Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” speaks of Plath’s failed suicide attempts and the concept of death. The poem itself is extremely personal and terribly dark. Through diction, figurative language and tone Plath is able to convey the idea in which she is a female version of Lazarus, hence the title of her poem, criticizing how society has treated her and her own self-portrait. Right off the bat, Plath masks the theme of death. In the first tercet Plath confesses that she has “done it again” and every ten years manages “it”, she never specifically addresses what this action is until later in the piece but instead sets the overall theme, which is death; both figurative and literal.
Sylvia Plath was an American author and poet born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 27, 1932. She is most recognised for her only novel The Bell Jar, and became the first person to receive a post-mortem Pulitzer Prize. Plath began writing by keeping a journal at a young age, after publishing several entries she won a scholarship to Smith College in 1950 (“Sylvia Plath Biography”). While studying, Sylvia Plath was accepted as a guest editor at Mademoiselle magazine in New York. Despite the successful career, Plath’s personal life was not as positive.
Some of her poems included “Aftermath,” “Lorelei,” and “All Appearance.” She used many types of figurative language to convey the message of the poem. Sylvia Plath was a expressional poet who used writing positive messages as a way to cope with life’s ups and
What caused Sylvia Plath to commit suicide in such a way? How did the sun exist and manage to light up the whole galaxy? What will happen to the world if a country as powerful as America declare wars on Islamic countries and have other Western countries at its disposal? My young mind was full of wondering and seeking. My young mind was searching for something to call the truth, the absolute ugly truth.
Lazarus of Bethany is a biblical character featured in the book of John and the Bible says: "The sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that son of God, might be glorified thereby. "() “Lady Lazarus” is the speaker of the whole poem and as well as the biblical Lazarus, who died and was resurrected by Jesus, and the character of Esther, she keeps dying (or more likely trying to die) and coming back to life. Within the first three lines of the poem, Plath sends a message to the reader, foreshadowing the atmosphere. She simply proclaims that she has nearly died three times: "I have done it again. / One year in every ten / I manage it ----" (1-3).
In the Lady Lazarus, Sylvia Plath demonstrates an allusion between her life and the Holocaust; the mass murder of some European Jews by the German Nazi regime during the Second World War. Jews were a less important race, an alien threat to German racial purity and community, to the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Plath makes a parallel with her emotional suffering to the jews physical suffering and deaths. By doing this she incarnates their hardship to her own. For example, she describes her face as a “Nazi lampshade” and as a “jew linen”.
Lady of Shalott could also represent a taboo subject, that once it is divulged, it attracts social repercussions, meaning her death. Her death may be seen as a warring for all the untraditional points of view. Sir Lancelot is a symbol for temptation and lustful desires, as he had an affair with Queen Guinevere. Being allured by the shadow of Sir Lancelot, Lady of Shalott forgets about the curse and looks down to Camelot. After being ideologue with purity and chastity, she brakes free from her established destiny and is caught by the moment, which was an immoral thing to do for a woman in that
Richard Puz once said, “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” Throughout The Book Thief, this idea is portrayed through the life of Liesel, a young German girl living during the reign of Hitler. The many deaths of her loved ones began to construe her character as strong and fearless at a young age. In the novel, Liesel loses her biological family, her Jewish friend Max, and the people of Himmel Street. All the loss has left Liesel distraught and their lasting memories help her develop into a well-rounded character. Liesel’s loss of her biological family was an aid in developing the person she would become.
The Descent to a Schizophrenic Hell The Bell Jar was originally published in 1963 but Sylvia Plath released the novel under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas in order to protect those whom she discusses in her story in fictionalized terms. It is the only novel written by Plath and is semi-autobiographical in nature where the protagonists’ mental illness is a parallel to the novelists’ own experiences with clinical depression. Sylvia Plath’s depression can be recounted back to the death of her father. During the summer of her junior year at Smith College, having returned from a stay at new York City where she had been a student guest “editor” Sylvia nearly succeeded in killing herself by swallowing sleeping pills. Later on, after a period of recovery involving electroshock and psychotherapy she resumed her academic pursuit and went on to win a Fulbright scholarship to study at Cambridge.
After spending time at two separate privately-run facilities for mentally ill women, on the morning of her departure interview, the novel comes to an abrupt end. In a “biographical note” included at the end of the novel, we learn that Sylvia Plath committed suicide rather abruptly in her own life, at a similar moment in time when everything seemed to be looking up. This novel was published shortly before Plath’s own