Reflecting on 'Mirror' by Sylvia Plath



Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash


OVERVIEW 

Written in 1961, the poem focuses on conveying the mirror's importance in a woman's life. Mirrors are used to check our appearances so we can determine if they are in acceptable condition. Mirrors are of particular importance to women who are often pressured by society to meet demanding beauty standards. Usually, whatever mirrors reveal determines if we approve what we see or are left petrified. In this poem, the woman is left petrified.

In the first stanza, through personification, the mirror makes it clear that it has no preconceptions, meaning it does not form any opinions about the people it reflects. Instead, whatever it sees it reflects faithfully without any bias or prejudice. The reflection it offers is merely the truth and not a deliberate attempt to be cruel. It offers itself as an objective object. The mirror presents itself as the 'eye of a little god'. Most times it faces a pink wall that has speckles (spots). However, from time to time, faces and darkness come between them. This indicates the passage of time as people go about their daily lives.

In the second stanza, the mirror has turned into a lake, but it is still being used as a means of reflecting images. There is a woman who is looking at it to see her reflection. The lake is important to her because she uses it to keep track of her appearance as she ages. She is disturbed by what she sees and this results in her crying and wringing her hands in agitation as she is confronted by her mortality. She visits the lake daily, hoping to see a youthful and appealing image of herself being reflected. Overtime, though, she ages, changing from a young girl to an old woman. The poem paints a frightening image of aging by likening her fading youth to 'an old woman / Ris[ing] toward her, day after day, like a terrible fish'. 

 

Literary Devices

  • Personification - The mirror is personified throughout the poem. This is done to present its objectivity in reflecting the things or people that come before it. The moon and candles are also identified as liars.
  • Metaphor - The mirror identifies itself as the 'eye of a little god', reinforcing that it only sees and tells the truth. 
  • Imagery - There is mostly visual imagery in the poem. Some examples are: The mirror describes itself as 'silver and exact'. There is the image of the woman crying and wringing her hands in agitation. Also, note the picture that is created of an old woman ris[ing] towards the woman day after day like a terrible fish. 
  • Simile - The comparison is seen in the expression 'an old woman rises toward, her day after day, like  terrible fish'. This is done to emphasize how terrifying the woman finds the approach of aging.
  • Symbolism - The mirror is significant to the woman because the woman depends on it to monitor her appearance. It signals how the passage of time has transformed her physical features.
  • Contrast - There is a difference between the mirror and the moon and candles. The mirror offers her the truth while it seems the moon and candles present an image of her that is false.  The moon and candles are known for softening one's features and making them appear lovelier than they are. Hence the moon and candles are accused of being liars.
  • Irony - The mirror causes the woman great distress, but she cannot resist consulting it every day to see how her appearance changes with time.

Themes

  • aging
  • fear of death
  • mortality
  • beauty
  • passage of time

Tone

  • matter of fact
  • neutral
  • straightforward

STUDY QUESTIONS

*Use these questions to guide your review of the poem in study groups or in your own designated study time.

  1. How is the mirror presented?
  2. Why is the mirror/lake important to the woman?
  3. Explain the conflict that is in the poem.
  4. What themes does the poem highlight?
  5. Identify and comment on the literary devices that are used to explore the specific themes in the poem.
  6. Discuss the tone in the poem.


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