The New Colossus
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"The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus. She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. In 1903, the poem was cast onto a
Emma Lazarus's manuscript for "The New Colossus"
Statue of Liberty in New York City
Bronze plaque inside the Statue of Liberty with the text of the poem
The poem references the Colossus of Rhodes in the lines: "... the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land."
Colossus of Rhodes
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The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name, by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. One of the Seven Wonders of the Anc
The New Colossus
…The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet. The title of the poem and the first two lines reference the Greek Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a famously gigantic sculpture that stood beside or straddled the entrance to the harbor of the island…
Colossus of Rhodes, artist's conception, 1880
Artist's conception from the Grolier Society's 1911 Book of Knowledge
Rhodes Didrachm (305–275 BC) showing the Sun God Helios on obverse and rose with rose bud and grape cluster on the reverse.