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Lady Lazarus

January 01, 1970

This article is about the Plath poem. For the 2008 novel, see Lady Lazarus (novel). For the Mad Men episode, see Lady Lazarus (Mad Men).

"Lady Lazarus" is a poem written by Sylvia Plath, originally included in Ariel, which was published in 1965, two years after her death by suicide. This poem is commonly used as an example of her writing style. It is considered one of Plath's best poems and has been subject to a plethora of literary criticism since its publication. It is commonly interpreted as an expression of Plath's suicidal attempts and thoughts.

Structure edit

The poem is divided in twenty-eight tercet stanzas, and is written in free verse.

Genre edit

"Lady Lazarus" and Sylvia Plath's poetry catalog falls under the literary genre of Confessional poetry.

According to the American poet and critic, Macha Rosenthal, Plath's poetry is confessional due to the way that she uses psychological shame and vulnerability, centers herself as the speaker, and represents the civilization she is living in.[1] Her husband, the poet Ted Hughes, has characterized her poems as having strong autobiographical elements, as well.[1]

According to scholar Parvin Ghasemi, Lady Lazarus is written in "light verse containing the intense desire to die and be born; it is a poem of personal pain, suffering, and revenge".[2] Light verse, in this context, refers to a Plathian style of writing. Ghasemi addresses this, by quoting English poet Al Alvarez when he states, "her trick is to tell this horror story in a verse form as insistently jaunty and ritualistic as a nursery rhyme".[2] Writer Eileen M. Aird has said of Plath's writing style, "[i]t is clear that Sylvia Plath's description of 'Daddy' and 'Lady Lazarus' as 'light verse' is descriptive of a mode which contrives a highly sophisticated blend of the ironic and the violent".[3]

German identity and World War II edit

Plath describes the speaker's oppression with the use of allusions and images invoking World War II-era Nazi Germany .[4] It is known as one of her "Holocaust poems", along with "Daddy" and "Mary's Song".[4]

Plath was the daughter of a German immigrant, Otto Plath, and an Austrian immigrant, Aurelia Plath. According to Plath's biographer Heather Clark, the first generation American poet felt a lot of pride around her German identity. This began to shift during World War II where Clark stipulates that she began feeling shame about her identity. "These questions suggest that Sylvia understood from a young age that the German identity she shared with her father was somehow dangerous- a secret source of shame".[5]

Holocaust imagery edit

The poem makes several references to the Holocaust through imagery such as "Bright as a Nazi lampshade," and in the last two stanzas:

Herr God, Herr Lucifer  

Beware

Beware.

Out of the ash

I rise with my red hair

And I eat men like air.[6]

Ghasemi writes that these stanzas address the deadliness of the Holocaust in general, but the burning of dead bodies that occurred in particular.[7]

The scholar Tegan Jane Schetrumpf also makes connections to the Holocaust, stating that, "Plath compares the merchandise of a miracle-performing saint to the remnants of Holocaust victims to emphasize that she is a relic of death, as postmodernist readers are relics of the Holocaust[.]"[8] And Plath biographer Clark has argued that Plath uses Holocaust imagery to designate a clear moral binary, while also distancing herself from her Germanness.[5]

Omissions edit

When compared to early manuscripts and the audio recording, the published version omits several lines of verse. When Plath recorded this poem for the BBC in London in October 1962, her version included a line after line 12 of the published version, "Do I terrify?" The recorded version goes on, "Yes, yes, Herr Professor, it is I. Can you deny?" Another line of "I think I may be Japanese" follows line 33 of the published poem, "I may be skin and bone."[9][10]

References to the phoenix edit

The poem alludes to the mythological bird called the phoenix.[11] The speaker describes her attempts at committing suicide not as failures, but as successful resurrections, like those described in the tales of the biblical character Lazarus and the myth of the phoenix. By the end of the poem, the speaker has transformed into a firebird, effectively marking her rebirth, which some critics liken to a demonic transformation.[12]

References edit

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b Uroff, M. D. (January 1977). "Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry: A Reconsideration". The Iowa Review. 8 (1): 104–115. doi:10.17077/0021-065x.2172. ISSN 0021-065X.
  2. ^ a b Ghasemi, Parvin (2008). "Violence, Rage, and Self-Hurt in Sylvia Plath's Poetry". CLA Journal. 51 (3): 292. ISSN 0007-8549. JSTOR 44325429.
  3. ^ Aird, Eileen (December 1979). "?Poem for a birthday? to ?Three women?: development in the poetry of Sylvia Plath". Critical Quarterly. 21 (4): 70. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8705.1979.tb01735.x. ISSN 0011-1562.
  4. ^ a b Fermaglich (2007), p. 14
  5. ^ a b Clark, Heather L. (28 September 2021). Red comet : the short life and blazing art of Sylvia Plath. ISBN 978-0-307-95126-7. OCLC 1231956674.
  6. ^ "Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath". Poetry Foundation. 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  7. ^ Ghasemi, Parvin (2008). "Violence, Rage, and Self-Hurt in Sylvia Plath's Poetry". CLA Journal. 51 (3): 284–303. ISSN 0007-8549. JSTOR 44325429.
  8. ^ Schetrumpf, Tegan Jane (2015). "Diminished but Never Dismissed: The Confessional Poetry of Sylvia Plath and Bruce Beaver". Antipodes. 29 (1): 117–127. doi:10.13110/antipodes.29.1.0117. ISSN 0893-5580. JSTOR 10.13110/antipodes.29.1.0117.
  9. ^ "BBC - Arts - Poetry: Out Loud".
  10. ^ Clark, Heather L. (28 September 2021). Red comet : the short life and blazing art of Sylvia Plath. p. 806. ISBN 978-0-307-95126-7. OCLC 1231956674.
  11. ^ Suiter Gentry (2006), p. 78
  12. ^ Britzolakis (1999), p. 155
Sources

January 01, 1970
lady, lazarus, this, article, about, plath, poem, 2008, novel, novel, episode, poem, written, sylvia, plath, originally, included, ariel, which, published, 1965, years, after, death, suicide, this, poem, commonly, used, example, writing, style, considered, pla. This article is about the Plath poem For the 2008 novel see Lady Lazarus novel For the Mad Men episode see Lady Lazarus Mad Men Lady Lazarus is a poem written by Sylvia Plath originally included in Ariel which was published in 1965 two years after her death by suicide This poem is commonly used as an example of her writing style It is considered one of Plath s best poems and has been subject to a plethora of literary criticism since its publication It is commonly interpreted as an expression of Plath s suicidal attempts and thoughts Contents 1 Structure 2 Genre 3 German identity and World War II 3 1 Holocaust imagery 4 Omissions 5 References to the phoenix 6 ReferencesStructure editThe poem is divided in twenty eight tercet stanzas and is written in free verse Genre edit Lady Lazarus and Sylvia Plath s poetry catalog falls under the literary genre of Confessional poetry According to the American poet and critic Macha Rosenthal Plath s poetry is confessional due to the way that she uses psychological shame and vulnerability centers herself as the speaker and represents the civilization she is living in 1 Her husband the poet Ted Hughes has characterized her poems as having strong autobiographical elements as well 1 According to scholar Parvin Ghasemi Lady Lazarus is written in light verse containing the intense desire to die and be born it is a poem of personal pain suffering and revenge 2 Light verse in this context refers to a Plathian style of writing Ghasemi addresses this by quoting English poet Al Alvarez when he states her trick is to tell this horror story in a verse form as insistently jaunty and ritualistic as a nursery rhyme 2 Writer Eileen M Aird has said of Plath s writing style i t is clear that Sylvia Plath s description of Daddy and Lady Lazarus as light verse is descriptive of a mode which contrives a highly sophisticated blend of the ironic and the violent 3 German identity and World War II editPlath describes the speaker s oppression with the use of allusions and images invoking World War II era Nazi Germany 4 It is known as one of her Holocaust poems along with Daddy and Mary s Song 4 Plath was the daughter of a German immigrant Otto Plath and an Austrian immigrant Aurelia Plath According to Plath s biographer Heather Clark the first generation American poet felt a lot of pride around her German identity This began to shift during World War II where Clark stipulates that she began feeling shame about her identity These questions suggest that Sylvia understood from a young age that the German identity she shared with her father was somehow dangerous a secret source of shame 5 Holocaust imagery edit The poem makes several references to the Holocaust through imagery such as Bright as a Nazi lampshade and in the last two stanzas Herr God Herr Lucifer BewareBeware Out of the ashI rise with my red hairAnd I eat men like air 6 Ghasemi writes that these stanzas address the deadliness of the Holocaust in general but the burning of dead bodies that occurred in particular 7 The scholar Tegan Jane Schetrumpf also makes connections to the Holocaust stating that Plath compares the merchandise of a miracle performing saint to the remnants of Holocaust victims to emphasize that she is a relic of death as postmodernist readers are relics of the Holocaust 8 And Plath biographer Clark has argued that Plath uses Holocaust imagery to designate a clear moral binary while also distancing herself from her Germanness 5 Omissions editWhen compared to early manuscripts and the audio recording the published version omits several lines of verse When Plath recorded this poem for the BBC in London in October 1962 her version included a line after line 12 of the published version Do I terrify The recorded version goes on Yes yes Herr Professor it is I Can you deny Another line of I think I may be Japanese follows line 33 of the published poem I may be skin and bone 9 10 References to the phoenix editThe poem alludes to the mythological bird called the phoenix 11 The speaker describes her attempts at committing suicide not as failures but as successful resurrections like those described in the tales of the biblical character Lazarus and the myth of the phoenix By the end of the poem the speaker has transformed into a firebird effectively marking her rebirth which some critics liken to a demonic transformation 12 References editFootnotes a b Uroff M D January 1977 Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry A Reconsideration The Iowa Review 8 1 104 115 doi 10 17077 0021 065x 2172 ISSN 0021 065X a b Ghasemi Parvin 2008 Violence Rage and Self Hurt in Sylvia Plath s Poetry CLA Journal 51 3 292 ISSN 0007 8549 JSTOR 44325429 Aird Eileen December 1979 Poem for a birthday to Three women development in the poetry of Sylvia Plath Critical Quarterly 21 4 70 doi 10 1111 j 1467 8705 1979 tb01735 x ISSN 0011 1562 a b Fermaglich 2007 p 14 a b Clark Heather L 28 September 2021 Red comet the short life and blazing art of Sylvia Plath ISBN 978 0 307 95126 7 OCLC 1231956674 Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath Poetry Foundation 2021 10 23 Retrieved 2021 10 24 Ghasemi Parvin 2008 Violence Rage and Self Hurt in Sylvia Plath s Poetry CLA Journal 51 3 284 303 ISSN 0007 8549 JSTOR 44325429 Schetrumpf Tegan Jane 2015 Diminished but Never Dismissed The Confessional Poetry of Sylvia Plath and Bruce Beaver Antipodes 29 1 117 127 doi 10 13110 antipodes 29 1 0117 ISSN 0893 5580 JSTOR 10 13110 antipodes 29 1 0117 BBC Arts Poetry Out Loud Clark Heather L 28 September 2021 Red comet the short life and blazing art of Sylvia Plath p 806 ISBN 978 0 307 95126 7 OCLC 1231956674 Suiter Gentry 2006 p 78 Britzolakis 1999 p 155 Sources Britzolakis Christina 1999 Sylvia Plath and the Theatre of Mourning Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 818373 9 Fermaglich Kirsten 2007 American Dreams and Nazi Nightmares Early Holocaust Consciousness and Liberal America 1957 1965 University Press of New England ISBN 978 1 58465 549 7 Gill Jo 2006 The Cambridge Companion to Sylvia Plath Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 84496 7 Runkel Anne 2009 Sylvia Plath s Lady Lazarus Cultural and Social Context GRIN Verlag ISBN 978 3 640 32902 1 Suiter Gentry Deborah 2006 The Art of Dying Suicide in the Works of Kate Chopin and Sylvia Plath Peter Lang ISBN 0 8204 2496 X Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lady Lazarus amp oldid 1177634716, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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