Plath's Suicide: Considering Lazarus
(English Literature for BS English, M.A English, and competitive exams)
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Born on October 27, 1932, in Boston, Sylvia Plath mainly wrote
confessional poetry. Plath's life was marked by periods of severe depression
and multiple suicide attempts. The death of her father and betrayal of her
husband forced her into a state of paranoia and motivated her to write poems
about her sufferings. In the poem, Lady Lazarus, Plath employs the character
of Lady Lazarus to echo the poet's self as a way of expressing her mania
towards death and suicide. The character of Lady Lazarus attempts to
commit suicide every decade. However, each time Herr Doctor revives her
and portrays her like the biblical Lazarus and a walking miracle. Through out
the poem Lady Lazarus struggles to regain control over her proclaimed art
of dying and becomes stronger as the poem progresses. Plath uses
figurative language, most specifically allusions to both the bible and to the
holocaust, as well as metaphors of her mental illness and instability to
illustrate her growing obsession with death and foreshadow her third attempt
at suicide.
Ever since her first attempt at suicide in 1953, Plalong-stayed a “long
standing” interest in the biblical story of Lazarus. In this poem, Plath uses
allusion to the biblical story of John's Lazarus of Bethany to juxtapose the
character of Lady Lazarus with the the the the bthe the the theziblical
Lazarus and character of Herr Doktor with Jesus. In the story of Lazarus of
Bethany, Jesus astonishingly raises Lazarus from the dead. Similarly, Lady
Lazarus is revived by Herr Doktor from each subsequent suicide attempt.
However, when Jesus the raised Lazarus from dead, not only was it to
advertise God's power but it was also beneficial to both Lazarus and the
spectators who were given hope of immortal life. In contrast, when Her
Doctor revives Lady Lazarus he is interfering with Lady Lazarus's proclaimed
art of dying. Herr Doctor is actually establishing dominance over her which
she must fight to regain control over her life. He is creating power struggle
between them which leads to Lady Lazarus's obsession with death and
suicide. As Theresa Collins points out, "'Lady Lazarus' can be interpreted as
