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Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus” in iambic pentameter, meaning that, on average, each line in the poem consists of five iambs. An iamb has one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word “to-day.” Given that the poem is a sonnet, iambic pentameter is an unsurprising choice, as English-language sonnets are typically written in this meter. For such a short poem, however, it’s worth noting the frequent metrical variations Lazarus has introduced to the rhythm. In most cases, the divergences from strict iambic rhythm involve simple substitutions of trochees (stressed–unstressed), which reverse the stress pattern of the iamb. As a representative example, consider lines 1–4:

Not like / the bra- / zen gi- / ant of / Greek fame,
With con- / quer-ing limbs / as-tride / from land / to land;
Here at / our sea- / washed, sun- / set gates / shall stand
A might- / y wo- / man with / a torch, / whose flame

All four lines in this passage have a clear iambic rhythm, but only the final line is in strict iambic pentameter. The first and third lines each begin with a trochee, and lines 1–3 all feature an additional type of foot. The fourth foot of line 1 is a pyrrhic (unstressed–unstressed), the second foot of line 2 is an anapest (unstressed–unstressed–stressed), and the third foot of line 3 is a spondee (stressed–stressed). These and other substitutions add texture to the poem’s language and prevent the kind of predictability that comes with perfectly consistent rhythm.

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