Emma Lazarus

Who Was Emma Lazarus?

Emma Lazarus was a renowned American poet, born into a prominent New York family of Sephardic Jewish descent. Her early literary talent earned her recognition, including the admiration of famed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, after the release of her first book. Lazarus is best known for her poem The New Colossus, which was inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. The poem features the iconic lines: “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Early Life

Emma Lazarus was born on July 22, 1849, in New York City, as the fourth of seven children to Moses and Esther Nathan Lazarus. Her family was descended from early Jewish settlers in America, with Portuguese roots, and had amassed considerable wealth through the sugar refining industry. Lazarus received a classical education, and her family was part of New York’s high society, which included owning a mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.

Poet and Translator

Emma Lazarus was deeply supported in her poetic pursuits by her parents. In 1866, her father published Poems and Translations Written Between the Ages of Fourteen and Seventeen, a collection of her early works. Two years later, Lazarus reached out to Ralph Waldo Emerson, who, impressed by her writing, became her mentor. Over the course of her life, Lazarus interacted with several notable literary figures, including Robert Browning, William Morris, and Henry James.

Lazarus gained significant recognition during her lifetime, with over 50 of her poems published in prominent magazines such as Lippincott’s and The Century. Her poetry collection Admetus and Other Poems was published in 1871, followed by a novel, Alide: An Episode in Goethe’s Life, in 1874. In addition to her creative works, Lazarus earned critical acclaim for translating the works of the German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine. She also wrote extensively on the literature of her time, championing the rise of a distinctly American aesthetic, separate from European influences. Among the writers she praised for embodying this new American sensibility were Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

“The New Colossus”

Lazarus is perhaps best remembered for her poem The New Colossus, written in 1883. The poem was originally crafted to help raise funds for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States. Lazarus famously described the Statue of Liberty as the “Mother of Exiles,” writing:
“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!”

While The New Colossus did not gain widespread recognition during Lazarus’s lifetime, its significance grew after her death. In 1901, her friend Georgina Schuyler discovered the poem, and in 1903, it was inscribed on a plaque that remains on display at the museum on Liberty Island.

Advocacy and Legacy

Beyond her literary work, Lazarus was a vocal advocate for social causes. In the early 1880s, she spoke out against the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and became actively involved with Jewish refugees who were immigrating to the United States. She played a key role in founding the Hebrew Technical Institute in New York, which provided vocational training to Jewish immigrants. Lazarus was also an outspoken proponent of the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Untimely Demise

Emma Lazarus passed away on November 19, 1887, at the age of 38, likely from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Despite her early death, her contributions to American literature and her advocacy for Jewish immigrants continue to leave a lasting impact.