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 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                
                                                                               

The above poem is the most famous poem for which Emma Lazarus is known till date in America. The poem was written in the year 1883 by her when the country of France wanted to gift Americans with the statue and the Americans didn’t have enough funds for the pedestal. So some people who had read Lazarus’ previous poems and were aware about the power of her words told her to write an original poem as a donation for raising funds. Only a few people know that Lazarus had initially refused to write this poem and agreed only when she was assured that the statue will be of significance for incoming immigrants.

The title of the poem refers to the “colossus” of Rhodes which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The poem is not talking about the old colossus in Greece but the new one which is in America. The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet which means that there are eight lines (octave) dealing with one topic first and the next six lines (sestet) dealing with another topic. So it can be said that there are two themes in a single poem. In this poem Lazarus first talks about how the “new” colossus in America is different from the one in Greece and in the next six lines she talks about how the statue is welcoming the immigrants with open arms.

The poem starts with the lines “Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame” this refers to the statue in Greece which is made of brass and this statue is exceptionally large with its limbs stretched far apart. Then she says that “here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch” which refers to the statue of liberty. The poem then talks about how the new statue will welcome the immigrants with open hands and will always help them. She also uses the figure of speech of personification in a few lines to show as if the statue is speaking to the immigrants. There is an emotional tone in the poem. The rhyme scheme of the poem is “abba-abba-cd-cd-cd”.

This poem today is considered to be very important for America but it might be really surprising for some of us that during the inaugural of the statue the poem was not even read. It may also surprise you that Lazarus never got to see the statue because before the statue was erected she left the world for a heavenly abode. The poem never found a space for itself until 1903 when one of Lazarus’ friends gave a bronze plaque on which the poem was engraved and today it can be seen on the pedestal and it is said that as the number of people who quoted this poem increased people kept on forgetting the original mind behind this poem.   

Crowing of the Red Cock

The Crowing of the Red Cock

Across the Eastern sky has glowed 

The flicker of a blood-red dawn, 

Once more the clarion cock has crowed, 

Once more the sword of Christ is drawn. 

A million burning rooftrees light 

The world-wide path of Israel's flight. 

Where is the Hebrew's fatherland? 

The folk of Christ is sore bestead; 

The Son of Man is bruised and banned, 

Nor finds whereon to lay his head. 

His cup is gall, his meat is tears, 

His passion lasts a thousand years. 

Each crime that wakes in man the beast, 

Is visited upon his kind. 

The lust of mobs, the greed of priest, 

The tyranny of kings, combined 

To root his seed from earth again, 

His record is one cry of pain. 

When the long roll of Christian guilt 

Against his sires and kin is known, 

The flood of tears, the life-blood spilt, 

The agony of ages shown, 

What oceans can the stain remove, 

From Christian law and Christian love? 

Nay, close the book; not now, not here, 

The hideous tale of sin narrate, 

Reëchoing in the martyr's ear, 

Even he might nurse revengeful hate, 

Even he might turn in wrath sublime, 

With blood for blood and crime for crime. 

Coward? Not he, who faces death, 

Who singly against worlds has fought, 

For what? A name he may not breathe, 

For liberty of prayer and thought. 

The angry sword he will not whet, 

His nobler task is -- to forget. 

                                                                            --Emma Lazarus

Emma Lazarus’ poems can be divided into two time periods. First the poems that are written prior to 1880 and the second are the poems written after 1880. The poems written before 1880 are considered the poems of natural and romantic themes while the poem that is written after the period of 1880 are the poem which are structured with a sense of Zionism and her self- awareness about  being a Jew.

   In the year 1881, the Russian pogroms took place which was triggered by the assassination of Tsar Alexander II by a group of people in which Jews played a small role. The Russian pogroms were the most horrible thing which happened in Russia and the killings of many Jews resulted in their migration to US. The attacks in Russia made Emma Lazarus furious. She wrote this poem in which she outspokenly pointed out the hatred which was spread against Jews.

In the poem Lazarus says that there is bloodshed everywhere which refers to the Russian pogroms “Across the Eastern sky has glowed, the flicker of a blood-red dawn”. The houses are burnt which is evident from the lines “A million burning rooftrees light”. She says in the poem that once more the sword has been cast out. In the poem she is comparing the crucifixion of Christ to the suffering of Jews. The poem says that the Jews have suffered a lot since ages. The poetess is trying to say that there has been a lot of violence against Jews by the Christians in the name of God. The God who was crucified long ago, the people can still hear his painful cries but not the cries of innocent Jews. She talks about the lust of the mobs who raped innocent women in the pogroms. She talks about the greed of priests. She says in the poem that there is no guilt of killing the innocents and the Christians talk about love and law but what about the pain they are inflicting on the Jews which will put a stain on their names?  Then she says that there is a need to end this hateful and sinful violence because even Christ may not be able to bear it. He has died for spreading love and not hate. He would not like any one to dwell on the past and “nurse revengeful hate”. And God has never wanted to shed blood for blood and commit crime for crime. And she ends the poem by saying that God has always known to forgive not kill by sharpening his sword.

The poem is considered very sharp because of her outspoken nature in the poem and her views against anti-Semitism. In the poem the poet tells about the need of establishing a Jewish land.

  

  

Heroes, an inspiring work

Heroes

In rich Virginian woods,

The scarlet creeper reddens over graves,

Among the solemn trees enlooped with vines;

Heroic spirits haunt the solitudes,-

The noble souls of half a million braves,

Amid the murmurous pines.

Ah! who is left behind,

Earnest and eloquent, sincere and strong,

To consecrate their memories with words

Not all unmeet? with fitting dirge and song

To chant a requiem purer than the wind,

And sweeter than the birds?

Here, though all seems at peace,

The placid, measureless sky serenely fair,

The laughter of the breeze among the leaves,

The bars of sunlight slanting through the trees,

The reckless wild-flowers blooming everywhere,

The grasses' delicate sheaves,-

Nathless each breeze that blows,

Each tree that trembles to its leafy head

With nervous life, revives within our mind,

Tender as flowers of May, the thoughts of those

Who lie beneath the living beauty, dead,-

Beneath the sunshine, blind.

For brave dead soldiers, these:

Blessings and tears of aching thankfulness,

Soft flowers for the graves in wreaths enwove,

The odorous lilac of dear memories,

The heroic blossoms of the wilderness,

And the rich rose of love.

But who has sung their praise,

Not less illustrious, who are living yet?

Armies of heroes, satisfied to pass

Calmly, serenely from the whole world's gaze,

And cheerfully accept, without regret,

Their old life as it was,

With all its petty pain,

Its irritating littleness and care;

They who have scaled the mountain, with content

Sublime, descend to live upon the plain;

Steadfast as though they breathed the mountain-air

Still, wheresoe'er they went.

They who were brave to act,

And rich enough their action to forget;

Who, having filled their day with chivalry,

Withdraw and keep their simpleness intact,

And all unconscious add more lustre yet

Unto their victory.

On the broad Western plains

Their patriarchal life they live anew;

Hunters as mighty as the men of old,

Or harvesting the plenteous, yellow grains,

Gathering ripe vintage of dusk bunches blue,

Or working mines of gold;

Or toiling in the town,

Armed against hindrance, weariness, defeat,

With dauntless purpose not to serve or yield,

And calm, defiant, they struggle on,

As sturdy and as valiant in the street,

As in the camp and field.

And those condemned to live,

Maimed, helpless, lingering still through suffering years,

May they not envy now the restful sleep

Of the dear fellow-martyrs they survive?

Not o'er the dead, but over these, your tears,

O brothers, ye may weep!

New England fields I see,

The lovely, cultured landscape, waving grain,

Wide haughty rivers, and pale, English skies.

And lo! a farmer ploughing busily,

Who lifts a swart face, looks upon the plain,-

I see, in his frank eyes,

The hero's soul appear.

Thus in the common fields and streets they stand;

The light that on the past and distant gleams,

They cast upon the present and the near,

With antique virtues from some mystic land,

Of knightly deeds and dreams. 

                                                                           --Emma Lazarus

The poem is written by Emma Lazarus at the age of sixteen. The poem was written a few years later after the civil war when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. This poem is considered to be the very first work that urged the people of America to stop fighting and accepting the normal American life.

The poem has a good message in it. In the first stanza Lazarus talks about how ‘half a million souls’ have fought in this war and now are lying surrounded by the pines. The poem first talks about the soldiers who fought in the civil war and leaving all behind for the military glory and how today they are being mourned and  praised by the people. She says that now that the war is over all seems to be quiet and peaceful. But there’s still fear in the minds of people and the thoughts of the people who have died bravely are still preoccupying them. There are tears of thankfulness as well as blessings for the brave dead soldiers and on their grave soft flowers, wreaths and lilacs are placed to honor their memories and their beloveds places roses of love.

The poem then takes a turn and the poet says that there is no one to praise the army of living people who have accepted their lives as it is. The people who accepted their old life as it was and without any regrets. She says that they only considered family life important and have always strived hard to make ends meet and fulfill the needs of their love ones. These are the people who left the rules of chivalry and thought about the well-being of their family. They are the people who remained happy in keeping their simplicity intact. Lazarus says that these people didn’t do all this consciously and all this adds more lustre to their work. She says these people were normal people like the miners, farmers, hunters etc. but their work is extra ordinary. These people have not armed against people but they have only armed themselves against weariness, hindrances and defeat. She says that people are crying for the soldiers who are dead but not for these actual heroes for whom the glory of life was the only thing. She says that the hero’s soul appears in these people’s eyes and according to me Emma Lazarus does a great job in this poem by explaining about the actual heroes.

Emma Lazarus and Her life

Emma Lazarus was born to a rich family of Moses Lazarus and Esther Lazarus. Lazarus’ work was very creative and great. Emma Lazarus was born at that time in the society where females were not considered mainstream writers easily. She did a lot of hard work to be recognized as a mainstream writer.

In the year 1863, Emma Lazarus’ family was away from their home. It was a time when none of the Americans were safe from the effects of this war. The time was of American civil war when the people participating in the war came close to Emma’s house to burn it down. However, this did not happen.  In 1865, Emma Lazarus’ father close friend had died in the war. This was the time when she wrote a funeral poem or elegy for him. She was against the civil war and the poem had the following lines which made that fact evident.

“More hearts will break than gladden when

The bitter struggle’s past;

The giant form of Victory must

A giant’s shadow cast.”

During this time itself she wrote the poem “heroes” in which the narrator was a black American woman who talks about the reconciliation of blacks and whites. According to Emma Lazarus the true heroes were those who did not fight and accepted the life as normal life. This poem as if urged people to forget all the differences among them and live life not like blacks or whites but as true Americans.   

It was some years later that she read the novel ‘Daniel Deronda’ by George Eliot that she fully became interested in her Jewish identity. It was the year of 1881 when the death of Tsar Alexander II in Russia lead to anti-Semitic violence there and killings of thousands of innocent Jews. These Jews then immigrated to New York where their fellow Jews didn't welcome them. These attacks on Jews and the behavior of fellow Jews in New York caught attention of Emma Lazarus and saddened her deeply. She wrote numerous articles and poems condemning those attacks. She formed an institute for the Jewish immigrants where they were given vocational training.

1880 was the most productive period of Lazarus’ life this was when she became fully aware of herb Jewish identity and advocated the rights of Jews. It was during this period she wrote a poem like “song of the Semite’ in this poem she portrayed the pride of being a Jew and accepting and cherishing her Jewish roots. Her poems at this time were structured with Zionism and with a view to educate the Jews about their identity and how they should take pride in it.  

Her life took a turn in 1883, when the “Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty" requested Emma Lazarus to write an original poem for raising funds for the pedestal of statue of liberty. This poem became very famous and she is still known for writing it the poem’s name was ‘the new colossus’ but back then she had not even seen the statue and unfortunately she was dead before the statue was erected and sadly when the statue was erected the poem was not even mentioned. But few years later after her death her friends and family gifted the poem written on a bronze tablet to be installed on the pedestal of the statue and today the poem is still there.

    Emma Lazarus has inspired many people and however short may be her life she lived it to the fullest by doing what she liked the most and that is writing poems. And as some say “Emma Lazarus gave not only a voice to the Statue of Liberty, but a conscience to America”.

Emma Lazarus, a great poet

Statue of Liberty, a historic monument in the USA. As one goes within the pedestal of this monument there are words engraved on a tablet. These words had an impact on the country of America. These are the words of a young and beautiful poet called Emma Lazarus.

            Emma Lazarus’ story begins happily enough. Born on July 22^nd, 1849 she was the fourth amongst her seven siblings. She was born in an affluent family and was home schooled by tutors who taught her music, poetry, literature and foreign languages. She was the most creative of all her siblings and used to write poetry from a very young age. By the time she was 17 she had written and translated several poems. These poems were published under the name of ‘Poems and translations: written between the ages of fourteen and sixteen’. These poems caught attention of a great essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson remained Emma Lazarus’ mentor for the rest of her life. Her works have been of great importance and after a few years she became sensitive to the problem of the Jews. She fought and argued for the rights of the immigrating Jews and was also a supporter of Zionist movement before it was even launched. Emma Lazarus remained unmarried for the rest of her life and no one knows the reason why? Nothing much about Lazarus’ personal life is known to people but in many biographies people have tried to make assumptions and suggestions about her personal life (but according to me these are just suggestions not fact).

Emma Lazarus had written many poems, essays, a couple of novels and plays. Her poems like ‘the new colossus’, ‘heroes’ 'dreams', and the poetry collection ‘song of the Semite’ are famous. Lazarus dedicated her life to poetry and the welfare of her people through it. She was amongst the first female poets to be recognized as an American writer. Emma Lazarus died at the young age of 38 with the cause apparently to be thought as cancer. On November 19, 1887 she bade good bye to the world. Her death was mourned in the Jew community as well as in the country of America.