Nova Zhang
Sylvia Plath's poem 'Lady Lazarus' is written in free verse, allowing her to experiment with form and structure and focus on vivid imagery and language to create an emotional impact. The poem explores death, rebirth, and the endurance of suffering, drawing parallels to the biblical figure of Lazarus. Plath's use of diction, imagery, and sound is crucial in conveying the speaker's complex and ironic tone, which obscures her anguish and mental distress. The sounds and rhyme schemes in the poem contribute to its overall tone and impact, with some lines chiming together in full rhyme and others creating dissonance through irregular patterns. The speaker's attitude towards death is a central theme, with Plath's word choices and imagery revealing a bitter and unenthusiastic perspective. Thus, sound plays a significant role in shaping the poem's meaning and emotional power.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Form | Free verse |
| Rhyme scheme | Irregular |
| Themes | Death, rebirth, endurance of suffering, mental illness, suicide, pressure to perform |
| Tone | Defiant, perverse, grotesque, ironic, bitter, depressing |
| Speaker | Single speaker with different personas |
| Perspective | First-person (stanzas 1–8), third-person (stanzas 9–11), first-person (stanzas 12–19) |
| Content | Biblical allusions, Holocaust imagery, Jewish identity, suicide attempts, resurrection |
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What You'll Learn
Rhyme and rhythm
"Lady Lazarus" by Sylvia Plath is a free verse poem, meaning it lacks a consistent meter or rhyme scheme. However, some lines in the poem rhyme, creating a faint harmony and dissonance through irregular sets of full and slant rhyme. For example, the first two lines of the poem rhyme: "I have done it again./One year in every ten".
The poem also uses end-stopping, with pauses between each separate line, such as in the famous opening lines: "I have done it again./One year in every ten./I manage it—a sort of walking miracle". This technique is used in other stanzas as well, such as stanzas 12, 16, 22, and 24.
The use of rhyme and rhythm in "Lady Lazarus" contributes to the overall tone and themes of the poem. The speaker's attitude towards death is revealed through Plath's use of poetic devices, including diction, imagery, and sound. The irregular rhyme and rhythm in the poem reflect the speaker's unstable mental state and her anguish and despair.
The title "Lady Lazarus" itself is ironic, suggesting that the speaker is a female version of a male archetype, alluding to the biblical figure of Lazarus who was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. This regeneration or resurrection is a central theme in the poem, as the speaker narrates her struggles with mental illness, suicide, and pressure to perform for an audience.
The rhyme and rhythm in "Lady Lazarus" also contribute to the visceral and emotional impact of the poem. Plath's use of free verse allows her to experiment with form and structure, focusing on vivid imagery and language to create a powerful and intimate portrait of the speaker's inner turmoil.
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Tone and irony
The tone of "Lady Lazarus" by Sylvia Plath is complex and multifaceted. The speaker in the poem adopts a defiant, perverse, and grotesque tone, with hints of theatrical bravado and even comedy. This tone is achieved through various poetic devices, including diction, imagery, and repetition, which collectively emphasise the speaker's attitude towards death.
The poem is written in free verse, lacking a consistent meter, rhyme scheme, or sound pattern. However, some lines chime together with full rhyme, while others contain irregular sets of full and slant rhyme, creating faint harmony and dissonance throughout the poem. Plath's experimentation with form and structure allows her to focus on vivid imagery and language, creating a visceral and emotional impact on the reader.
The title "Lady Lazarus" itself is ironic. By adding the word “lady” before "Lazarus," Plath creates a female version of a male archetype, alluding to the biblical figure Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. This irony is further emphasised in the poem, where the speaker, a woman, compares herself to Lazarus, suggesting her ability to rise from the dead.
The speaker's attitude towards death is a crucial aspect of the poem's tone. While the speaker's tone appears happy or unenthusiastic at first glance, a closer examination reveals a bitter and depressing undertone. The speaker has attempted suicide on three occasions, and the frustration and rage of her unsuccessful attempts fuel the bitter irony prevalent in the poem.
The speaker's diction, or word choice, also reveals her attitude towards death. For example, the first line, "I have done it again," suggests disappointment and sadness. The speaker's comparison of herself to a Holocaust victim and her references to Nazi imagery further emphasise her outlook on death and her struggles with mental illness, suicide, and the pressure to perform for an audience.
In conclusion, the tone of "Lady Lazarus" is shaped by the speaker's attitude towards death, expressed through poetic devices such as diction, imagery, and sound. The irony and bitterness that characterise the poem arise from the speaker's frustrated and enraged attempts to cope with a distressed mental state and her desire for death.
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Biblical references
The title of Sylvia Plath's poem "Lady Lazarus" is a reference to Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Martha and Mary, who lived near Jerusalem. Lazarus is a figure mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible. According to the Gospel of John, Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus, an event considered one of the great miracles of Jesus, as it convinced many Jews of his power.
The poem's speaker identifies with Lazarus, claiming this identity with irony. The speaker resurrects, like Lazarus, and is also a self-proclaimed Jew. The word ""miracle" is used twice in the poem, alluding to Lazarus's resurrection. The speaker's skin is compared to "a Nazi lampshade", seized from a Nazi concentration camp, where the skin of murdered prisoners was used to make lampshades. This dehumanising comparison implies that the speaker belongs to a group marginalised by the Nazi regime.
The poem also contains references to the Book of Genesis, with the speaker being a "lady" version of Lazarus, echoing how Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs.
The biblical references in the poem contribute to its exploration of death, rebirth, and the endurance of suffering. The speaker's identification with Lazarus highlights their shared experience of resurrection and overcoming death.
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The speaker's identity
The speaker in "Lady Lazarus" by Sylvia Plath is a thirty-year-old woman who has attempted suicide three times, with the third attempt having just taken place. The speaker's identity is marked by her inability to die and her subsequent resurrections, which draw a parallel to the biblical character Lazarus, who was resurrected by Jesus. This speaker is put on display for an audience, who watches her death and destruction, only to proclaim her return as a "miracle".
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Male characters
The title "Lady Lazarus" is an allusion to the biblical figure Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. By adding the prefix "Lady", Plath creates a female version of a male archetype. This irony is characteristic of the poem's tone, which also draws on the grotesque, the perverse, and the comedic. The speaker's tone is shaped by their anguish and despair, which are caused by an unspecified emotional instability.
The poem's speaker, believed to be Plath herself, compares her suffering to that of Jews and other marginalised groups in concentration camps during the Nazi regime. The speaker's tone towards death is unenthusiastic and depressing, and she expresses contempt for the doctors who bring her back to life. The male doctors are referred to with German words like "Herr Doktor" and "Herr Enemy", relating to Plath's German father.
The poem's final stanza emphasises regeneration, as the speaker, having been burnt to ash, rises like a phoenix. The speaker's power to be reborn is a demonstration of female empowerment, as she vows to "eat men like air". This interpretation suggests that the male characters in the poem represent oppressive forces that the speaker must overcome through her resurrection.
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Frequently asked questions
The title is an allusion to the biblical figure Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. This reference to resurrection sets the tone and theme of the poem, which explores the speaker's struggles with mental illness, suicide, and rebirth.
"Lady Lazarus" is written in free verse, lacking a consistent meter or rhyme scheme. However, Plath employs irregular sets of full and slant rhyme, creating a faint harmony and dissonance through sound combinations. This use of sound, along with diction, imagery, and repetition, emphasizes the speaker's bitter and depressed attitude towards death.
The speaker's different personas reflect the complex and shifting tones of the poem. The poem progresses through various perspectives, from the speaker's internal struggles to external influences, such as dominant male figures. This dynamic narrative style enhances the themes of mental anguish, irony, and regeneration.
