Lady lazarus

Question 1

Who wrote Lady lazarus

Answer 1

Sylvia Plath

Question 2

When was lady lazarus wrote and published in what collection

Answer 2

wrote in 1962 and published posthumously in Ariel collection

Question 3

What is the theme of lady lazarus

Answer 3

suicide
death
loneliness
suicidal thoughts

Question 4

What is the structure of Lady Lazarus

Answer 4

Iambic-trochaic meter

Tercets

Question 5

What is the form of lady lazarus

Answer 5

Turns into a dark and subversive form
free verse
confessional poem
It borrows its form from the poetry that W.H. Auden perfected: ‘Light Verse.’
eg: a form of poetry that is often brief, humorous, light.

Question 6

What is a quick overview of Lady Lazarus

Answer 6

she has tried to kill herself once every ten years. The first time, when she was only ten, was not an attempt at all. It was just an accident. But, the second time she was determined to accomplish her goal of self-destruction. However, that attempt also bore no fruit.
It gave rise to bitter emotions in her heart concerning those who were around. She reveals her biggest enemy between her and the goal, is the doctor who saved her. So, before the last attempt, she bluntly says no matter what happens in this attempt. If she gets saved, she will rise like a phoenix and devour men like air.

Question 7

What is the tone of Lady Lazarus

Answer 7

depressive
angry
determined

Question 8

What is the context of lady lazarus

Answer 8

Wrote during the month of her 30th birthday

First accidental suicide attempt age 9

Plaths second suicide attempt happened after being rejected from Harvard in 1953 through sleeping pills

Plath shows depression through writing in her diary “what horrifies me most is the idea of being useless”

Question 9

What are quick language techniques of Lady Lazarus

Answer 9

This poems regarded as one of her Holocaust poems along with ‘Daddy’ and ‘Mary’s Song’. She describes the oppression she faced by alluding to Nazi Germany of World War II.

• Lady Lazarus. is a biblical allusion to Lazarus of Bethany from the bible and can also be seen as a metaphor as like the man in the bible she is resurrected except she doesnt want to be.
• Metaphor- “peanut-crunching crowd” She feels like a joke
• Repetition- “its easy enough to do” creates irony since shes tried 3 times and failed.
• enjambment- “its the theatrical comeback”
• Repetition of charge shows she has to pay the price of living she believes people around her should pay for making fun of her