Theme Of Lady Lazarus

Saying Sylvia Plath was a troubled woman would be an understatement. She was a dark poet, who attempted suicide many times, was hospitalized in a mental institution, was divorced with two children, and wrote confessional poems about fetuses, reflection, duality, and a female perspective on life. Putting her head in an oven and suffocating was probably the happiest moment in her life, considering she had wanted to die since her early twenties. However, one thing that was somewhat consistent throughout her depressing poetry would be the theme of the female perspective. The poems selected for analysis and comparison are, ”A Life”(1960),”You’re”(1960), “Mirror” (1961), “The Courage of Shutting-Up” (1962) and

“Beware: Do Not Read This Poem” is a poem that acts as cautionary tale which is shown by the warning present in the title. It starts off by describing an egocentric “ol woman” who goes missing inside a mirror. the setting changes afterwards in the next section to the present, the time during which the reader is reading the poem. The form of the poem serves to relate the various storylines together. This concept shows the poem as a being able to engulf and devour the reader, like another kind of disappearance.

In “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath, the speaker’s tone is revealed through many different poetic aspects. Throughout her writing, the speaker’s attitude towards death appears to be happy but, when looking more closely at Plath’s use of poetic devices her attitude is bitter. Shown mainly through the diction, images, sounds and repetition, this depressing tone emphasizes the speaker’s feelings about death. First, diction or word choice used throughout this poem depicts apart the meaning and stresses the tone. Next, the images used to describe the speaker’s experiences with death shows the emotions and thoughts that go through the speaker’s mind concerning death. These events the speaker

Sylvia Plath is known as a profound writer, depicted by her lasting works of literature and her suicide which put her poems and novel of debilitating depression into a new perspective. In her poem “Lady Lazarus,” written in 1962, her mental illness is portrayed in a means to convey to her readers the everyday struggle of depression, and how it affects her view of her world, herself, and even those who attempt to tackle her battle with her. This poem, among other poetry pieces and her novel The Bell Jar, identify her multiple suicide attempts, and how the art of dying is something she has become a master of. Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” about her trap of depression and suicide attempts, is effective and thought provoking because of her allusions to WWII Nazi Germany and the feelings of oppression and Nazism that the recurring images evoke.

In 1963 on a cold winter day of February 11th, Sylvia Plath ended her life. She had plugged up her kitchen, sealing up the cracks in doors and windows before she was found with her head inside of her gas oven inhaling the dangerous fumes. She was only thirty years old, a young woman with two small children and an estranged ex-husband. A tragic detail of her life is that this is the second time she had tried to commit suicide. Plagued with mental illness her whole life, which is evident within her poetry. She would write gripping, honest portrayals of mental illnesses. Especially within Ariel, the last poetry book she wrote, right before she took her life. Although it’s hard to find a proper diagnosis for Sylvia Plath, it is almost definite that she at least had clinical depression with her numerous suicide attempts and stays in mental hospitals undergoing electroshock therapy. Sylvia Plath is now famously known for her writing and the more tragic parts of her life. Such as the separation from her husband, Ted Hughes, mental illness, etc… Plath may not have intended for her life and art to become inspiration to many people but that has become the end result. Sylvia Plath writing shows symptoms of her suicidal thoughts. To study specific moments in Sylvia Plath’s life, it can be connected to certain writing’s of her’s, such as “Daddy”, The Bell Jar, and “Lady Lazarus”.

In her poem, “Lady Lazarus,” Sylvia Plath uses dark imagery, disturbing diction, and allusions to shameful historical happenings to create a unique and morbid tone that reflects the necessity of life and death. Although the imagery and diction and allusions are all dark and dreary, it seems that the speaker’s attitude towards death is positive. The speaker longs for death, and despises the fact the she is continually raised up out of it.

Sylvia Plath, a successful confessional style poet, struggled throughout her life with issues revolving around her father’s death, unsuccessful and unfulfilling relationships with men, and her mental illnesses. Throughout her struggles, Plath wrote, sometimes writing as much as 10 drafts a day. Despite welcoming into the world two children, whom she loved dearly, Plath still felt unfulfilled by her duties as a housewife. As she wrote more poems, it became clear she was unhappy in her life and in the grips of a serious mental illness. Sylvia Plath’s writing is deeply influenced by her experience with mental illness and the death of her father in her early life.

Sylvia Plath was an American Poet who was renowned for poetry mostly in the United States. She, however lived a difficult and depressing life which led to a few futile suicide attempts, but ultimately led to a successful suicide attempt leaving her children to live on without a mother. This end result was due to a multitude of issues in her life from Sylvia’s sanity. She wasn’t the most stable child. Her marriage also played a role in her suicide. Her successes weren’t acclaimed until after her death, when a majority of her work was released. There were two major aspects to her life: her poetry and her sanity. These three combined make up a majority of Sylvia’s life.

The Biblical story of Lazarus is the story of when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life four days after his death. The first line in this poem that brings up the image of the Biblical story is “a sort of walking miracle”, since the raising of Lazarus was considered a miracle of Jesus. When reading the poem for the first time, I definitely felt the dark tone along with the idea that the whole poem was related to death. As I read further in, it was obvious that this woman was speaking about her multiple suicide attempts. The speaker believes that “dying is an art”, and she says she does “it so it feels real”, insinuating that without dying, she will not feel complete or fulfilled. She says that “it’s the theatrical”, meaning she does this for attention,

"Lady Lazarus," the last of the October poems, presents Plath as the victim with her aggression turned towards "her male victimizer (33)." Lady Lazarus arises from Herr Doktor's ovens as a new being, her own incarnation, "the victim taking on the powers of the victimizers and drumming herself into uses that are her own" (33). Linda Bundtzen also sees the poem as "an allegory

This poem is interpreted as a farewell letter to Bradstreet’s husband. She decides to write the poem since she considers she lies on her death bed while giving birth. In the 16th Century death during childbirth was common, she is afraid of the chances death has with her. She expresses feelings of sorrow and sadness as the poem progresses. Written as an iambic pentameter poem with rhyming couplets. The author combines ideas of death, love and her dismiss from this world. She starts the poem by introducing death “Fading world hath end” (1), “adversity doth still our joys attend” (2), she describes death inevitability and how all thing come to an end. How happiness isn’t eternal. She comes to the conclusion that death is inescapable. Death is coming for the speaker “How soon, my Dear, death may my steps

Sylvia Plath’s work is marked with her trademark style, one full of enigmatic analogies and ambiguous metaphors. Sadly though, the life of Sylvia Plath was indeed shorter than anyone expected. Nevertheless, in the thirty years Plath meandered through the world, she left an everlasting impact. Remembered as one of the most dynamic and admired poets of the twentieth century, Plath cultivated a literary community unlike any predecessor. Additionally, since a sizable portion of Plath’s work was read posthumously, her suicide brought the much needed attention to physiological illnesses. Unfortunately though, Sylvia Plath will never know the perennial impact she left from her distinguished works that have touched numerous lives.

The cruelty befalls humanity in war, the oppressor care less concerning the lives of people carry such of horrifying acts for his gratification. Killing is no longer quenching the thirst to sadism without inflicting horror. When the value of human being no more than a lampshade or paperweight , humanity has lost its grasp in man’s conscience. Sylvia Plath writes “Lady Lazarus” in a context of a man can be lower than animal whose kill just to feed, not for entertainment. War exonerates the pleasure seekers to push the boundaries of savagery. Throughout the history, we witness how men become horrendous monster to another men, push back the civilization to barbaric age. Some believe that “Lady Lazarus” is Plath’s reflection of resurrection

Sylvia Plath’s life was one of a troubled woman. Her lack of sanity was deeply reflected in her works of writing. Her mental state was very much affected by her life experiences such as her feelings of betrayal towards her father and her instable marriage to Ted Hughes. Plath’s poetry, was a way to explore her mental anguish and share her fixation with death, due to her deathly depression. Despite Sylvia Plath’s crippling life, her poetry was constructed in such an artistic manner in which it touched the lives of many

Some of the dark negative emotions Sylvia Plath shares in this poem can make anyone have sympathy on her feelings. Especially, when she writes,