Lady Lazarus

Lady Lazarus, written by Slyvia Plath, has a dark feeling to the poem. Sylvia experienced suicidal period throughout her life which is manifested in the poem. Lady Lazarus, the name, is a biblical reference to the Book of John’s Lazarus of Bethany. In the Bible, Lazarus died and Jesus brought him back to life. This story is indicative of the poem’s understanding of someone who continues to try and die but is continuously brought back to life. Plath seems to be explaining her three suicide attempts in the poem and relating them to the Holocaust. She is comparing her life to the Jewish people in the Holocaust, explaining how horrible her life experiences have been. Her referral to the Holocaust and her comparison of her life to hell demonstrate how much of a depressed poet she really was. She views her attempts at death as a way for doctor’s to make money and those who try to save her as her enemy, saying that she disapproves of them. The last stanza of the poem is very interesting. She is basically saying that she is going to be reborn from ashes and finally free, like a phoenix. This reference is almost saying that she will live forever, and in death she will come back to life and eat her enemies “like air.” Overall, this poem was very depressed and gave a sense of how she felt as a person. It seemed almost like a cry for attention or help.