Sylvia Plath, in the poems, Daddy and Lady Lazarus displays the different relationships of a woman in her life, with various men, such as father and husband, in order for the poems to have universal significance.

Confessional Poetry

Do these poems have universal significance? Explain

Sylvia Plath is one of the famous poet, who writes confessional poetry by incorporating her traumatic experiences in her poem. Her poems, such as “Daddy” and “Lady Lazarus”, which explore the women’s relationships with men in general without any additions of any specific cultural values, therefore, the poems provide a universal definition and universal significance. Also the poems display the need for women to liberate themselves from repressive, which also has universal significance.

Sylvia Plath, in the poems, “Daddy” and “Lady Lazarus” displays the different relationships of a woman in her life, with various men, such as father and husband, in order for the poems to have universal significance.  She uses metaphors and symbolism to shows the different types of relationships, women share with different men and how they impact their lives. An example of this is seen in “Daddy”, where she writes “Every woman adores a Fascist”, which display women as victims of men. Though the use of this metaphor, it is symbolised that women are the victims of Nazi men and they are presented as willing victims, therefore raising the question of how much women’s victimisation is their fault. Similarly, “Lady Lazarus” conveys the message of death, resurrection and defeating enemies, as seen through the use of, “Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / and I eat men like air”. Through this, it is proven that by the end of the poem, the persona has grown stronger, as seen through the use of imagery of resurrection, and then the persona declares that he/she has defeated all the men in his/her life. When this is put into context of the poet’s life, it is clearly seen that by the men in her life, she is describing, the doctors, who kept reviving her, the businessmen who sold her body to the crowd and perhaps her father. Due to the combination of messages of these poems as they both shows the different relationship with men, Sylvia Plath has shown, that her poetry has universal significance.