Poetry Analysis: Sylvia Plath's Lady Lazarus

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Questions and Answers

What is the speaker referring to when mentioning 'A sort of walking miracle'?

  • Their physical appearance after a transformation (correct)
  • Their frequent encounters with death
  • Their ability to terrify their enemy
  • Their exceptional skin brightness

In the text, what does the speaker refer to as 'trash'?

  • The speaker's own physical appearance
  • The crowd that comes to see the speaker
  • The process of aging and decay
  • The act of dying each decade (correct)

What does the speaker imply by mentioning 'And like the cat I have nine times to die'?

  • The speaker is in control of their death
  • The speaker has multiple lives like a cat (correct)
  • The speaker is indifferent towards death
  • The speaker has faced death multiple times

What does the speaker anticipate will happen to 'the flesh / The grave cave ate'?

<p>It will soon be at home on them (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the tone of the speaker in the text?

<p>Contemplative and reflective (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

The Speaker's Identity

  • The speaker is a 30-year-old woman who has a troubled relationship with her body
  • She compares her skin to a Nazi lampshade, suggesting a sense of discomfort or shame with her appearance

The Speaker's Body

  • The speaker's body is likened to a paperweight, implying a sense of heaviness or burdensome
  • Her face is described as featureless, with a comparison to fine Jew linen, suggesting a sense of pale or lifeless complexion
  • The speaker's nose, eye pits, and teeth are mentioned, but with a sense of detachment or disconnection

Death and Rebirth

  • The speaker mentions dying and being reborn, with the phrase "I have nine times to die" suggesting a sense of resilience or cat-like ability to cheat death
  • The speaker implies that their body will be returned to its natural state, with "the flesh / The grave cave ate will be At home on me" suggesting a sense of acceptance or surrender

Performance and Spectacle

  • The speaker describes their body as a spectacle, with "the peanut-crunching crowd" gathering to see them unwrapped "hand and foot"
  • The speaker presents themselves as a performer, with "the big strip tease" suggesting a sense of exposure or vulnerability

Self-Awareness

  • The speaker acknowledges their own mortality and impermanence, stating "I may be skin and bone"

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