Read Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” then select one specific symbol and explain what the symbol represents in the context of the poem.

The single most powerful symbol which captures the essence
of the entire poem is found in the concluding tercet of Sylvia Plath's "Lady
Lazarus":

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Out of the ash I rise
with my red hair And I eat men like
air.

These
lines refer to the Greek mythological fire-bird, the Phoenix which towards the end of
its 500 year life cycle self destructs by building  a nest and then setting itself on
fire and being reduced to ashes. From these ashes a new young Phoenix rises which lives
out its life span of 500 years at the end of which the same cycle is repeated - reduced
to ashes from which a new Phoenix arises. Thus, the Phoenix is a well known symbol for
rebirth, renewal and immortality.

After a very disturbed
and volatile life during which she attempted suicide many times only to be rescued at
the nick of the moment, Sylvia Plath finally succeeded in killing herself on February
10, 1963. Her failed attempts at committing suicide can perhaps be compared to the
repeated rebirth of the Phoenix. She remarks on the regular pattern of her failed
suicide attempts thus:

I
have done it again. One year in every ten I manage
it--

This poem "Lady
Lazarus" written in October 1962 was published after her death in the year 1965 and
although her body had returned to the dust she rises Phoenix like in this anthology
entitled "Ariel." In a sense, Sylvia Plath has been restored to life, by the power of
her own pen, by the power of her own words. That such a vital force was struck down by
depression perhaps makes her short life all the more tragic.