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Analysis of Sylvia Plath's 'Mirror' Poem: A Reflection of Reality and Self-Image, Slides of Philosophy

Haagse HogeschoolPhilosophy

A detailed analysis of sylvia plath's poem 'mirror.' the poem is broken down stanza by stanza, with word meanings explained and personification and metaphor identified. The mirror is personified throughout the poem, reflecting the speaker's thoughts and emotions. The poem explores themes of self-image, truth, and the passage of time.

Typology: Slides

2021/2022

Uploaded on 07/04/2022

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Chapter:)Mirror%(Poem)%
Subject:%English%Literature%
Class:%X%
Chapter-8: Mirror ~ Sylvia Plath (Poem)
(Summary & Analysis)
Stanza-wise Explanation
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful –
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Word-Meaning (Staza-1)
Silver:
colour of the mirror
Exact:
accurate
Preconceptions:
expectations
Swallow:
absorb
Unmisted:
without mist, clear
Cruel:
inhuman
The mirror says that it is silver in colour and is exact. It is precise and reflects everything that appears
in front of it, as it is. It is unbiased, does not have any feelings either hatred or love for anyone. If a
person dislikes his reflection in the mirror, it should not think that the mirror is cruel. The mirror
clarifies this fact that it just reflects the person’s image as it is. It shows us our true appearance. It
compares itself to God’s eyes which see equally in all the four directions and treat all things alike.
Most of the time meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
Word-Meaning (Staza-1I)
Meditate:
to think deeply
Speckles:
small spots
Flickers:
quick movements
The mirror says that most of the time it keeps on looking at the wall in front of it. It looks at it keenly
and so, it can make out the tiny pink spots on it which means that the mirror is so precise that it can
find out the minutest flaws in anything that appears in front of it. The mirror says that it has been
looking at the opposite wall over such a long period of time that it seems to the mirror that the wall is
a part of it. The mirror says that this feeling of the mirror that the opposite wall is a part of itself gets
interrupted whenever a face or darkness comes in between them. When a person stands in front of the
mirror, the opposite wall is no longer reflected in it and, so it does not remain a part of the mirror.
Similarly, in darkness, no images are seen on the mirror’s surface and so, the opposite wall does not
remain a part of the mirror.
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
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Chapter: Mirror (Poem)

Subject: English Literature

Class: X

Chapter-8: Mirror ~ Sylvia Plath (Poem)

(Summary & Analysis)

Stanza-wise Explanation

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful – The eye of a little god, four-cornered. Word-Meaning (Staza-1) Silver: colour of the mirror Exact: accurate Preconceptions: expectations Swallow: absorb Unmisted: without mist, clear Cruel: inhuman The mirror says that it is silver in colour and is exact. It is precise and reflects everything that appears in front of it, as it is. It is unbiased, does not have any feelings either hatred or love for anyone. If a person dislikes his reflection in the mirror, it should not think that the mirror is cruel. The mirror clarifies this fact that it just reflects the person’s image as it is. It shows us our true appearance. It compares itself to God’s eyes which see equally in all the four directions and treat all things alike. Most of the time meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink with speckles. I have looked at it so long I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers. Faces and darkness separate us over and over. Word-Meaning (Staza- 1 I) Meditate: to think deeply Speckles: small spots Flickers: quick movements The mirror says that most of the time it keeps on looking at the wall in front of it. It looks at it keenly and so, it can make out the tiny pink spots on it which means that the mirror is so precise that it can find out the minutest flaws in anything that appears in front of it. The mirror says that it has been looking at the opposite wall over such a long period of time that it seems to the mirror that the wall is a part of it. The mirror says that this feeling of the mirror that the opposite wall is a part of itself gets interrupted whenever a face or darkness comes in between them. When a person stands in front of the mirror, the opposite wall is no longer reflected in it and, so it does not remain a part of the mirror. Similarly, in darkness, no images are seen on the mirror’s surface and so, the opposite wall does not remain a part of the mirror. Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, Searching my reaches for what she really is. Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon. I see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.

Chapter: Mirror (Poem)

Subject: English Literature

Class: X

Word-Meaning (Staza- 1 II) Reaches: depth Agitation: nervousness In this stanza the mirror compares itself to a lake. Not only the quiet lake’s surface reflects everything, but it has depth also. A woman looks at herself in a lake to ascertain her physical appearance and beauty. The mirror shows her exact appearance – any spots, marks or signs of ageing. The mirror says that the moon and the candle which praise a woman’s beauty are liars. They praise her physical appearance as their dim light overlooks these minute flaws. The mirror is true and shows her the reality which is bitter for her. In return for its truthfulness, the mirror gets tears and hatred in return from the woman. I am important to her. She comes and goes. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness. In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman Rises toward her day after day like a terrible fish. Word-Meaning (Staza- 1 V) Drowned: no longer exists Terrible: extremely bad The mirror is very important for a woman as she ascertains her looks in it. She looks at herself in the mirror often and the mirror says that every morning, the first object that comes in front of it after the dark night is the woman’s face. The mirror has seen the transformation in the woman’s appearance over the years. Her face of a young, pretty girl does not exist, but the mirror remembers it. With each passing day she is getting older and the signs of aging are becoming prominent on her face. Her future appearance of an old, ugly woman gets closer to her and it seems to be there in the mirror because one day when she will look at herself in the mirror, she will see her transformed old face rather than a beautiful young face. The mirror compares the woman’s aged face to that a fish as both are ugly and no one wants to look at them.

Personification and Metaphor

  • The speaker is not a person, but personified mirror throughout the poem
  • Candles and the moon are personified, giving them human qualities like the ability to lie
  • The words “ swallow ”, “ see ” & “ look ” are used as metaphor for reflecting and personifies the mirror
  • “ Unmisted ” is used as metaphor for “ unchanged ”
  • This drowning and rising is used as metaphor. With the young girl drowning and old woman rising, it seems most likely that the water is a metaphor for time or ageing
  • Another use of personification and metaphor is in the sentence “ now I am a lake ” (lake & mirror
    • small and have no depth). The mirror compares itself to a lake.
  • The old woman rises up “ like ” a terrible fish, which is a simile