Literary History That Made America Better

Is it possible to have a connection between two opposite perspectives or between two personalities who are 38 years away from each other? Perhaps it’s possible. In the 19th century, a Jewish American Poet, Emma Lazarus, wrote her famous poem titled “The New Colossus”. The inspiration for this poem was raising a fund to build the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

The poem was written in 1883 and the fundraising was completely accomplished in 1885. In 1903, the poem was mounted on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Thirty-eight years later, a Jamaican immigrant and poet, Claude McKay, wrote a poem titled “America” on the same figure and liberty Goddess the Statue of Liberty. However, the influence of the Jamaican poet was entirely the opposite. The motivation for the poem “America” was American racism in the 1920s. The theme of the poem “The New Colossus” is to propose to the world and all immigrants a motherly welcoming invitation for living a new life and a new possibility.

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On the other hand, the poem “America” is a response to “The New Colossus” pointing out how the mother is keeping her promise. Not only the themes but also the background of the poets, the form of the poems, and the literary techniques are not similar in both poems.

The historicala Historicalto  culture and context play an important role in human life. In the same manner, Jamaican Author, Poet, and Journalist, Claude McKay dealt with unexpected circumstances when he moved to the U.S. as an immigrant.

He was born in Jamaica on September 15, 1889. His parents were wealthy farmers and religious. He was interested in literature from an early age. In 1907, He was mentored by a British man named Walter Jekyll. In 1912, Jekyll inspired and assisted Mckay to publish his first books of poems, Songs in Jamaica and “Constable Ballads”. He won Musgrave Medal from the Jamaican Institute of Arts and Sciences for his publications. In the same year, He moved to the U.S. and studied at the Tuskegee Institute and Kansas State College. While he was studying, he was experiencing racism. These experiences inspired him to write against discrimination and become a part of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Harlem Renaissance was a literary movement that was known for establishing the culture of the new African-Americans. Though McKay was an oppressed immigrant in the U.S., he left a great contribution to U.S. literature and history. On May 22nd, 1948; He died of a heart attack in Chicago, Illinois. On the other hand, an American author and activist, Emma Lazarus, was from a Jewish-American family. She was born in New York City on July 22nd, 1849. Her parents were wealthy Jewish merchants. She was also interested in literature from an early age and studied American and British literature. In 1881, Lazarus was focused on the immigrants from Europe and Russia who were moving to the U.S. She was advocating for the persecuted Jews with her literary works. Though she was defending behalf of immigrants, she expressed her powerful words in respect of “Statue of Liberty” in her poem “The New Colossus”. She died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma on November 19, 1887, in New York.

The poem “America” by Claude McKay was published in 1921 in a monthly socialist Magazine “The Liberator”. The form of the poem is a Shakespearean or English sonnet and the meter is iambic pentameter. The poem has three quatrains including a couplet at the end. The rhythm of the poem is as follows: “ ABABCDCDEFEFGG”. The theme of the poem is experiencing difficulties and building up the strength to fight against those difficulties. In contrast, “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus was written in 1883 and it was a Petrarchan or Italian sonnet. It has an octave and a sestet. Inhistoricaldreamstotal, it’s 14 lines long. The rhyme scheme of this poem is as follows: “ABBAABBACDCDCD”. The theme of this poem is to welcome immigrants to America with hopes and opportunities.

In the poem “America”, Mckay applied powerful and emotional literary techniques. The first literary technique is personifying America as a woman. It seems like the speaker pointing the Statue of Liberty presenting the U.S. as a mother country. The second literary technique is a metaphor. The speaker applied powerful metaphors throughout the poem such as “bread of bitterness”, “tiger’s tooth”, “cultured hell” and “my breath of life”. By using the metaphors “bread of bitterness” and “tiger’s tooth”, the speaker is pointing out the challenges of the immigrants and pessimism against the theme of being a sweet land of liberty. By using the metaphor “cultured hell”, the speaker declaring declares love for the U.S. because the speaker confirms that challenges and suffering are helping the immigrants to become strong. The speaker is stating that despite oppression, America is a “priceless treasure”. The third literary technique in this poem is similes such as “her vigor flows like tides” and “as a rebel front a king in the state”. These similes point out the monarchy of the U.S. The speaker is referring that the U.S. is not following its claims such as liberty and democracy. The fourth literary technique is alliteration such as “bread of bitterness”, “tiger’s tooth “and “touch of times”. The speaker's claims are getting stronger with this repetition in the poem. The metaphor “cultured hell” can also be referred to as irony. The speaker is indicating that no matter how hard it is, eventually, he is a part of the U.S.

In the first quatrain of the poem “America”, the speaker is showing both hatred and love for the U.S. The speaker is characterizing America as violent woman and a potent woman at the same time. It is referring to the race riot in the U.S. The speaker also states how this strong motherly figure is testing his “youth”. It means passion and accusation are coexisting in the poem. In the second quatrain, the speaker is discussing the strength and the flow of the U.S. It is referring that the U.S. keeps developing its traditions. In the third quatrain, the speaker states that he is going to cope with the flow of America; even though it’s challenging. In the couplet, the speaker refers to the future and states if America goes through mistakes such as racism, it might cause a sudden failure for the country.

According to the poem, “The New Colossus”, Emma Lazarus referring refers America as “ A mighty woman with a torch” and “Mother of Exiles”. The main point is immigrants. The speaker is stating that the U.S. is going to be a new home for immigrants. The immigrants will be embraced with new hopes, opportunities, and achievements. The speaker states that the “torch” glows for everybody equally. The speaker refers that the Statue of Liberty is a worldwide invitation that has an open “golden door” for all. The speaker points out that the Statue of Liberty is promising for freedom. The Statue of Liberty has the power to give equal chances to everybody. In contrast, Claude Mckay stated in his poem “America” how the “Mother of Exiles” is treating “the homeless” and “The wretched refuse” and how she is following her own motifs.

America is a land of freedom,   where, where ar was, and success stories. All people in America hope for the continuity of these elements. Americans believe in the growth of perfectionism. The history and cultural context of America show that there was or probably is present some misfortunes. Despite all, socio-economic development, political participation, and social awareness can make America even better. Claude McKay and Emma Lazarus have their point of view on America. The new way of thinking is they both loved America and contributed to American history, culture, and society.