I chose to respond to the poem Lady Lazarus, by Sylvia Plath. My reason for choosing this poem is because the author has completely taken my mind and played with it. I took some time to do some research on the author and it gave me a better light to view the poem, as well as making it more interesting to me. Sylvia Plath engaged the poem with her mental illness and multiple suicide attempts. Along with the possibility of using the Holocaust as a theme in the poem, to represent the trauma and pain in greater imagination (because everyone remembers how horrific the Holocaust was) She is, in my opinion, writing about herself. This poem caught my eye because of the detail and the tone that she sets in the poem. She speaks of how many times she has attempted this suicide. It feels as though she is almost bragging on her attempts as well.
“A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,”
“Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.”
When she speaks of the Nazi lampshade could she be talking about the rumors of the Nazi’s using human skin as a shade? Also when referring to death as an art, could she think that like an artist you can make death a creative beauty? There is so many different ways to look at this poem and that is what amused me. I like to be able to really think of what the true meaning of this could be with the different ways she brings imagination to the table. Her words she uses in this are most interesting as well to me: God and Lucifer in the same line as well as Doktor and Enemy. The way that she brings in a crematory with the details of ash and finding a wedding ring or a gold filling gives the impression that she has succeeded in her attempt.
Works Cited
Plath, Sylvia. "Lady Lazarus." Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Sep 2011.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI too saw the references to the Holocaust and wondered at her meaning. I like how you pointed out the importance of the opposites God and Lucifer, doctor and enemy. I had noticed them, but you helped me to realize that there could be some significance to them.
With your thesis that the poem is about herself, what do you think of her warning in the last two stanzas?
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. For myself, I find it rather interesting of her references to Jews and Nazis. Plath has done that in a lot of her writing, and her references are also explicit. I find her uses of symbols and associations to things of emotional or "metaphysical" value (Doktor and God and Lucifer and enemy) are meant to evoke a personal response.
I also appreciate that you did look up Plath and discover her past, as I think, although we are to respond to the POEM, it helps ot undersdand where the author wsas coming from.
Good job on your analysis. the first two things that caught my attention in this poem was her references to Nazis and Jews. my grandmother was a holocaust survivor, so that was eye catching. I also related to the fact that her poem was about suicide and depression. I think most people can relate to this because depression happens to most of us at least once in our lives. I think that my most favorite imagery in the poem is her reference to how she is like a phoenix. Even though this is a very dark poem, I find a lot of beauty in her descriptive words. I also do think that it was a good thing to research the writer a bit. There are so many ways to interpret this poem, and knowing a little about Sylvia Plath before had can help in interpretation. I also chose this poem because I am a fan of Plath, and I find her as a person most intriguing.
ReplyDeleteVery nice job! I personally had a hard time interpreting the meaning of the poem. I am a very analytical person, so interpreting something so abstract does not come easily. You made some very interesting connections with the references to phrases such as the Nazi lampshade. I also like that you researched the author; I can see how that made the connections easier to make. Finally, I like your visual; this helps to put an interesting ending to her "success".
ReplyDeleteLindsey,
ReplyDeleteI Liked your view on this poem. I found it to be interesting though dark. When I read it, it makes me a bit sad because I can picture some of the things that she wrote about and I can understand why you think she can be referring to the Holocaust.
I agree Lindsey, Plath had the speaker brag about her suicide attempt and in my mind felt her accidental near death experience warranted her continued fascination with death. I kept seeing the helplessness of the those who dies as part of the Holocaust, the helplessness they felt and the despair of that experience and almost despised the Speaker for comparing her suffering to those who suffered there.
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