Lady Lazarus
Encyclopedia
"Lady Lazarus" is a poem written by Sylvia Plath
, originally collected in the posthumously published volume Ariel
, and is commonly used as an example of her writing style. Plath describes the speaker's oppression with the use of World War II
Nazi Germany
allusions and images. It is known as one of her "Holocaust poems", along with "Daddy
" and "Mary's Song". She develops a German image to denote Nazism and in turn, oppression. She accounts this connotation to the doctors in the poem, such as calling the doctor Herr Doktor, because they continue to bring her back to life when all she wants is to finally die. This is the speaker's third time facing death. She faces one every decade, the first one being an accident and the second a failed attempt at reaching death. At the end of the poem, when the speaker experiences the unwanted rebirth, she is represented by the image of a Phoenix, which is a mythical bird that is known to be burnt alive and then reborn in the ashes. This next decade will be different for the speaker because she plans to "eat" the men, or doctors, so that they cannot revive her next time she faces death.
When compared to early manuscripts, and more notably, the well-known 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 follows line 33 of the published poem, "I may be skin and bone" she continues, "I may be Japanese."
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
, originally collected in the posthumously published volume Ariel
Ariel (Plath)
Ariel was the second book of Sylvia Plath's poetry to be published, and was originally published in 1965, two years after her death by suicide. The poems in the 1965 edition of Ariel, with their free flowing images and characteristically menacing psychic landscapes, marked a dramatic turn from...
, and is commonly used as an example of her writing style. Plath describes the speaker's oppression with the use of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
allusions and images. It is known as one of her "Holocaust poems", along with "Daddy
Daddy (poem)
"Daddy" is a poem written by American poet Sylvia Plath. It was written on October 12, 1962, shortly before her death, and published posthumously in Ariel in 1965. The poem's implications and thematic concerns have been discussed academically with differing conclusions...
" and "Mary's Song". She develops a German image to denote Nazism and in turn, oppression. She accounts this connotation to the doctors in the poem, such as calling the doctor Herr Doktor, because they continue to bring her back to life when all she wants is to finally die. This is the speaker's third time facing death. She faces one every decade, the first one being an accident and the second a failed attempt at reaching death. At the end of the poem, when the speaker experiences the unwanted rebirth, she is represented by the image of a Phoenix, which is a mythical bird that is known to be burnt alive and then reborn in the ashes. This next decade will be different for the speaker because she plans to "eat" the men, or doctors, so that they cannot revive her next time she faces death.
When compared to early manuscripts, and more notably, the well-known 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 follows line 33 of the published poem, "I may be skin and bone" she continues, "I may be Japanese."