The new collosus
2 With conquering limbs astride from land to land; (b)
3 Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand (b)
4 A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame (a)
5 Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name (a)
6 Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand (b)
7 Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command (b)
8 The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame*. (a)
9 "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she (c)
10 With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, (d)
11 Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, (c)
12 The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. (d)
13 Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, (c)
14 I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (d)
My study of The New Colossus will mainly focus on its historical meaning & the many (= les nombreuses) references it contains, and I will at the same time endeavour (= try) to show how its form, style & tone contribute to the message that Emma Lazarus, its author, aimed (=wanted) it to convey (= dégager, transmettre) .
I/ To begin with, I’ll tell you about the author, Emma Lazarus & the circumstances that made her 1883 poem, The New Colossus, so famous and historic (= that gave it historical value).
A)The basic thing to know is that, originally (= à l’origine, au depart), the last 5 lines of E.Lazarus’s [siz] sonnet were engraved on the base (= the pedestal) of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor in 1912 (nineteen twelve) in order to be read as a generous greeting address to the thousands of European immigrants that had left, were leaving, or would one day leave their native countries because of poverty, persecution, or war, so as to seek* (= look for) peace, safety , in other words a better life in the U.S.
*to seek, I sought , sought : chercher, recherché
I will examine this message in a detailed way in the final part of my presentation, when I deal with the last 5