossus,” the poem engraved on the plaque at the base of the
Statue of Liberty, proclaiming “Give me your tired, your poor, your
huddled masses...” was written by Walt Whitman.
The poem was written by a 34-year-old Jewish poet named Emma Lazarus in
1883 for a fund-raiser auction to build a pedestal for the Statue of
Liberty. Lazarus’s 14-line sonnet was auctioned off for $21,500, an
unheard-of sum for a short piece of poetry. It contrasts the Colossus of
Rhodes, which portrayed the sun god Helios, with the guardian of
America’s gateway, a nurturing woman called the “Mother of Exiles.”
The poem was written by a 34-year-old Jewish poet named Emma Lazarus in
1883 for a fund-raiser auction to build a pedestal for the Statue of
Liberty. Lazarus’s 14-line sonnet was auctioned off for $21,500, an
unheard-of sum for a short piece of poetry. It contrasts the Colossus of
Rhodes, which portrayed the sun god Helios, with the guardian of
America’s gateway, a nurturing woman called the “Mother of Exiles.” 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!"
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