She's so captivating. I'm so grateful that recordings of her voice exist. It's my first time hearing her and I regret not listening sooner.

When I was 16, a man broke my heart and then I dyed my hair red because of the final stanza of this poem. I've been a redhead ever since.

@ANFeuerstahl

3 жыл бұрын

When I was 16 I've had already lost the count of how many women I had broken their hearts and my hair stayed the same color I was born. Soul mates we are.

@_local..libero_

2 жыл бұрын

that's the spirit, queen.

the way she reads it is so powerful. it gives me a new way to look at this piece! i've always thought the mood was of a sad, resigned woman, who attempts to kill herself every 10 years. so ive always read it with a sad smile. but now? i think of lady lazarus as a powerful woman, walking her own path. the way sylvia plath reads it is not with a sad smile, resignation towards life, but with fiery determination, challenging those around her. truly food for thought!

"I turn and burn; Do no think I underestimate your great concern."

This video is an excerpt from a television arts documentary from about fifteen years ago. The images are very haunting and compliment the poetry extremely well.

This is a slightly longer version of the poem than you'll find in print, but those extra lines really punctuate the meaning of the piece, especially as Sylvia Plath was the one to record it.

@mikefuller6959

7 жыл бұрын

There is no meaning to this, it is watery doggerel prose vomit!

@luizr7400

7 жыл бұрын

If you cannot see a thread of meaning in this poem you are a complete moron. This is so so far from modern poetry intent on sound, images neglecting meaning.

@_lotusrot

7 жыл бұрын

Mike Fuller Who hurt you?

@sethregensburg4597

6 жыл бұрын

@@mikefuller6959 This is raw and autobiographical. If you were to Google "The life of Sylvia Plath," you would understand the allegories within. Structurally and syntactically, this is far from prose.

@hypotheticaltapeworm

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikefuller6959 You have no idea what you're talking about, by virtue of calling a poem "prose".

"Dying is an art like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell."

god she's just genius. i love her

@sherlockholmeslives.1605

8 жыл бұрын

She is NOT a genius or ever was!!!!! This is watery doggerel vomit!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People criticise William McGonagall but he really could write proper poetry BUT this is just verbal gutter vomit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favourite poets are Thomas Shadwell, Colley Cibber, Nicholas Rowe, Thomas Warton, William McGonagall and Alfred Austin. I may in some ways have learning difficulties but I just don't get what is so good about this modern poetry SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I detest Ted Hughes' poetry, Plath's poetry and all that watery sort of trash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am NOT a poet BUT at least I like proper poetry, the song lyrics of Paul Simon and Cat Stevens too!!!!!!!!!!!! I understand William McGonagall's poetry and it is GOOD Stuff BUT my dead cat can do better than all this bitch's poetry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By doing nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@belleguimaraess

8 жыл бұрын

ok..? nobody here gives a shit about your opinion so you can shove it up your ass

@sherlockholmeslives.1605

8 жыл бұрын

My opinion is just as valid as anyone else's! Have a good episode!

@sherlockholmeslives.1605

8 жыл бұрын

I don't get much sleep. I don't like people very much! I have learning difficulties and I like the poetry of William McGonagall! I am an adult with a child's mind! I am NOT a poet! I have an I.Q. of 63! Thanks for mothering me, I enjoy it! With Best Wishes! Cheers - Mike.

@TheRizzzlyBear

7 жыл бұрын

He probably just means she's no Doctor Suess.

I wrote a paper on this. Ive never heard her voice before, not what I expected

@sethregensburg4597

8 жыл бұрын

+Gayle'sgmail When I first heard her voice, I too was surprised. In the recordings, she sounds much older than her actual age--testimony to her emotional wear and tear.

@missdee4927

7 жыл бұрын

I also pictured her voice to be softer for some reason. I don't know why.

@bluetree9156

7 жыл бұрын

MissMulatto ...becouse angels VOICE is supouse to be softer.....but not of these of strength ....passing through thorns.... I loved the line with:,, sir doctor....

@zeeshan9435135

5 жыл бұрын

+gjh can you share a link to your paper? It could really help me writing my exam

@christyrambajan9757

5 жыл бұрын

Not frail and not small...I wouldn't expect her to be

Sylvia Plath was a warrior; were her words a blade, they'd slice even steel.

The confessional mode before social media and reality tv. She does it so it feels real. She does it so it feels like Hell. An absolute masterpiece.

Rest in peace, dear Sylvia. 51 years later.

Like a cat I have nine times to die - this is number three.

Her voice is so rich, her pain so evident. She passed before I was born, yet I mourn, lamenting and thankful for her tortured existence…then forced to live with “What if?”

I adore her accent.

@sethregensburg4597

6 жыл бұрын

@@denisreimer5550 At the time of this reading, she was thirty or thirty one. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, she relocated, permanently, to England. Understandably, she picked up the accent.

@JLBanks-ec4bd

5 жыл бұрын

I've heard from several people (making this hearsay, obviously,) that Sylvia spoke with what was referred to as a Mid-Atlantic accent - not meaning the mid-Atlantic states of the USA, but rather that the person spoke with an accent that had elements of both a posh English accent and a cultured, wealthy American accent. This was even taught to girls routinely in "Finishing Schools". The accent doesn't really exist anymore.

I cannot stop watching this video and listening to Sylvia's perfectly haunting enunciation. Thank you for uploading this, it stirs me to the bone each time I hear it.

this is what rupi kaur and every fourteen year old tumblr blogger writing poetry wish they were

@tuttylevano7017

5 жыл бұрын

True statement!

@user-or1tp5bo5q

5 жыл бұрын

true, but no one will beat queen plath.

@user-bd1bl8ue9g

5 жыл бұрын

Exactlyyyyyy

@JLBanks-ec4bd

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, though I am a 35 year old gay man who loves her and can write as well as she.

@unforgivenxiv

5 жыл бұрын

you ain’t wrong...

" I have done it again, one year in every ten...I manage it". Once you hear Plath read Lady Lazarus it haunts the soul. Perfection.

I come to Sylvia very often, this poem inspires me to rise in my times of need.

My favorite poem of all time. Blows me away.

Those last three lines are fantastic; they evoke in my mind an image of a vampiress returning to "life", one who is ready, willing, and able to destroy utterly and effortlessly the living men around her.

Spooky shit. I had the pleasure of going through Plath's original manuscripts today for an English class assignment, she's a genius.

amazing. such a loss. she is such an inspiration for my poetry

. . . poetry is what happens when we let our eyes do the talking . . .

@ab4845

4 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't it be the hands and the mouth instead of the eyes?...

Why I have goosebumps all over and my emotions want to flow out as tears?

Utterly haunting.

@mikefuller6959

7 жыл бұрын

This is not haunting, Lexi, love! It is prose gibberish! I would walk out of the classroom if I ever had to study this SHIT at school! Here is a list of poets I like, Thomas Shadwell, Colley Cibber, Nicholas Rowe, Thomas Warton ( The Younger ), William McGonagall, Alfred Austin and Jacob Bronowski. Here is a list of charlatan poets who can't write poetry, who I absolutely detest, Wilfred Owen, Dylan Thomas, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Roger McGough, John Cooper Clarke and Benjamin Zephaniah. I am NOT a Poet!

@skittlehappymatt

7 жыл бұрын

Yeah we can see that, evidently.

@socialismandclouds350

7 жыл бұрын

you are not a poet, mike, and thank god for that

@mikefuller6959

7 жыл бұрын

Thank You! I am relieved! Seriously! With Love and Best Wishes! Cheers - Mike.

@mikefuller6959

7 жыл бұрын

I am relieved I am NOT a Poet! It is a heavy weight off my mind! I have learning difficulties and I can not express myself well with words! I can not see how this Sylvia Plath tripe is anywhere near as good as Thomas Shadwell. I like the deep intellectual stuff like this because I don't understand it, so I can feel good to laugh and be in awe of these posh nerds who study this deep stuff! From your friend, Mikey! Cheers - Mike.

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

I can hear genius and madness in her voice.

Her voice, more than the words, sends chills up my hairline. Don't know if I'd have liked her in person, great poet that she was.

So beautiful and emotional!

I love the way she says so, so, herr doktor. so, herr enemy. I just love how she says enemy

@3amcucumbertech

7 жыл бұрын

me too pal, me too

I love you

I cannot stop watching this video and listening to Sylvia's perfectly haunting enunciation. Thank you for posting it. It stirs me to the bone each time that I hear it.

Happy 80th birthday, Sylvia Plath. Thank you for your soul-moving and gut-wrenching verses. Thank you for writing down so many years ago all those feelings that I can't express. RIP.

The power in her voice. The exertion in her voice. The existence in her voice…

This the frist I've heard any of her poems looking forward to hearing more.

"I Eat Men Like Air!" Yes, Yes You Do Beautiful...

It was so beautiful to hear this referenced in the last season of House of Cards❤️

I have done it again. One year in every ten I manage it-- A sort of walking miracle, my skin Bright as a Nazi lampshade, My right foot A paperweight, My face a featureless, fine Jew linen. Peel off the napkin O my enemy. Do I terrify?-- The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth? The sour breath Will vanish in a day. Soon, soon the flesh The grave cave ate will be At home on me And I a smiling woman. I am only thirty. And like the cat I have nine times to die. This is Number Three. What a trash To annihilate each decade. What a million filaments. The peanut-crunching crowd Shoves in to see Them unwrap me hand and foot-- The big strip tease. Gentlemen, ladies These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. The first time it happened I was ten. It was an accident. The second time I meant To last it out and not come back at all. I rocked shut As a seashell. They had to call and call And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls. Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I’ve a call. It’s easy enough to do it in a cell. It’s easy enough to do it and stay put. It’s the theatrical Comeback in broad day To the same place, the same face, the same brute Amused shout: ‘A miracle!’ That knocks me out. There is a charge For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge For the hearing of my heart-- It really goes. And there is a charge, a very large charge For a word or a touch Or a bit of blood Or a piece of my hair or my clothes. So, so, Herr Doktor. So, Herr Enemy. I am your opus, I am your valuable, The pure gold baby That melts to a shriek. I turn and burn. Do not think I underestimate your great concern. Ash, ash- You poke and stir. Flesh, bone, there is nothing there-- A cake of soap, A wedding ring, A gold filling. Herr God, Herr Lucifer Beware Beware. Out of the ash I rise with my red hair And I eat men like air.

Still my favourite poem, I miss her my imaginary best friend. Her and Conor Oberst of course.

Stirring, courageous, palpably real.

speechless...well almost. voice, words, visuals- sure had the desired effect! i know it has already been said but: Haunting!

Her voice sound deep and cold...

@robertcronin6603

3 жыл бұрын

Yes...well said...I think I may have imagined her sounding much different if I had just only ever read her writing... I sense a great deal of anger within her...a very tragic figure indeed

amazing, i love her voice

My favourite American- British poet. I used to translate several of her legendary poems- full of despair, love and metaphysical passion, including this one- into Polish; while writing poems on my own. There is another undervalued, unsung American female poet of love and death- Emily Dickinson- equally brilliant.

im listening to this on repeat, im doing it for my english degree exam tomorrow, so thankyou for making this available. I love it so much too. xx

Beautiful. She was a true genius.

An amazing poem, even more amazing when read aloud. Thank you for sharing.

I love Sylvia Plath. She is one of the greatest poets. In my book.

I first heard this recording when I was 12 years old. I was quick back to my Pokémon Yellow Version, you can believe that.

I love this video!!!!!! Sylvia Plath is my favorite author of all time.

Such words of wisdom!

Her voice gives me chills.

This actually exists. Thank you dear uploader, thank you so much.

I studied Plath at AS level, and put in her in my personal statement for University, she is a true genius, sadly overshaddowed by her biographical details

Fuck, this is so powerful. Sylvia Plath is so powerful.

Unbelievably phenomenal.

Absolutely horrifying! Gives a look into a very dark and disturbed mind indeed. *shivers* she has a very powerful voice. Such strong imagery and emotion in it.

"All worthy work is open to interpretations the author did not intend. Art isn't your pet- its your kid. It grows up and talks back to you." You can't read poetry "wrong".

FYI in this reading she makes two additions to the published version: 0:37 "Yes, yes, Herr Professor, it is I. Can you deny" and 1:22 "I may be Japanese"

@erikagrl1

3 ай бұрын

I realized this too after reading it in the published version. I originally learned the poem with the additions.

its been long time i ve been trying to remember this poem finally i can die in peace.

I love, "I am your opus, I am your valuable". Another wonderful collection of images for an eerie voice. Request? Could you next do "A Birthday Present?"

@iskandalous

9 жыл бұрын

That is my favourite poem ❤️

@chrissyweaver3475

9 жыл бұрын

And "The Arrival of the Bee Box". ^.^

@marios1861

5 жыл бұрын

she has been dead for 60 years she doesn't take requests lol.

Wonderful poem and good job with the video!

My favourite poem

Thank you for this.

I also noticed that in the printed version, they edited out "I may be Japanese" from the 11th stanza at the end.

Love you, Sylvia Plath.

Wow. A giant of poetry. And she had a great voice too. This poem has a scary majesty to it (like a lot of her work).

So I'm in the middle of a final and my book opens to this reading of this poem. I so love it!!!

Way to make my point, thank you!

This is what makes KZread marvellous. Really great.

OMG, that voice, so, so TEMPTING, IT has some meaning, jesus :O i dont know what to say more

E' impressionante sentire la sua voce che recita una poesia cosi' profonda e terribile.Bellissime le immagini

@webelongtoelvis I think that might just be my favourite line in the whole poem, that last utterance is so intense and beautiful.

A masterpiece!!

So I wrote the lyrics to a song we recorded about she who loved this poem more than anything. When she was still around. It's called "Sea of Broken Cars", do feel free to drop by and listen. Thank you so much for uploading this..

Haunted and Immaculate. May God grant you ☮️ Sylvia...

so powerful.

Thank you, I never heard her voice before. It's interesting how she almost developed an English accent, but I wish I could hear her at a younger age and see if she had a Boston accent too, hehe. Beautiful poem, we love you Sylvia always!

"And like the cat I have nine times to die. This is number three."

This is probably her scariest and most moving of her poems, I think Probably because I've been suicidal before, and this is all about her suicidal tendencies. It's sad too, knowing that she eventually...not long after writing these poems that made up Ariel in fact...she succeeded in the task, taking that way out before reaching her full potential.

Thanks for posting. I just realize that I will be teaching this with Franz Kafka's "A Hunger Artist;" they coincide so well.

brilliant! thanks!

This was very "witch house" before Witch House even existed

Great version of lady Lazarus..

I've read this poem hundreds of times; it was nice to hear Sylvia herself recite it. Our pacing is the same, but I find myself speaking in an angrier voice in certain parts.

Thanks!! Sylvia Plath

Around 60 yrs back

I love you Lady Lazarus

Now this is poetry.

She may be one of the best poets ever, a truly damaged soul ..cannot have been easy living with her but Ted was the wrong man baby

Her voice is a lot different to what I imagined

,,so herr doctor...so herr enemie........,, I turned and burned.. .do not think to underestimate.. ...! This....words at that time must have been a revolution....She is TRUELY true

amazing.

Dying is an art like everything else...I do it exceptionally well...I do it so it feels like HELL; I do it so it feels REAL... It's easy enough to do it in a cell, it's easy enough to do it and stay put...It's the Theatrical come-back In Broad Day to the same place,the same face,The same Brute, amused shout:"A Miracle!" That Knocks ME Out... I think the fact that she WROTE it suggests she 'Did (it) well'...No.She never died. She just ceased living.(Physically...) X

wow,this is great.

beautifully harrowing

Never heard her voice before but i've always loved this poem. Two lines I noted that aren't in my print version were "Yes yes, Herr professor, It is I, can you deny" and "I may be Japanese." Anyone know why the print version is different??

What? There was hardly a better poet to read her own poetry, and this is a stunning example. Her delivery is as lucid as the poem itself.

holy shit beautiful.