Lady Lazarus is a thirty-year-old woman who experiences repeated cycles of death and forced resurrection. She feels objectified by the patriarchal society around her, explicitly comparing her skin to a Nazi lampshade and her foot to a paperweight. She treats her deaths as a form of performance art, charging an imaginary admission fee to the voyeuristic public to reclaim some control over her body. She eventually promises to rise from the ash to consume the men who torment her.

Herr Doctor is a medical and patriarchal authority figure who repeatedly brings Lady Lazarus back to life. He views her not as a human being, but as his opus and a valuable gold baby. By continually resurrecting her, he denies her agency over her own existence and forces her to repeat her painful performance.

Herr Enemy is a direct adversary to Lady Lazarus, representing the oppressive male forces in her life. He observes her suffering and treats her repeated deaths as a form of entertainment. The speaker directs her anger toward him, identifying him as part of the patriarchal system that strips away her humanity.

The peanut-crunching crowd consists of unidentified spectators who gather to watch Lady Lazarus return from the dead. They unwrap her burial cloths in a process she compares to an unwilling striptease. Their presence invades her inner world, turning her psychic pain into a commodified public event.

Herr God is the ultimate divine patriarchal authority. The speaker groups him with mortal men and demonic figures to suggest that divine male power operates with the same oppressiveness as human male power. He receives a direct threat as the speaker prepares to rise from her ashes.

Herr Lucifer is the demonic counterpart to Herr God within the speaker's unholy trinity of male authority. The poem equates his evil influence with the actions of the doctors and men who continuously force the speaker back to life. The speaker warns him of her impending fiery vengeance.