A Common Theme Of Death Emerges - 1518 Words

Throughout Sylvia Plath’s poetry, a common theme of Death emerges. The poem, â€Å"Lady Lazarus†, is the epitome of this theme. Plath grew up with the realities of death in the forefront because of her father’s passing at a young age and her struggles with at least one mental illness. After numerous suicide attempts, Plath eventually succumbed to her depression and killed herself in 1963 at thirty years old. According to a letter regarding a possible BBC Broadcast sent to her mother, Plath wrote, â€Å"The speaker is a woman who has the great and terrible gift of being reborn. The only trouble is, she has to die first. She is the phoenix, the libertarian spirit, what you will. She is also just a good, plain, very resourceful woman† (Appendix II,†¦show more content†¦The speaker relates the struggles she has been facing to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. These representations of her struggles are very strong, especially when the shor t length of time between the horrific event and the writing of this poem (roughly thirty years after the end of the Holocaust) are considered. Though we are not sure exactly what struggles are being faced by the speaker, a vivid picture is painted with these comparisons. Here is also where I initially get the idea that the speaker has no control over the events that have happened to her and have led her to feel this way. The only small amount of control she can exert is by explaining her feelings in such and extreme way to further the pain she is feeling. Slowly throughout the poem, certain stanzas and phrases provide insight as to what her struggles are. In the fifth and sixth stanza, the speaker explains: â€Å"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† (Plath, 16-21). In these two stanzas, it is clear that Lady Lazarus is not disturbed by death or anything that is related to it. She welcomes the dead flesh of her grave to her body, and yet, she is still a smiling woman. This gives the impression that, unlike typical feelings of death, the speaker’s struggles stemShow MoreRelatedDisparity Between Passion of the Christ and the Bible Essay1477 Words   |  6 Pagescrucifixion and death. One of the most anticipated and popular religious movies in modern society, it therefore becomes susceptible to criticism. Although the film is based upon the stories within the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are many exaggerations and non-biblical elements present in the movie. 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