The "colossus" in the title of the Petrarchan sonnet, The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus, infers that there is a giant that guards the door to the kingdom so many wish to enter, but in fact, it turns out to be a welcoming by the Statue of Liberty that inspires hope into the author, and presumably, all those who are allowed to enter the United States of America through Ellis Island. From the beginning of the poems first verse it is clear that this giant is not as it seems as it is, "not like the brazen giant of Greek fame," but, as Lazarus states, "A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame/ Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name/ Mother of Exiles" (1, 4, 5, 6). As the author continues it is clear that the Statue of Liberty is an overwhelming
