The Unimaginable Life and the Unfathomable Death

“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.