Changes

This section ridicules the old systems which have proven over the centuries to be unworkable.

This section ridicules the old systems which have proven over the centuries to be unworkable.

European lands had long been dominated by tyrannical monarchs and tsars, and even as Lazarus wrote the poem the old tyrannies were being replaced by new forms of dictatorship such as socialism and communism.  The Lords and technocrats of all kinds were and still are proud of their accomplishments, their family names and titles of nobility, and Lazarus says of their "storied pomp" that it doesn't matter.  Keep all of that, because Liberty is more valuable.

European lands had long been dominated by tyrannical monarchs and tsars, and even as Lazarus wrote the poem the old tyrannies were being replaced by new forms of dictatorship such as socialism and communism.  The Lords and technocrats of all kinds were and still are proud of their accomplishments, their family names, titles of nobility, and heraldry, and Lazarus says of their "storied pomp" that it doesn't matter.  Keep all of that, because Liberty is more valuable.

Together with the opening line that contrasts the Statue of Tyranny with the Statute of Liberty, this section in 8 words tells the overlooked story of the sonnet.

Together with the opening line that contrasts the Statue of Tyranny with the Statute of Liberty, this section in 8 words tells the overlooked story of the sonnet.