Enrique Castellanos

Professor Tubbs
Engl. 1302
April 22, 2020
MLA Annotated Bib.
Boyers, Robert. "Sylvia Plath: The Trepanned Veteran." Poetry Criticism, edited by Robyn V.
Young, vol. 1, Gale, 1991. Gale Literature Criticism, https://link-gale-
com.aclibproxy.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/KQOBMK586019060/LCO?u=txshracd2904&sid
=LCO&xid=38a6d6d5. Accessed 21 Apr. 2020. Originally published in The Centennial
Review, vol. 13, no. 2, Spring 1969, pp. 138-153.
Literature has always been a means to record events, document findings, and even to express
one’s emotions. These are all fine and dandy but in doing this we must remember to not
make light of the past events that so troubled certain groups. That being said, Sir Robert
Boyers explains the complications that can arise when using the holocaust as a metaphor
when your parents were of German descent. I chose this example for not only does it
represent my ideas, but it also portrays a sense of empathy when discussing these topics. I
do, however, think it is appropriate to remember and even talk about mistakes made by
oppressor, but your ethnicity and ancestry should match that of the group who was
oppressed.
Meyers, Jeffrey. "Plath's 'Lady Lazarus'." Notes on Contemporary Literature, vol. 42, no. 3,
2012. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link-gale-
com.aclibproxy.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A293545314/AONE?u=txshracd2904&sid=AON
E&xid=782dfdd8. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
Mental health is an acute/sensitive topic to discuss now days as it was in the time of Sylvia
Plath. Although it is important to discuss and share our experience with metal health, of
any status, it is important not to romanticize or subject the effects of mental illnesses.
Before reading Jeffry Meyers critique of “Lady Lazarus” I didn’t really see how much
Sylvia Plath speaks of her mental illness in a glorified way. After reading his opinion my
eyes were opened and I could see how she speaks of her suicide attempts as an escape
from her daily pains, but in a positive way. Understanding her life’s circumstances is
important when interpreting her metaphors that revolve around genocide of Jews. I agree
with Meyers opinion that is inappropriate use such vivid and real metaphors when
discussing her attempts at suicide. Although Meyers states that her use of metaphors is
was paints a picture in the readers head, we both believe its uses were and are unjustified.
Van Dyne, Susan. “Fueling the Phoenix Fire: The Manuscripts of Sylvia Plath's ‘Lady Lazarus.’”
The Massachusetts Review, vol. 24, no. 2, 1983, pp. 395–410. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/25089435. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
Put plain and simply Susan Van Dyne states that Sylvia Plath's ‘Lady Lazarus’ states
outrageous claims and was constructed to offend its readers. Plath use the suffering of a
concentration camp victim as an analogy to her failed marriage. Her use of extreme
circumstances is waived by the realities of her not so oppressed life. Although she
experiences her father's death at an early age, she does not get a free card to use
unforgiving metaphors to illustrate her pains. I differ from Susan’s views because I think
that anything can be joked about or used as an example when there has been enough time
passed and corrective actions have taken place. Given the era of Plath’s lifetime along
with her German ancestral traces I do not believe she could have successfully referenced
Jewish suffrage to emphasize her pain appropriately.