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Mother of Exiles

At the end of the poem’s long opening sentence, the speaker refers to the New Colossus as the “Mother of Exiles” (line 6). With this reference, the speaker frames the statue as a welcoming figure who is ready to take in anyone who’s in need. Her hospitable and receptive nature stands in contrast to the imposing old colossus—that “brazen giant of Greek fame, / With conquering limbs astride from land to land” (lines 1–2). Whereas this old colossus is a patriarchal figure that symbolizes empire and conquest, the New Colossus is decidedly maternal. She looks out with “mild eyes” (line 7), and yet her compassionate gaze also has the power to “command / The air-bridged harbor” (lines 7–8) over which she presides. The New Colossus literally and figuratively radiates warmth as she reaches up with “her beacon-hand” (line 6). In her fist she bears “a torch, whose flame / Is the imprisoned lightning” (lines 4–5), guiding those exiles traveling from other lands in search of refuge. In this way, the “Mother of Exiles” is a figurehead for the New World, one that symbolically announces the United States as a safe haven.

The Golden Door

The poem closes with the New Colossus calling on the nations of the Old World to send their down-and-out to her shore, where, she says, “I lift my lamp beside the golden door” (line 14). This reference to a “golden door” echoes the speaker’s earlier description of the New Colossus’s position in the middle of the New York Harbor (lines 3–4):

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch,

The “sea-washed, sunset gates” mentioned here refer to the two rivers that come together in the harbor: the Hudson River and the East River. These rivers frame the New Colossus, creating a kind of gate. But where does this gate lead? To the New World, of course! Standing tall on her designated island, the New Colossus welcomes “exiles” from the Old World with the promise of a better life. It is precisely this promise that’s symbolized by the golden door, which is a figurative doorway to opportunity. Gilded by the setting sun, the door’s glittering aura signifies the end of the long journey from east to west and the beginning of a new life. The tired, the hungry, and the poor will pass through this golden door and find all the rest, food, and wealth they’ll require to build new livelihoods and support their families. In short, the golden door symbolizes the dazzling promise of the American Dream.

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