Sylvia Plath’s „Lady Lazarus“. Cultural and social context

Term Paper , 2008 , 17 Pages

American Studies - Literature

The name of Sylvia Plath is intrinsically tied to the literary movement of Confessional Poetry. Her poem “Lady Lazarus” is often regarded as the prime example of this genre, as it is “an apparent forecast of Plath’s suicide” (Middlebrook 644) only one year later. But the idea of a ‘confessional’ poetry that directly refers to the poet’s personal experience has lead Plath-Criticism astray for many years.

Critics “have discussed Plath’s life and work as if they were exactly the same thing,” and have drawn bizarre conclusions by assuming “that Plath’s writing can be used as a reliable source for diagnosing her mental condition.”. It is obvious that this kind of immediate understanding of Confessional Poetry leads nowhere. As Tracy Brain puts it, in her essay about the dangers of reading Sylvia Plath’s work as an unfiltered outpour of personal experience (“Dangerous Concessions: Sylvia Plath”):
How can we ever hope to distinguish the »extreme« »diction and address« that is
prompted by lived events from a vividly imagined drama that is the result of an expertly assumed style?

The answer is: We cannot. Still, one should not altogether ignore the context of the Confessional movement when interpreting Sylvia Plath. But how can Confessional Poetry be dealt with, without getting caught in the traps and pitfalls of a biographic reading?

This essay will first try to detect the underlying principles of the so-called ‘Confessional Poetry’ and position it within literary history. By revealing some of the influences and conventions of Confessional Poetry it aims to uncover the deceiving strategies of this type of poetry. The subsequent interpretation of Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” will then try to concentrate on the cultural and social context the poem was produce in and examine in which ways Plath used these different contexts as well as the deceiving strategies of Confessional Poetry in general, to create the unique character of the poem.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• Confessional Poetry
  • Romantic Influences
  • Modernist Influences
  • Social Influences
• Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus"
  • Tone
  • Imagery
  • Style
  • The Speaker
  • The Audience
• Conclusion
• Works Cited

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This essay aims to analyze the literary movement of Confessional Poetry and its influence on Sylvia Plath's poem "Lady Lazarus." It explores the historical context of the movement, examining its roots in Romanticism and Modernism, as well as its social and cultural influences. The essay also examines the unique characteristics of "Lady Lazarus" and its relationship to the broader themes of Confessional Poetry.

• The historical and literary context of Confessional Poetry
• The influence of Romanticism and Modernism on Confessional Poetry
• The social and cultural influences on Confessional Poetry
• The unique characteristics of Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus"
• The relationship between "Lady Lazarus" and the broader themes of Confessional Poetry

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The introduction provides a brief overview of Confessional Poetry and its relationship to Sylvia Plath's work. It highlights the dangers of interpreting Confessional Poetry as a direct reflection of the poet's personal experiences and emphasizes the need to consider the broader literary and social context.

The chapter on Confessional Poetry explores the movement's roots in Romanticism and Modernism. It examines the influence of Romantic writers like Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson, as well as the impact of modernist writers like T.S. Eliot and the New Criticism movement. The chapter also discusses the social and cultural influences on Confessional Poetry, particularly the impact of the Cold War and the changing social landscape of mid-20th century America.

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include Confessional Poetry, Sylvia Plath, "Lady Lazarus," Romanticism, Modernism, social influences, cultural context, literary history, and the dangers of biographical readings.

• College: University of Hamburg
• Course: American Poetry & Poetics
• Author: Anne Runkel (Author)
• Publication Year: 2008
• Pages: 17
• Catalog Number: V126751
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640329038
• ISBN (Book): 9783640329021
• Language: English
• Tags: Sylvia, Plath’s, Lazarus“, Cultural