In the opening line of the poem, Emma Lazarus alludes to the Colossus of Rhodes — a statue of the Greek titan-god of the sun Helios that was erected in the city of Rhodes in 280 BC. The Colossus was...

In the opening line of the poem, Emma Lazarus alludes to the Colossus of Rhodes — a statue of the Greek titan-god of the sun Helios that was erected in the city of Rhodes in 280 BC. The Colossus was 98 feet tall, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world. Compare the language Lazarus uses to describe this “brazen giant of Greek fame” (l. 1) to the language she uses to describe the Statue of Liberty, the “Mother of Exiles” (l. 6). If both statues are symbols for nations, what kind of argument does Lazarus make by describing the two statues as she does?