Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath

Competencies for Literature
 Express Appreciation for Sensory Image Used.

 Determine the tone, mood, technique, and purpose of the author.
 Explain the figurative language used.
 Explain how a selection may be influenced by culture, history, environment, or other
factors.
Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath

I have done it again. Dying
One year in every ten, Is an art, like everything else.
I manage it. I do it exceptionally well.
A sort of walking miracle, my skin I do it so it feels like hell.

Bright as Nazi lampshade, I do it so it feels real.
My right foot. I guess you could say I’ve a call.
A paperweight, It’s easy enough to do it in a cell.

My face a featureless, fine It’s easy enough to do it and stay put.
Jew linen. It’s the theatrical.
Peel off the napkin, Comeback in broad day

My enemy. To the same place, the same face,
Do I terrify? the same brute amused shout:
The nose, the eye pits, the full set of “A miracle!”

teeth? That knocks me out.
The sour breath There is a charge
Will vanish in a day.
Soon, soon the flesh For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
The grave cave ate will be For the hearing of my heart
At home on me. It really goes.
And I a smiling woman. And there is a charge, a very large charge

I am only thirty. For a word or a touch
And like the cat I have nine times to die. Or a bit of blood
This is Number Three. Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.

What a trash So, so, Herr Doctor.
To annihilate each decade. So, Herr Enemy.
What a million filaments. I am your opus,

The peanut-crunching crowd I am your valuable,
Shoves in to see The pure gold baby.
Them unwrap me hand and foot That melts to a shriek.

The big strip tease. I turn and burn.
Gentlemen, ladies Do not think I underestimate your great
concern.
These are my hands Ash, ash

My knees. You poke and stir.
I may be skin and bone, Flesh, bone, there is nothing there.
Nevertheless, I am the same, identical A cake of soap,

woman. A wedding ring,
The first time it happened I was ten. A gold filling.
It was an accident.
The second time I meant Herr God, Herr Lucifer

To last it out and not come back at all. Beware
I rocked shut Beware.
As a seashell. Out of the ash

They had to call and call I rise with my red hair
And pick the worms off me like sticky And I eat men like air.
pearls.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are
and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis
The poem, Lady Lazarus is a bitter dramatic monologue, famous for the theme of
death. Lady Lazarus is described to real-life situation by the author herself. She paints a
clear picture of suicide with the use of imagery. It also highlights the role of power and
obsession. The poem details the tragic life of a lady and her several suicide attempts.
She says that she has tried to kill herself many times, but surprisingly survived every
time. She compares her suffering to Nazi prisoners to make the readers understand the
reason for her discontent.
This poem is an influence of the environment, psychologically speaking, Sylvia

Plath in real-life experienced sufferings from the people within her community. Since a
teenager, she was bullied in school. When she grew older, she experienced more pain
when some people are gossiping about her. From the beginning of the poem, we can
see a hint of what she does to herself every time she felt being alone and down.
Figurative Language Used:

 Simile – It is a device used to compare something using “like” or “as”.
“And like the cat I have nine times to die”
 Anaphora – It refers to the repetition of a word or expression.

“Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.
So, so, Herr Doktor.
So, Herr Enemy.”
 Metaphor – It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made

between two things.
“A sort of walking miracle, my skin; Bright as a Nazi lampshade”
What are some factors affecting the teaching of literature?
1. Students do not read novels.

- They do not seem to read voluntarily, making them unfamiliar with literature.
2. Students do not see it productive.

- They tend to focus more on watching films and movies.
3. Reading is time-consuming.
- They make this as conflict because they have other things to do.

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Competencies for Literature

 Express Appreciation for Sensory Image Used.

Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath

A sort of walking miracle, my skin I do it so it feels like hell.

A paperweight, It’s easy enough to do it in a cell.

Peel off the napkin, Comeback in broad day

The nose, the eye pits, the full set of “A miracle!”

And I a smiling woman. And there is a charge, a very large charge

This is Number Three. Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.

What a million filaments. I am your opus,

Them unwrap me hand and foot That melts to a shriek.

These are my hands Ash, ash

Nevertheless, I am the same, identical A cake of soap,

The second time I meant Herr God, Herr Lucifer

As a seashell. Out of the ash

This poem is an influence of the environment, psychologically speaking, Sylvia

Figurative Language Used:

 Anaphora – It refers to the repetition of a word or expression.

 Metaphor – It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made

1. Students do not read novels.

2. Students do not see it productive.

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