# The New Colossus. What is "storied pomp"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903 "2008-10-07T21:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/1 "2008-10-07T21:06:40Z")
Okay I give up. What the hell is storied pomp. Someone please translate that line into plane English for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/2 "2008-10-07T21:09:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/3 "2008-10-07T21:19:14Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Okay I give up. What the hell is storied pomp. Someone please translate that line into plane English for me. What’s “plane English”? Is it what air pilots use? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/4 "2008-10-07T21:40:24Z")
“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: > [@](#): > > “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she > With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, > Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, > The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. > Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, > I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/5 "2008-10-07T22:58:09Z")
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: > [@](#): > > Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, > With conquering limbs astride from land to land; 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. ---
**Author:** ![mwbrooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mwbrooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mwbrooks)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/6 "2008-10-07T23:14:44Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > What’s “plane English”? Is it what air pilots use? 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. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/7 "2008-10-07T23:15:01Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/8 "2008-10-07T23:16:33Z")
> [@mwbrooks](#): > > 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. Bloody brilliant. Quip of the year. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/9 "2008-10-07T23:24:00Z")
> [@mwbrooks](#): > > 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. 🙂 Bravo ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/10 "2008-10-07T23:48:15Z")
> [@mwbrooks](#): > > 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. FWIW, Jesus was fond of parabolic English. (well, parabolic Aramaic, actually, but in translation…) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-colossus-what-is-storied-pomp/466903/11 "2008-10-08T00:21:09Z")
> [@mwbrooks](#): > > . . . Then there’s Spherical English, in which parallel construction is used to make a point. 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 . . .