The 'sea-washed, sunset gates' are the mouths of the Hudson and East Rivers, to the west of Brooklyn.

In the poem, Lazarus contrasts that ancient symbol of grandeur and empire ('the brazen giant of Greek fame') with a 'New' Colossus – the Statue of Liberty, a female embodiment of commanding 'maternal strength' ('Mother of Exiles'). The title of the poem and the first two lines reference the Greek Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a famously gigantic sculpture that stood beside or straddled the entrance to the harbor of the island of Rhodes in the 3rd century BC. With conquering limbs astride from land to land.

The poem references the Colossus of Rhodes in the lines: The original manuscript is held by the American Jewish Historical Society. On the plaque hanging inside the Statue of Liberty, the line 'Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!' is missing a comma, and reads in Lazarus's manuscript 'Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!' The plaque also describes itself as an engraving it is actually a casting. In 1901, Lazarus's friend Georgina Schuyler began an effort to memorialize Lazarus and her poem, which succeeded in 1903 when a plaque bearing the text of the poem was put on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. It was, however, published in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World as well as The New York Times during this time period. It remained associated with the exhibit through a published catalog until the exhibit closed after the pedestal was fully funded in August 1885, but was forgotten and played no role at the opening of the statue in 1886. 'The New Colossus' was the first entry read at the exhibit's opening on November 2, 1883. Initially, she refused but writer Constance Cary Harrison convinced her that the statue would be of great significance to immigrants sailing into the harbor. Lazarus's contribution was solicited by fundraiser William Maxwell Evarts. This poem was written as a donation to an auction of art and literary works conducted by the 'Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty' to raise money for the pedestal's construction.

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