“ The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus

Questions and focus points Notes Title: “The New Colossus”_________ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Notes Who was Emma Lazarus? Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus" in 1883 for an art auction "In Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund." While France had provided the statue itself, American fundraising efforts like these paid for the Statue of Liberty's pedestal. In 1903, sixteen years after her death, Lazarus' sonnet was engraved on a plaque and placed in the pedestal as a memorial. The famous sonnet echoes many of the conflicting identities and ideals Lazarus dealt with in her own life. As an American author, she felt that ancient lands could keep their old traditions and "storied pomp.” Source: Jewish Women's Archive. <http://jwa.org/historymakers/lazaru Summary:

Questions and focus points Notes Title: “The New Colossus”_________ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Notes Words to Know . . . etymology: OE braesen. brass bold; shameless brazen etymology: L. exilium to expell expulsion from native land exile beacon etymology: OE. beacen. sign, signal pomp etymology: Gk. pompe. a sending teeming etymology: OE. teman. Abounding, swarming tempest etymology: L. tempestas. weather, season, storm.

Listen to the poem“The New Colossus”

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 lightening, 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.”

Let’s analyze the poem using SOAPSTone Title: _”The New Colossus” __ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Let’s analyze the poem using SOAPSTone Notes S - What is the subject of the piece? O - What is the occasion? A - Who is the audience? P - What is the purpose? S - Who is the speaker? TONE - What is the tone of the piece? Summary:

It’s form is known as a _____________. Title: _”The New Colossus” __ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Notes What is the form of the poem? “The New Colossus” is a fourteen line poem that is written in iambic pentameter. It’s form is known as a _____________. Lazarus invoked her ancient Greek ideals by transforming the "brazen giant " into a "Mother of Exiles" who retains Greek majesty, beauty and defiance as a new Colossus. This is an _______________ to the Colossus of Rhodes. Summary:

Who was Colossus of Rhodes? Questions and focus points Notes Title: _”The New Colossus” __ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Notes The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue erected by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BCE. It was located on the Greek isle of Rhodes and was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It stood over 107 feet high before it was destroyed. Who was Colossus of Rhodes? Summary:

In the subtext of the poem, we are able to see the following binaries: Title: _”The New Colossus” __ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Notes The tone of the lines "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" that welcomes the tired immigrants is ______________ While this “Mother of Exiles’” eyes command, and she stands alone beacon to all the world, she is still an ambiguous figure of power, speaking only with ”__________________.” In the subtext of the poem, we are able to see the following binaries: ancient vs. ________ Jew and __________ ______ and silence freedom and __________ Summary:

Questions and focus points Notes Title: _”The New Colossus” __ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Notes What comparison does Lazarus make between the American statue and the famous Colossus of the ancient world? How is this new statue different? Summary:

Questions and focus points Notes Title: _”The New Colossus” __ Name: _________________ Page _1 of ______ Class: _________________ Date: __________________ Questions and focus points Notes What did people in 1883 think of the statue and how was Emma Lazarus asking them to change? Why should her poem persuade a person to donate money to bring the statue to America? Summary:

TASK: Write a persuasive letter to the American public The year is 1885, and Joseph Pulitzer has not yet begun his successful campaign to fund the pedestal for Bartholdi's statue. Hoping to garner support for the pedestal fund, you write a letter for a newsletter on the arts that will be read by many of New York's wealthiest patrons. Your friend, Emma Lazarus, has shared with you a sonnet she wrote on the subject, and has given you permission to paraphrase or quote freely from her poem. Thus far, however, wealthy New Yorkers have been reluctant to donate to the pedestal fund. Privately, many of these people have shared with you (for you are yourself one of these wealthy patrons) some of their concerns:
- "I don't understand the symbolism of this statue. It seems to me a mishmash of conflicting symbols. What holds it all together? Why is there a crown? A torch?" 
- "Why on earth is the statue to be facing out over the ocean? Shouldn't it face towards land, where the people of New York can enjoy it?"
- "What will this do for the city of New York? Wouldn't my money be better invested in another museum, or a university?"