The New Colossus

While “The New Colossus” never directly uses the phrase “Colossus of Rhodes” as being the “brazen giant of Greek fame” (Line 1), there can be little doubt it references that statue. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and as such is considered one of the major achievements of Greek civilization specifically and ancient civilization in general. Consequently, the poem uses the old colossus as a symbol for the premodern world and tradition. Significantly, that old world enjoys very little mention in the poem–only the first two lines and the opening of the statue’s address: “‘Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!’” (Line 9). Because of its dominance for so many centuries, the poem need not tell us the sort of beliefs and attitudes expressed in those previous times; they are generally known and, most importantly, they are what the subject of the poem, the Statue of Liberty, seeks to contradict and overcome.

Liberty Enlightening the World, the official name of the Statue of Liberty, was not made simply to be ornamentation or art for art’s sake: it is a heavily symbolic figure. The Roman goddess of liberty, lifting a torch in one hand, holding a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence in the other, is a proclamation of liberty and all its benefits to the world.