The New Colossus Analysis

In the cold, turbulent waters of the Hudson Bay, a symbol of an unlikely alliance between the European superpower of France and the independence-seeking North American Colonies stands as a sign of freedom, safety, knowledge, and light--the Statue of Liberty. The statue itself, paid for primarily by French citizens, needed a foundation once it arrived in America. In an effort to raise money for a pedestal, the American Committee for the Statue of Liberty, Joseph Pulitzer, and other private organizations held fund drives and lotteries. Large donations cut down the cost, but more money was needed. “Various events were held, including an art show, to raise money… One of the fund-raising projects, an art show, commissioned poet Emma Lazarus to write

The New Colossus was written in a form called “Petrarchan sonnet,” named after the Renaissance poet and Italian scholar “Francesco Petrarca. At fourteen lines long, the poem is split into two seperate rhyme schemes and organized into an “octave” and a “sestet.” These distinct portions carry different messages: “Typically, the octave of a Petrarchan sonnet sets up a question and the sestet attempts to answer it. This shift in the subject matter is called the volta, and it is a key characteristic of Petrarchan sonnets” (Education SeattlePI). The Statue of Liberty, as previously mentioned, was a nationalistic symbol of pride, strength, and truth. A project as pressing as the construction of its pedestal wasn’t taken lightly, and neither was the creation of the accompanying poem. The New Colossus was meant to promote and reflect the values associated with the Statue of Liberty and emit a sense of power and dignity, therefore Lazarus’ choice of medium is, perhaps, unconventional. “A Petrarchan sonnet is an awkward vehicle for defenses of American greatness. Historically, the epic poem has been the type of poetry best suited to nationalist projects, since its narrative establishes a “storied pomp” in literature that has yet to exist in the world” (TheAtlantic). Perhaps the largest reason for Lazarus’ employment of a sonnet rather than an epic lies in their commonly associated themes. “Dating back to

Through her pathetic rhetorical appeal, a plea to emotion, the author connects with her audience in a shared moment of regret. Further than her appeal to a guilty audience, Lazarus empowers the American people through her compellingly sturdy wordage. Convincing phrases such as “mighty woman” and “her mild eyes command” contrast with the gentle request to “send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,” resulting in a powerful call-to-action and a beautifully depthful and effective poetic