Essay #2 Draft

 A Marvelous Freak Show

          Lady Lazarus, a fascinating poem written by renowned author Sylvia Plath, is full of emotion and rawness that few other authors can expose through such small pieces of literature. With this poem, you are instantly heaved into a world of passion, anger, and resentment. Towards the end, these emotions are beautifully transitioned into wonder, oddity, and compassion, all within a mere 28 stanzas. In order to create such a powerful effect on her readers, Sylvia Plath uses exceptionally, authoritative voice. In doing so, she creates a world of imagery through this poem that almost manifests right before your very eyes. By the time you’ve reached the ending, you are in a vintage circus tent eating peanuts, while watching the incredible Lady Lazarus bust into flames.



         Imagery in literature is simply evoking an emotional response within a reader. Whether it is visually, emotionally, texturally, or aromatically, an author’s use of adjectives and descriptive language will result in imagery throughout any poem. Plath doesn’t waste any time before she begins her use of vivid descriptions in Lady Lazarus. By only the second stanza, she begins to explain (through a first person point of view, of Lady Lazarus) a few physical traits in the following way,

             

            “A sort of walking miracle, my skin

            Bright as a Nazi lampshade,

            My right foot

            

A paperweight,

My face a featureless, fine

            Jew linen.” (4-9)

         While significantly unpleasant, there is undeniable imagery here. “Bright as a Nazi lampshade” (5), leaves you with a picture in your mind of translucent human skin, tightly stretched into the shape of a lampshade. An emotional reaction of unthinkable cruelty is simultaneously created in this one line with the use of the word Nazi, and is carried on throughout the remainder of the poem. She ends a stanza with, “My face a featureless, fine/ Jew linen.” (8-9). This line creates the image of a face inside that horrifying, tightly stretched layer of skin. We now have a visual of this poor creature Lady Lazarus, with sunken eyes, a pale skin. In addition to our emotional responses, the use of the word Jew after the use of the word Nazi, really makes sure that just in case a reader missed the unthinkable cruelty allusion, they’ve got it fresh in their minds now.

In the ninth stanza, we begin to get visual cues as to where Lazy Lazarus is, “The peanut-crunching crowd/ Shoves in to see// Them unwrap me hand and foot/ The big strip tease.” (26-29). Now the reader can easily start to put several different metaphors together. This unwell, undistinguished woman is the center of attention at a showcase. The careful use of the words “peanut-crunching” is a dead giveaway that this showcase is a circus of some kind, and considering that emotionally, we know that there is some form of wickedness in Lady Lazarus’ life, it is safe to visualize this circus as something a little more like a merciless freak show.
 
         Now that we’re at the middle of the poem, the reader can envision the main character in her pitiable form, brought on stage so that a crowd can watch her. But what have they come to watch her do? What is Lazy Lazarus’ big theatrical gift? Plath writes,

“Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I’ve a call.” (43-48).

          This takes a minute, and possibly another reading to let it sink in that this is the remarkable, stage worthy talent of Lady Lazarus. She does not swallow swords, volunteer herself to be cut in half by a magician, she isn’t a bearded woman, or a fire dancer, or freakishly tall. She dies. She dies on stage where people have come to watch her, and it feels like hell for her. Yet we do not yet know how exactly she performs this daunting task, which Plath gives the reader in another line of great imagery, “The pure gold baby// That melts to a shriek/ I turn and burn/ Do not think I underestimate your great concern.” (69-72). A very powerful image is created here. An image of a woman being burned to death, while a mob of spectators is not only watching, but also paid money to watch. The unfortunate Lady Lazarus burns until, “Out of the ash/ I rise with my red hair/ And I eat men like air.” (82-84). The last image formed is by far the most spectacular. This woman that the reader feels so sorry for, is now miraculously resurrected, and given an incredible power that would have seemed impossible for the individual that was pictured in the beginning. Undoubtedly, the most compelling form of imagery in the entire piece is the beautiful image of Lazy Lazarus, with her dazzling, fiery red hair.

         Sylvia Plath takes her readers into a place they don’t necessarily want to go, but cannot help themselves. The imagery that she created in Lady Lazarus is eerie and sinister, Lazy Lazarus herself is disheartening and odd, yet the freak show, the creature, the crowd, and the scorching red hair are all harmoniously combined to paint a beautiful mural of Plath’s well know dark side.  

Work Cited

 Plath, Sylvia. "Lady Lazarus." Poetry Foundation . n. page. Web. 17 Sep. 2011. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178961>.