Student Question
How would one respond to criticism of Plath's use of Holocaust imagery in “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy”? What is gained by invoking the Holocaust?
Quick answer:
Sylvia Plath's use of Holocaust imagery in "Lady Lazarus" and "Daddy" is controversial, as such imagery is often seen as sacred and not to be used lightly. Critics argue that Plath's mental anguish may justify her choice, reflecting her personal suffering and strained paternal relationship. However, the imagery can seem excessive and inappropriate given the Holocaust's historical gravity. While poets might gain attention or expression, the debate on its appropriateness remains significant.
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"an engine, an engineChuffing me off like a Jew.A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen. I began to talk like a Jew.I think I may well be a Jew."
"A sort of walking miracle, my skin Bright as a Nazi lampshade, My right foot"A paperweight,My face a featureless, fine Jew linen."Unlike Daddy, where it is hardly rare for someone to draw a loose parallel between someone he or she knows and intensely dislikes and a figure from history like Hitler or Stalin, the application of such language in a poem the scale of Lady Lazarus has a different feel. Both poems are rooted in Plath's relationship to her late-father. Whereas Daddy could still be considered somewhat defensible, maybe, Lady Lazarus seems to take a questionable concept even farther, into terrain that makes Plath's use of this imagery seem excessive and even childish. It is hard to justify the use of Holocaust imagery even in the context of Plath's life and poetry. The Holocaust represented the nadir of humanity's existence. The scale of horror is virtually unimaginable but for the plethora of photographic and documentary evidence of its existence. It is unfortunate that Plath felt it necessary to use the Holocaust for poetic purposes, but her mental state was such that one can, and should excuse her her use of poetic license because of the very obvious emotional pain with which she lived -- pain that ended only with her death. With regard to what poets gain by using such inflammatory imagery, the answer ranges from legitimate forms of expression to an infantile need to draw attention to oneself.