Analysis Of Lady Lazarus By Sylvia Plath

The last few lines in the poem are sentience that have been chopped up into different lines, to help

In the short story “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, Millicent Arnold is a narcissistic teenager undergoing her initiation into the most prestige social group at Lansing High. Despite being aware of the risk at losing her best friend, Tracy, Millicent eagerly seeks the opportunity to be part of a close-knit group and as a result, she is mistreated and forced to conform to the group’s narrow standards. Plath explains how being part of a social group does not necessarily help one grow individually, but rather assimilates them into what is portrayed as esteemed social status. As Millicent goes through the downgrading initiation process, she discovers the value of friendship and realizes that being associated with a certain group will not help her achieve confidence in her true self.

The fact that enjambment is used throughout the poem such as in the lines, “like a colour slide or press an ear against its hive” portrays a lack of structure and therefore emphasizes the initial enjoyment one feels when reading a poem before the chore of analyzing it begins. This is also emphasized through the fact that the poem is a free verse poem.

Since it does, when reading each line, there is a resilient connection that allows the reader to put together and feel for what the narrator is speaking of. As each line is metrically linked, the words are further recited in a durable voice and the poem is virtually put together, musically. In the first and second lines of the third stanza, an apostrophe, a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent person or entity, is presented, “We smile, but O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise.”

John Updike arranges structure in the poem to create the specific feeling of having one’s heart change from seeing something beautiful. The beginning of the poem starts with a couplet that describes the setting; a man-made golf course “on Cape Ann in October” (1). Enjambment is integrated throughout the poem to surprise the reader and create anticipation. For example, in lines 8-9, enjambment adds tension as the narrator describes what he sees in the sky. The entire poem is free verse, this emphasizes the flight of the birds and how nature has no true rhythm. By using free verse, the reader is unable to predict what will happen next and uncertainty is added. Without the free verse, the poem would feel unrelaxed and harsh. In lines 50-1, Updike changes the word order to startle the reader and conclude the poem in an interesting and memorable way. The poet manipulates the structure to provide a suspenseful mood and make the reader feel interested in the storyline.

In the first stanza, the writer uses many techniques to convey the feeling of loss, when he says,

Apart from that, the poem consists of a series of turns that reflect different parts of the speaker’s feelings and the experiences he had. The significance of these turns is made possible through the use of stanza breaks. For example, the first

Readers are aware of this ambiguity. Here the heaviest flashback thoughts and the short-lasting issue set up a continuing contrast throughout the poem, which enchants its effect.

The rhyme scheme in the second stanza ddeefg brings us to an end in the texts' relation to the Earth's cool breeze just as the rhyme pattern discontinues from its previous flow, aabbcc.

“Sunshine seemed like gold,” (line 4) and “Whole damn world’s turned cold,” (line 5). The poet

significance of this section in the poem is the underlying relationship between what the narrater

The poem begins with two lines which are repeated throughout the poem which convey what the narrator is thinking, they represent the voice in

How Sylvia Plath's Life is Reflected in the Poems Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazarus

Verse form is also an important element of But These Things Also. The entire poem is written in one long sentence, despite the regular attention to punctuation. One interpretation of this is that the poem flows into itself just like Winter flows into Spring. The lack of separation between the two seasons mirrors the lack of separation within nature. As Thomas suggests, there is no clear line between Winter and Spring, but rather a gradual ebb and flow as time passes. Thus, the verse form is reflective of the content of the poem. The poem has a loose rhyming pattern, which is not maintained throughout the poem. Although the rhyme is strong in some verses, for example 'on' and 'gone', it grows weaker in places, for example with 'violets'

The located enjambments help the two fragments connect and keep the rhythm going. There is also alliteration that appears specifically consonances like having, heavenly, and hill. By using alliteration, the poet is describing and building up suspense to the truth of the resemblance between the sun and the man. Interestingly enough, the first line of the first two quatrains both have 11 syllables in them, and they relate because the gracious light is coming from the sky, and to get there, you must climb the steep up heavenly hill, using 11 syllables demonstrates the connection between the two lines. There is also an off-rhyme of eye-majesty and age-pilgrimage, this was probably done to be able to correctly fit 11 syllables in one line while trying to get straight to the point.