“Lady
Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath was an interesting poem to read. As I read this poem,
I felt disgusted and disturbed by the words I had just read. Many of Plath’s
poems are dark and eerie in a sense, but “Lady Lazarus” was the darkest of her poems I read. According to the footnote, Plath wrote this poem based on
her attempts of suicide. She relates her attempts with the Bible story of Jesus
raising Lazarus from the dead, and believes that to live now is to rise from
the dead (Nelson 988). I found Plath’s connection to the resurrection of
Lazarus interesting. “Lady Lazarus” is not the first poem to make biblical
references, and reading through her poems made me wonder about her views of
Christianity and God. From the poem one can see that this is also not her first
attempt at suicide, but “This is Number Three.” Plath’s theme of suicide
creates a dark, heaviness to her poem. Death is not something Plath is
uncomfortable talking about, but in some strange way, death is almost a comrade
of Plath’s. Plath writes,
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 so real.
I
guess you could say I have a call.
I am making the
assumption that the speaker of the poem is Plath because of the footnote that
said Plath wrote this poem about her suicide attempts. I found the end of
Plath’s poem troubling because even after the speaker (Plath), is dead, she
continues to speak to those “poking her ash.” Plath declares she will rise
again and warns that she will “eat men like air.” There is a bitter tone to the
end of Plath’s poem. Is there someone or something that is torturing Plath? I
know she had some psychological issues, but what caused her to write such a
poem? Is Plath really a Jew, or does she just associate herself as one in her
poetry to show the depths of her pain? Is this a forewarning for her further
attempts at suicide? I feel as if my words do not do justice to the pain and
sorrow of this poem. I
cannot even imagine someone using another person’s skin for a lampshade, or
turning someone’s body into a bar of soap. This poem goes far beyond my
capacity to understand this type of hurt and pain, and even though Plath’s poem
was disturbing to read, after reading the poem I felt that I did not feel
disturbed enough. What a tough poem.
From most of Plath’s poems, one can
see that death was closer to Plath than life. I know Plath tried to take her
life multiple times, and eventually did commit suicide, but I wonder what she
would have said about life in general. I found a poem through one of the blogs
I follow and the poem is titled “a proper life.” Here is the poem:
cat
on the hearth
dog
at the door
boots
at the stoop
cows
at the stile
thick
coffee mugs
coat
on the nail
chores
to be done
eggs
in the barn
hutch
full of china
rugs
on the floor
teacups
of light
thin
as a veil
beds
deep & wide
feathers
and down
done
with the work
stars
after dark
“a proper life” is a stark contrast of Plath’s “Lady Lazarus.” Both poems carry
the theme of life, but Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” reveals the emptiness and pain of
life, whereas “a proper life” portrays life as full and bountiful. This poem
characterizes a good life by the presence of cats and dogs, the comfort of
someone’s coat on a nail maybe signifying the presence of people being at home,
a plentiful supply of “eggs in the barn,” the business of chores, and a nice
bed and a beautiful stars to end the day. This poem portrays life as comforting
and peaceful. There is fullness and what seems like little pain and trouble.
Maybe someone is dreaming of this “picture perfect life,” and envisions this
type of comfort and bounty, as the “proper” way life should be. Where “a proper
life” is light and cozy, Plath’s work is heavy laden with pain and depression.
There is a definite contrast of life between these two poems, and quite honestly, both seem unimaginable.
