The poem is quite graphic with violent imagery, and very detailed metaphors about Nazi's. The poem relates Plath's journey of forgiving her father. She casts herself as a victim and him as several figures, including a Nazi, vampire, devil, and finally, as a resurrected figure her husband, whom she has also had to kill. The poem projects the feelings of rage, despair, sadness, and fear. The language used, imagery in the language, metaphors, and poetic meter all work together to create these feelings. .
"Lady Lazarus" is a poem commonly understood to be about suicide, written before Sylvia's death in 1962. The poem is spoken by Lady Lazarus, who is presumed to be Sylvia herself. The narrator begins by saying she has "done it again." Every ten years, she manages to commit this unnamed act. She believes that "Dying Is an art, like everything else," and that she does it very well. Each time, "it feels real," and is easy for her. The poem refers to the mythological bird called the phoenix. The narrator describes her unsuccessful efforts at committing suicide not as letdowns, but as successful revivals, like those described in the tales of the biblical character Lazarus and the myth of the phoenix. By the end of the poem, the speaker has transformed into a firebird, successfully marking her rebirth. "Lady Lazarus" is a dark poem originally published in the collection Ariel. It is considered one of Plath's greatest poems, and has been subject to criticism since its publication. It is mainly interpreted as an expression of Plath's suicidal attempts and desires. However, like many of Plath's poems, the Holocaust imagery has drawn much attention from critics and readers.
There are many common themes in Sylvia's writing, and I will be comparing the poems "Lady Lazarus" and "Daddy". These two poems have been said to have common aspects, and that should actually be read together.
