“1492”
The cleverness and ingenuity of the mature Lazarus is exemplified by the way she transforms a single year in history into a character. For most people, of course, 1492 is associated only with Christopher Columbus sailing the ocean blue. Anyone who has read the diaries of the explorer, however, will instantly realize the depth of 1492 as a year to be both celebrated and despised by a Jewish-American poet. Columbus notes in that in his diary that within the same month of receiving the go-head to undertake his voyage from Ferdinand and Isabelle the royal couple also “issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of” the Spanish empire.
Rev. Jacques Judah Lyons
The poem “In Memoriam—Rev. J.J. Lyons” was written by Lazarus to honor one of the most influential rabbis and Jewish leaders in 19th century New York. But he was not just an objective figure of inspiration for her; he was also her uncle.
Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Weid, Queen of Romania
As is usually the case among royals, that name is a mouthful. Which is why Lazarus titled her poem honoring the Romanian Queen by using the pen name under which the Queen produce works of literature. “To Carmen Sylva” is a fan letter of the highest quality, calling up Biblical allusion, ancient imagery, and romantic tropes to transform Pauline from Queen to writer to mythic figure.
Agamemnon
Agamemnon is, of course, a central player in one of the great narratives of all time. “Agamemnon’s Tomb” is a poem which covers much of the basics of that story. It briefly references Helen of Troy, her extraordinary beauty, and his part in calling for warriors to commence the Trojan War.
Alexander II of Russia
Tsar Alexander II was known as Alexander the Liberator in honor of his 1861 emancipation of the nation’s serf population. Lazarus recalls the assassination of Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth in the title of her poem about the assassination of Alexander on March 13, 1881. “Sic Semper Liberatorius!” alludes to Booth’s words shouted to the audience inside Ford’s Theater after he shot Lincoln and jumped to the stage to make his escape, “Sic Semper Tyrranus!”
