Lady Lazarus, by Sylvia Plath - 1110 Words

â€Å"Lady Lazarus† is a poem by Sylvia Plath, written in 1962 shortly before her death in early 1963, and published posthumously by her husband, poet Ted Hughes, in 1965 in the collected volume Ariel. â€Å"Lady Lazarus† is a poem about suicide as a rebirth, and was in part inspired by Plaths own life and draws heavily on Plaths lifelong struggle with bipolar depression and suicidal feelings, and uses holocaust imagery to paint a bleak portrait of suicide and hopelessness. Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1932 to a German immigrant college professor and his graduate student-turned-wife. The early years of Plaths life were comfortable, spending much of her time near the seaside. After losing her father in 1940, Plath and her†¦show more content†¦The title of the poem, â€Å"Lady Lazarus,† is a reference to the biblical story of Lazarus of Bethany, a man brought back to life by Christ as a demonstration of his divine power to non-believin g onlookers. (The Holy Bible, King James Version, John 1-44.) The speaker in the poem compares her near death experience and suicide attempts to a resurrection or rebirth, such as in the story of Lazarus. In the first stanza the speaker declares that every ten years she dies, drawing an eerie parallel to Plaths own life. At eight, Plath lost her father and this sparked an immense resentment towards him and strong feelings of alienation throughout the rest of her life; this was her first â€Å"death,† and the speaker declares this death an accident in stanza 12, lines 2-3. Her second â€Å"death† was intentional. (stanza 13) This â€Å"death† came at age twenty when Plath attempted suicide for the first time. The speaker in the poem says that this death was meant to be permanent and she did not wish to be â€Å"reborn.† (stanza 13, line 2.) The third and final death was Plaths suicide at age thirty, only a few months after â€Å"Lady Lazarus† was wr itten. In a way, Plath hinted at her worsening mental state through this work. In stanza seven, the speaker says she is only thirty, as was Plath at the time she wrote this poem. The speaker alludes to coming suicide attempts by comparing herself to a cat with nine lives, indicating thatShow MoreRelated`` Lady Lazarus `` By Sylvia Plath1491 Words   |  6 PagesSomehow, my generation became the most desensitized at the same time it became the easiest to offend. This is why I love the poem â€Å"Lady Lazarus† by Sylvia Plath so much. In the midst of the 20th century Plath touched on topics of depression and suicide in such a shameless way that, it is capable of evoking emotion most modern forms of expression fail to reach. To do this Plath masterfully uses imagery that creates a sense of repulsion and dread that only work to add to the general tone of the poem. AdditionallyRead MoreLady Lazarus By Sylvia Plath1807 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"Lady Lazarus† By Sylvia Pl ath There are several ways to look at the poem, Lady Lazarus and one of those ways is that it could be looked at suicide and also about someone who is obviously emotionally troubled with this self-fulfilling satisfaction in killing herself. It’s like a prophecy that needs to be fulfilled and she does so every so often; at least every decade. Also, the poem could be said to be about someone with a severe mental disorder which explains the radical behavior of the suicidalRead MoreSylvia Plath Essay Lady Lazarus1395 Words   |  6 Pages__Lady Lazarus__ Sylvia Plath’s Lady Lazarus is an incredible metaphor of rebirth; the whole idea of a new life from death. Plath throughout her life was suicidal and many of her most famous works revolve around the ideas of death being a new beginning and a way of escaping enslavement from many various factors that bind us to life. There is nothing different about this poem from all of Plath’s other works. She as always represents her life troubles through a worldly event in this case the HolocaustRead MorePoem Analysis of Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath3011 Words   |  13 PagesPoem Analysis: Lady Lazarus In American culture, suicide is considered to be one of the darkest taboos. It has the particular quality of being equally gripping and repulsive. Although suicide is seen as overtly morbid, gruesome and disturbing, it has made many people famous. Sylvia Plath, the illustrious 20th century poetess, is one of them. Sylvia Plath was born on October 27th, 1932 of two parents in a middleclass household in Boston. At a very young age, she demonstrated great literary talentRead MoreLady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath - Poetry Analysis1110 Words   |  5 PagesLady Lazarus was written by Sylvia Plath. On a literal level, this poem is about death and attempting suicide. It is most likely that it was written from Plaths personal experience as she was known for her suicidal nature. This poem has 28 tercet stanzas. There is no clear rhyme scheme yet rhyming can be found throughout this poem, for example I have done it again/One year in every ten, so there is an irregular rhyme scheme. Literary devices such as end-stopped lines and enjambment are alsoRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s Lady Lazarus 1661 Words   |  7 PagesFunny: Sylvia Plath’s Use of Humor in Lady Lazarus Humor and Sylvia Plath are words not generally heard in the same sentence. Although her poetry is widely read, we as a society tend to associate her writing with the inherent darkness in her words, and we tend to ignore everything else, particularly with regards to the poetry she wrote near the end of her life. The morbidity in her writing is most definitely there, but it is often expressed using humor. I will be examining Plath’s poem Lady LazarusRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s Poem Lady Lazarus 838 Words   |  4 Pages In Sylvia Plath’s poem,†Lady Lazarus†, she utilizes symbols to highlight the major themes that can be observed in the story, the different sufferings and deaths that humans have to go through in life. She connects the symbols such as the holocaust to the theme through description and explanation; she uses symbolism with a cat, as well. Plath also focuses on the suffering that Lady Lazarus has to go through in life by comparing it to a holocaust. She compares the struggleRead MoreImagery in Poems â€Å"Daddy† and â€Å"Lady Lazarus† by Sylvia Plath1470 Words   |  6 PagesIn poems of Sylvia Plath, entitled â€Å"Lady Lazarus† and â€Å"Daddy† some elements are similar, including used hostile imagery, gloomy atmosphere as well as recurring theme of suicide, but the poems differ in respect of the speaker’s point of view and attitude towards addressed person or unfavorable surroundings. These elements are employed by Plath in order to intensify the impact on her audience and convey all extreme emotions. Another issue that is considered to be worthy of thinking over is the questionRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s Daddy And Lady Lazarus 931 Words   |  4 PagesSylvia Plath lived from 1932-1963, dying at the age of 30. In her short life, however, she witnessed Wo rld War Two and the Cold War. Both of these events inimitably influenced her life and writing style, which can be observed in her works â€Å"Daddy† and â€Å"Lady Lazarus†, where she uses Holocaust imagery to draw connections between her life and the lives of the Jewish people held captive in concentration camps. Through her use of imagery she tackles personal and political issues encapsulating feelingsRead MoreEssay Imagery In Poems Daddy And Lady Lazarus By Sylvia Plath1447 Words   |  6 PagesIn poems of Sylvia Plath, entitled Lady Lazarus and Daddy some elements are similar, including used hostile imagery, gloomy atmosphere as well as recurring theme of suicide, but the poems differ in respect of the speaker’s point of view and attitude towards addressed person or unfavorable surroundings. These elements are employed by Plath in order to intensify the impact on her audience and convey all extreme emotions. Another issue that is considered to be worthy of thinking over is the question