Summary

The speaker (perhaps Lazarus, perhaps some anonymous everyman) describes Rhodes' legendary statue of minor god Helios as a bellicose, intimidating caricature, with "conquering limbs" stretched forcefully out as a deterrent to prospective invaders (2). America, as we shall see in the third through sixth lines, chose for itself the more humanistic idol of universal liberty. This "mighty woman with a torch," representative of the American spirit, maintains pride and power while still bowing humbly before the needs of oppressed men and offering them her succor (4). Like sun deity Helios, she carries a torch – only her light serves rather to welcome and educate than to strike at incoming foreigners.

In the final six lines of the sonnet, Lazarus's speaker gives way to the statue itself, permitting Lady Liberty to promote freedom from suffering through her own lyrical address: "Give me your tired, your poor / Your huddled...