Lady Lazarus Analysis - Academic Mode

Lady Lazarus
by Sylvia Plath

I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it——

A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot

A paperweight,
My face a featureless, fine
Jew linen.

Peel off the napkin
my enemy.
Do I terrify?——

The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth?
The sour breath
Will vanish in a day.

Soon, soon the flesh
The grave cave ate will be
At home on me

And I a smiling woman.
I am only thirty.
And like the cat I have nine times to die.

This is Number Three.
What a trash
To annihilate each decade.

What a million filaments.
The peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see

Them unwrap me hand and foot——
The big strip tease.
Gentlemen, ladies

These are my hands
My knees.
I may be skin and bone,

Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman.
The first time it happened I was ten.
It was an accident.

The second time I meant
To last it out and not come back at all.
I rocked shut

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.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I’ve a call.

It’s easy enough to do it in a cell.
It’s easy enough to do it and stay put.
It’s the theatrical

Comeback in broad day
To the same place, the same face, the same brute
Amused shout:

‘A miracle!’
That knocks me out.
There is a charge

For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
For the hearing of my heart——
It really goes.

And there is a charge, a very large charge
For a word or a touch
Or a bit of blood

Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.
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.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.

Ash, ash—
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there——

A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.

Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.

Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.

Summary of Lady Lazarus
Popularity of "Lady Lazarus": This poem was written by Sylvia Plath, a great American poet and storyteller. 'Lady Lazarus' is a bitter dramatic monologue, famous for the themes of death and oppression. 1965, two years after her death by suicide. The poem hints at the tormented speaker's multiple suicide attempts. It also highlights the role of power and oppression in one's life. The poem also expresses the ideas of not giving up and resurrection. "Lady Lazarus" as representative of death: the poem details the tragic life of a lady and hers several suicide attempts by her. She says that she has tried to commit suicide many times, but surprisingly she survived every time. She asks those who saved her from removing the napkin from her face and seeing her wounded soul from her. She compares her suffering to Nazi prisoners so that readers understand the reason for her discontent. As the poem progresses, provide graphic details of the physical and mental effects of suicide. She attacks her doctors and those who take her as an object of entertainment. She concludes by calling herself a phoenix, rising from the ashes. In "Lady Lazarus": Death, depression, pain and power are the main themes of this poem. The discouraged speaker talks about her failed suicide attempts and gives reasons for her resentment. She also expresses her anger for those who saved her from dying. Despite all her efforts to die, she survived. She continually affirms the idea that she is being used as an object of entertainment. She regrets that her actions are seen as an act of fun, rather than empathy. Also, people, with her false sympathies, are contributing more to her pain, and not allowing her to be free.
Analysis of the literary devices used in "Lady Lazarus"
Literary devices are tools that writers use to express their emotions, ideas and themes and to make the text attractive to readers. Sylvia Plath has also used some literary devices in this poem to narrate it. failed suicide attempts. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem is presented below.

Simil: It is a device that is used to compare something with something else to clarify the meanings to the readers. For example, "And like the cat, I have nine times to die." Here the poet is compared to a cat that can survive a tragic fall.
Anaphora: Refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, 'Thus' is repeated in the twenty-second stanza of the poem to emphasize point.
“Either a lock of my hair or my clothes.
So, then, Herr Doktor.
So Herr Enemy. ”

Enjambment: It is defined as a thought or clause that does not end in a line break; instead, go to the next line. For example,
"The second time I wanted to say
Let it last and not come back at all." “Annihilate each decade” is hyperbole and no one can destroy or erase time.
Metaphor: It is a rhetorical figure in which an implicit comparison is made between objects that are of different nature. For example, “A kind of walking miracle, my skin; Shining like a Nazi lampshade. "Here he compares his suffering to prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.
Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of / a / in "And there is a burden, a very large burden."
Images: Images are used to make readers perceive things that engage their five senses. For example, “The nose, the nostrils, the complete teeth”, “To the same place, the same face, the same brute” and “Or a lock of my hair or my clothes.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Lady Lazarus”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry.Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some verses and lines.There are twenty-eight three-lined stanzas in this poem.
Tercet: A tercet is a three-lined stanza borrowed from Hebrew poetry.All the stanzas in the poem is a tercet.
End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious.For example, “hair/air”, “burn/concern” and “out/shout.”
Quotes to be Used
The lines below can be used to encourage people who are losing hope.Here the creature that is out of the ash is a phoenix.This can be used to say that anyone can emerge victorious after a difficult time.

“From the ashes
I rise with my red hair.