Talk:The New Colossus

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[edit] Draft

saving a draft here, cause I'm not so sure about it. de:The New Colossus

The New Colossus is an Emma Lazarus poem, written for and inscribed in the Statue of Liberty.
Not like the brazen giant of a Greek fame

The allusion here is to the Colossus of Rhodes

With conquering limbs astride from land to land

The Colossus of Rhodes at one time was imagined to stand atride the harbour of Rhodes, but this is now felt to have been incorrect

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.

the twin cities that frame New York Harbor are New York and Elizabeth, New Jersey <-- this still needs to be checked, may be NY + Brooklyn?

"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-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
(Unsigned)
Regarding the "twin cities" it most assuredly is a reference to NYC and Brooklyn, which were still seperate cities at the time the poem was written in 1883, but would have both been considered majo enough to warrant mention. Also, Jersey City, not Elizabeth, is the closest NJ city to Liberty Island. (Unsigned)
You are right about Brooklyn not being incorporated into NYC until 1894, but Liberty Island is clearly located between NYC and Jersey City, see here. On the other hand the same line mentions a "mysterious" "air bridge" ("The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."), probably referring to Brooklyn Bridge which was opened in the same year the poem was written (1883). So it might be Manhattan and Brooklyn after all. Maikel (talk) 14:56, 15 April 2008 (UTC)
Or Jersey City and Brooklyn. Maikel (talk) 17:16, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fundraising Reference

I knew this from don't remember where, and found further substantiation at Talk:Emma_Lazarus
Will also edit German version
--BjKa 09:34, 30 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Not sure it should be mentioned on the page...

But I was looking at the Bedtime for Democracy cover [1], and the lower left says "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". A shame WP can't store the whole version, it could be when the time comes for copyright off on this, no originals will be left? {sjöar}

[edit] New Colossus

What Does the new Colussus mean?

The old colossus is the one of Rhodes. Maikel (talk) 14:18, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Comma?

Two questions regarding the missing comma...

  • Was it on purpose?
  • Why didn't they fix it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ben.yarmis (talk • contribs) 03:49, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Not a "classic essay." Is it even important?

Recently added:

James Fulford authored a classic essay discussing the origins of the statue and how it came to be identified more with immigration than with liberty. [2]

We have no article on James Fulford. No citation is presented indicating that a reliable source considers this essay to be a "classic," or even important. It's not clear to me who James Fulford is, other than a contributor to VDARE, which seems to be some sort of blog or web magazine devoted to opposing immigration and multiculturalism.

I don't think this belongs in the article. It smacks to me of promoting VDARE.

If there's some sort of current movement to reclaim the Statue of Liberty to its original purpose—described by Fulford as the celebration of "the participation of France in the American War of Independence, and the perpetual friendship of the two nations"—and sources can be cited to show this movement has some important, then it's worth noting, although I'd think that would belong better in the Statue of Liberty article than here. Dpbsmith (talk) 20:55, 21 January 2008 (UTC)