Analysis of Oppression and Death in Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus

Sylvia Plath's poem "Lady Lazarus" delves into themes of oppression and death through the use of powerful imagery and allusions to Nazi Germany. The speaker in the poem expresses a complex relationship with death, portrayed as an art they excel at. The references to World War II and the Holocaust add layers of meaning to the poem, highlighting the speaker's struggles and desires. Plath's impactful portrayal of defiance and rebirth captivates readers, leaving them to ponder the intricate nature of life and mortality.

• Sylvia Plath
• Lady Lazarus
• Oppression
• Death
• Nazi Germany

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1. Lady Lazarus September 18, 2014

2. Sylvia Plath(1935) poet and novelist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. She mar ried Ted Hughes in 1956. After teaching in America she an d Hughes returned to England in 1959. Her first volume of poetry, The Colossus, appeared in 1960, and in 1963 her only novel The Bell Jar. Less than a month after its publication she committed suicide in London.

3. Lady Lazarus Plath describes the speaker's oppression with the use of World War II Nazi Germany allusions and images. She develops a German image to denote Nazism and in t urn, oppression. She accounts this connotation to the doc tors in the poem, such as calling the doctor Herr Doktor, because they continue to bring her back to life when all s he wants is to finally die. At the end of the poem, she is represented by the image of a phoenix. This next decade will be different for the sp eaker because she plans to "eat" the men, or doctors, so t hey cannot revive her next time she faces death.

4. Paradox of Death As a seashell./ They had to call and call/ And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls. Dying/ Is an art, like everything else./I do it exceptionally well

5. My Dying, a Victim of Holocaust So, so, Herr Doktor./ So, Herr Enemy./ I am your opus,/ I am your valuable,/ The pure gold baby/ That melts to a shriek./I turn and burn.

6. Authors Imaginary Victory over Nazi(Men) Out of the ash I rise with my red hair And I eat men like air.