Okay I give up. What the hell is storied pomp. Someone please translate that line into plane English for me.
It’s just what it says.
Pomp: 1. Dignified or magnificent display; splendor: the solemn pomp of a military funeral.
Storied: 1. Celebrated or famous in history or story: the storied journey of the Mayflower.
So “storied pomp” means a magnificent display celebrated or famous in story.
What’s “plane English”? Is it what air pilots use?
“Storied” has two meanings, one derived from “story” (i.e., a tale or work of fiction), and the other derived from “storey” (i.e., a level in a building). The latter can be also spelled as “storeyed”, but “storied” is more common in the U.S. So “storied pomp” could refer to magnificent buildings. I think that meaning would fit the line better:
I don’t think this is a matter of opinion. Storied referring to buildings is wrong. In this context it absolutely refers to the long history of celebrating ancient lands, a history that the U.S. lacked.
Don’t forget that the opening lines refer to the Colossus of Rhodes:
That was the old Colossus, celebrated in song and story, that she is specifically comparing our New Colossus with, neither one of which have stories in the building sense either.
Plane English is sort of flat and featureless. Hyperbolic English is the more exciting stuff that you find in advertising copy. Then there’s Spherical English, in which parallel construction is used to make a point.
The “fame” meaning is a much more straightforward interpretation. The other would involve a weird metaphor that isn’t hinted at elsewhere in the poem.
Bloody brilliant. Quip of the year.
Bravo
FWIW, Jesus was fond of parabolic English. (well, parabolic Aramaic, actually, but in translation…)
There’s no parallel in Spherical English, unless you go off on a tangent or two. And it’s utterly pointless.
Geodesic English, on the other hand . . .