Lady Lazz Vic H

This poem is written in the form of a tercet. This tercet however lacks a consistent rhyming pattern and seems as if the form was chosen more contribute to pacing the reading of the poem.

In this poem Plath makes what seem to be biblical references. The title Lady Lazarus is the first reference to the bible. The name Lazarus appears twice in the in the new testament once in Luke and once in John. The first appearance of the name Lazarus refers to Lazarus the beggar who is poor and neglected by the rich man. Ultimately he ends up in a position where the rich man is begging him for a drop of water while being tormented by fire in hell. In the second appearance of the name Lazarus it is in John where Lazarus is dead and Jesus revives him from the dead four days later in a spectacular miracle.

Plath throughout the poem makes biblical references early on. In stanza two the first line she states “A sort of walking Miracle…” When read alone it has little meaning, but it is a small hint at an overall theme. The miracle is of biblical origin so it easily linked to other references in the poem. In stanza four she says “peel off the napkin” which can be compared to the story of Lazarus in John where after he was revived they had to take off the wrapping that he was in, in his tomb. In stanzas five and six Plath is describing a revival. She is describing her facial structure returning as well as her flesh and the disappearance of the bad breath that brought upon her because of the time she spent deceased. Amongst her description she uses a personification that makes it seem as if the cave is actually eating her by stating “ Soon, Soon the flesh/ The grave cave ate will be/ At home on me”

She continues the poem comparing herself to a cat having nine lives in the seventh stanza using a simile. She then informs the reader she is on her third life and reminds the reader that she dies once every ten years. Plath in stanza thirteen talks about a time where she meant to die and not come back. This makes believe that this poem is about failed suicide attempts. She talks about the pain, the scars and mentions the doctor in stanza twenty-two referring to him/her as her enemy and I would assume it is because he keeps her from achieving an absolute death by helping her. With the last five stanzas she talks about burning to ash. I believe she is making reference to the other Lazarus who was poor and the rich man who neglected him went to hell and burned. I believe that because she mentions so many items that signify wealth like pure gold, rings, and gold fillings and concludes by saying “herr Lucifer”.