--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... These are my hands My knees. I may be…" description: "\"... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus\" — Sylvia Plath" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/sylvia-plath-149_anger_these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-ski_8888.jpg" --- # ... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone… ![“... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/sylvia-plath-149_anger_these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-ski_8888.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/sylvia-plath-149_anger_these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-ski_8888.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/sylvia-plath-149_anger_these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-ski_8888.jpg) > “... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker asserts her physical fragility yet insists on an unchanging identity, confronting mortality and self‑recognition. **In simple terms:** Identity persists despite bodily decay. Key Takeaway Self remains constant beyond physical limits. Themes mortality identity self‑acceptance resilience feminine experience Mood defiant somber introspective Type poetic confessional When to use this quote - grief - personal crisis - artistic expression - existential reflection Key Concepts body self death continuity Practical Applications - poetry analysis - therapy discussions Questions to Reflect On - How does physical decline affect one's sense of self? - What does it mean to be 'identical' despite change? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Bone Identical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bone-identical-346020/) [Hands Knees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-knees-346022/) [Identical Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identical-woman-346019/) [Knees Skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knees-skin-346021/) [Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lady-lazarus-346023/) [Self -awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) ## Related quotes > [“LADY LAZARUS I have done it again. One year in every ten I manage it-- A sort of walking miracle, my skin Bright as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/lady-lazarus-i-have-done-it-again-one-year-in-every-ten-i-manage-it-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“They had to call and call And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls. --From the poem "Lady Lazarus", written 23-29 October 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/they-had-to-call-and-call-and-pick-the-worms-off-me-like-sticky/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [When everything seems doomed, it could never hurt to grab each others hands, get down on your knees, and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/when-everything-seems-doomed-it-could-never-hurt-to-grab-each-others/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) > [“When you're on your hands and knees, I have complete control over you. I can fuck you as hard as I want to. You'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-folsom/when-you-re-on-your-hands-and-knees-i-have-complete-control-over-you/) [Tina Folsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-folsom/) > [The first thing I do when I start my day is, I get down on my hands and knees and give thanks to God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/the-first-thing-i-do-when-i-start-my-day-is-i-get-down-on-my-hands/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [We go on our hands and knees and crawl our way towards the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/we-go-on-our-hands-and-knees-and-crawl-our-way-towards-the-truth/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Time crawled past on leaden hands and knees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-hartnett/time-crawled-past-on-leaden-hands-and-knees/) [Sonya Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-hartnett/) > [They said how you been I said with my hands, knees, and elbows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-vance/they-said-how-you-been-i-said-with-my-hands-knees-and-elbows/) [Jerome Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-vance/) > [...you expect me to fall on my back with my legs spread." 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Because I really like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/if-you-think-about-what-you-do-if-you-become-self-conscious-about-it/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [“Nothing changes… until you see it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pushpender-kaushik/nothing-changes-until-you-see-it/) [Pushpender Kaushik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pushpender-kaushik/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. 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Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... These are my hands My knees. 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