"Lady Lazarus" and Social Deviance

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Sylvia Plath's poetry mostly portrays the theme of social deviance and society's intolerance to differences portrayed by individuals, especially women. It shows how the poem, "Lady Lazarus", in particular, illustrates these themes. It looks at how the poem uses a character named Lady Lazarus in order to illustrate to the audience the effects of the marginalization of women in a repressive society. It examines how the poem is divided into two phases: the first, the establishment of Lady Lazarus' condition and apparent insanity, while the second phase is more complex, since there are numerous implied meanings embedded that show the duplicity of the woman's character.

From the Paper:

"Lines 74-78 shows symbolisms used to illustrate social status, which Lady Lazarus shuns: "You poke and stir/ Flesh, bone, there is nothing there--/ A cake of soap/ A wedding ring/ A gold filling." In this passage, the character shows how social statutes determined in the society is meaningless, represented by material wealth that is but trivial to the true meaning of life. Plath displays antagonism in her society by addressing individuals as "Herr Doktor," "Herr Enemy," "Herr God," and "Herr Lucifer." The use of "Herr" in the poem reflects the evil character of the Nazis; thus, using this form of address shows Lady Lazarus' perception that the people in her society are no different from the Nazis."

More papers on "Lady Lazarus" and Social Deviance:

• Poem Review # 116480 : "Lady Lazarus" and Literary Criticism"
• Analytical Essay # 62760 : "Lady Lazarus"
• Poem Review # 51158 : "Lady Lazarus"

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