The poetess applies this unpleasant metaphor to express compassion for those who have experienced the horror of concentration camps.įascism in Sylvia Plath’s poems also served as a quintessence of the previously described problems. The heroine compares her body to the Nazi lampshade, hinting at the fact that Nazis often used the skin of Jews to make lampshades. The text is imbued with German themes and lexicon: Herr, Nazi lampshade, and Jew linen. The strong desire for death in the poem is further reinforced by references to mass genocide against the Jewish population. They are not intended to satisfy carnal interests, but rather to serve as an allegory to the horror of medical experiments on Jews during the Holocaust (Novkinić 166). When analyzing the poem, the importance of the parts of a woman’s body that are described cannot be underestimated. “Lady Lazarus” is not only a poem exposing depressing thoughts but also an assertion of how an influential male figure can usurp the creative forces of the poetess, but will ultimately be defeated by the rebirth. It is enough to go beyond the standard comprehension of the poem to understand that the lines are devoted not so much to the triumphant resurrection of the heroine as to her conflict with the patriarchal standing of the world (Narbeshuber 185). In this sense, it seems that each new coming of the heroine after unsuccessful suicides makes her stronger and more determined. In the end of the poem, having resurrected, the heroine will absorb men like air. This righteous anger is used to describe the loneliness and abandonment of the female character. This comparison is justified: the author presents a woman who has just risen from the dead, like the Phoenix bird, whose goal is to imprison all those around her (Novkinić 172). The lyrical heroine, after yet another suicide attempt, is now reborn through an act of self-immolation, like the Phoenix bird.

The poem “Lady Lazarus” appeals to both sides of the ambiguous but brilliant personality of Plath, dancing with death and denying death. Of course, the author is critical of those people who do not come to the rescue but only look and satisfy their curiosity. The lines of the poem describe the crowd, greedily crunching on peanuts, while the heroine is dying (Narbeshuber 185). Consequently, the performance requires viewers, especially those who are eagerly awaiting such an outcome for the heroine. However, according to the author’s words, “Dying is an art…” (Plath). The reader observes the periodically changing stories of Lady Lazarus’ life and death. The girl’s second life is more detailed: it was a deliberate suicide, but it was not completed, and the girl was rescued. According to them, the first death occurred by chance, in childhood, when the girl was nine years old. Finishing the third life, the poetess in the following lines describe the brief history of the previous two. Each of these nine lives ends in a suicide attempt. Plath compares herself to a cat and writes, “And like the cat, I have nine times to die” (Plath). Known for her suicidal thoughts, the poetess Sylvia Plath continues the theme of death in this poem.

Indeed, the lines describing the tragic fate are permeated with shadows, but the general tone of the poem is life-affirming. This can be traced from the poem’s name to the last part, where the protagonist rises from the ashes completely burned in the fire. The subject matter of the poem refers instead to the question of the transformation of a strong personality.

The title of the poem speaks for itself: Sylvia Plath was inspired by the biblical story of Lazarus’ resurrection. It is enough to look at the title to understand what the author wanted to convey. It may seem that the only message the author has put into this poem is the idea of suicide, but this is a mistake.

Lady lazarus sylvia plath