Lady Lazarus
(Short introduction)
The main theme presented in this poem Lady Lazarus is objectification. In this case, the persona’s self-objectification is evident throughout the entire poem as it can be found in different stanzas.
Metaphor is being used as the poet compares her skin to a “Nazi Lampshade” and says that her face is like “a featureless, fine Jew linen”. In doing so, the poet is trying to link the readers’ flow of thoughts back to the Holocaust that broke out during the Second World War, where the Jews were discriminated by the Nazis. She has actually indirectly conveyed to her readers that she feels as though she is being discriminated against as a psycho path. The use of metaphors further allows the persona to justify her failed attempts at suicide and also allows readers to better empathize with her plight. Through this, the readers may learn to look at the speculation of the persona’s suicide attempts from her perspective and view her in a newer and better light; instead of seeing her as a lunatic with nothing better to do than to try and kill herself.
The theme objectification is again addressed when the persona makes use of similes to explicitly compare herself to “the cat with nine times to die”. The word ‘die’ actually connotes the idea of pain, sorrow and sheer agony but in the simile, the persona is ironically seen as being willing to repeat the painful cycle of death as she has “nine times to die”. Here, the persona is lowering herself in a sarcastic way as she ridicules and makes fun of her own attempts at suicide. The use of this simile allows readers to feel the heart aching sensation the poet is bringing across; it allows them to feel sorry for the persona and sympathize with her more strongly. They will then be prompted to reflect on their own inconsiderate responses to her suicide attempts and no longer ambivalently regard her as being abnormal.
The use of imagery and enjambment lines can be seen in the ninth and tenth stanzas. “The peanut crunching crowd shoves in to see” suggest that outsiders regard the persona’s suicide attempts as being so common that they no longer hold any urgency or significance to them anymore. “The big strip tease” also implies that outsiders even regard the persona’s suicide attempts as a source of entertainment. The use of imagery and run-on lines here appeals to the visual senses of readers and allows them to visualize the scene of the person’s innermost thoughts and emotions. More significantly, it highlights the bitter and scornful attitude the persona has towards the way people treat her as a form of entertainment. It shows how the persona is indirectly directing their sarcastic attitudes back to them and prompting them into further self-reflection of their own lack of compassion towards her.