Depression And Suicide Poetry Analysis

The 1950’s for American citizens carried great numbers of depression and anxiety resulting in increased suicide rates particularly after the World War. Depression of the time was especially seen in women because even though they valued their role as a housewife, it was often overwhelming as they were generally mistreated and left feeling miserable. They had no control over their marriage and in some instances the husband may have had numerous affairs whilst still married, increasing the risk of developing depression. Unfortunately, over the decades, suicide has sadly become more prevalent occurring everywhere in the world to people of all age groups, it is a serious topic because it accounts for more deaths than a lot of other fatal diseases. Depression and suicide poems are constantly surfacing, fortunately they provide meaningful

In line 21, being both a hyperbole and simile “and like a cat I have nine times to die” emphasizes the idea that pain and death could be endured relentlessly, along with the dark idea that Plath feels because of previous suicide attempts. She continues to use similes ‘as a seashell’ and ‘pick the worms off me like sticky pearls’ to compare herself to a pearl which is coupled with enjambment to lead the audience to assume that she will continue to speak in a depressed tone.

The final level in “lady Lazarus” in which Plath impacts the reader is the emphasis on what depression does to the victim’s mind. Describing the values that she feels metaphorically and what she is feeling “I am your opus, I am your valuable. The pure gold baby”, she is speaking about what she feels like as a person. “Do not think I underestimate your great concern”, shows irony as she knows that the Nazi’s weren’t concerned for the Jews so why would they care about the women feeling