Introduction Write what you know. It is a commonly heard piece of advice offered to writers of every genre, including poetry, and illustrates the importance of understanding context in order to understand a given work. For most writers, whether they intend to follow this advice or not, the practice of writing what they know includes the tendency to incorporate autobiographical material within the text of their work again emphasizing the importance of context. This occurs to greater or lesser extent in most forms of writing, but is perhaps most evident in poetry where language is condensed and placed into imagery meaningful to the writer. Poets such as Sylvia Plath are well-known for their autobiographical content as poetry became a sort of therapy for the poet and reflected the state of mind at the time of writing. Plath struggled with depression her entire life, eventually succeeding in committing suicide. This tendency to include biographical information within the text is also apparent in other genres, such as the short story as seen in the work of Katherine Mansfield. Mansfield, who experienced the shift from the Victorian era to the Modern in the latter portion of the 19th century and early 20th century, used her writing as an outlet for thoughts and feelings that were not acceptable within her upper-class society. In the poems “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield and “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath, one can find numerous elements of autobiography that helped to shape the sometimes surprisingly similar way in which these writers approached the world. Main text Katherine Mansfield was the daughter of an upper-middle-class businessman in New Zealand which is demonstrated through her poetry. In “The Garden Party”, Mansfield tells the story of a young girl as she helps her family prepare for a special garden party. The reason for the party is never given although the details include the placement of a marquee, a tremendous number of lilies and a band of musicians and a hint is provided that perhaps it is a yearly event as Laura’s mother tells her, “I’m determined to leave everything to you children this year” (59). These details reveal elements of the author’s own life as she grew up in some of the more affluent homes of New Zealand and was accustomed to this sort of lifestyle. Social expectations are shown as the older girls are engaged in activities designed to make them look nice while Laura, presumably younger, is sent out to cope with the party details. “Meg could not possibly go and supervise the men. She had washed her hair before breakfast, and she sat drinking her coffee in a green turban, with a dark wet curl stamped on each cheek. Jose, the butterfly, always came down in a silk petticoat and a kimono jacket” (59-60). The other female characters are shown as particularly unconcerned with the realities of life, not even capable of occupying their time with the frivolity of party decorations in their all-consuming interest in their own appearance. As is seen in the poem, this shallowness, an inherent aspect of the society Mansfield knew as a child, is contrasted against the depth of her main character. When Laura interacts with the workmen, she demonstrates an ability to transcend class distinctions that are not shared by her family. As she interacted with the workmen, noticing the way in which they attempted to make her feel more comfortable and their concern for things such as the smell of lavender, she thought, “It’s all the fault, she decided, as the tall fellow drew something on the back of an e