Mirror

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.
5
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over. MIRROR
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
10
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. By Sylvia Plath
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of
hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
15
Each morning it is her face that replaces the
Sylvia Plath
1932 – 1963
She is renowned for her intense, confessional
style of poetry that delves into themes of
personal struggle, mental illness and a search
for identity.
Her writings often reflected her own
experiences and emotions, and she used her
poetry as a means of self-expression and
catharsis.
Mirror is a prime example of her poetic style.

It was first published in 1961 as part of her
poetry collection.
Analysis
“Mirror” is celebrated as a powerful, insightful meditation on ageing and
death. Plath wrote the poem in 1961, shortly after having given birth to her
first child, Frieda, and perhaps it was this life-changing event that prompted
her to explore the subject.
Certainly, being a first-time parent often provokes powerful thoughts and

emotions regarding the transient nature of life and human mortality. Plath
regularly expressed her fear of ageing in her journals and once described
feeling ‘infinitely sad at the thought of all this time melting farther and farther
away from me as I grow older’.
Nonetheless, it is a universal theme and few of us can claim to be wholly

unconcerned about becoming older and dying.
As its title suggests, the poem is written from the
perspective of a personified mirror, which
describes the nature of its existence and that of
its owner, a woman who grows older under what
it considers to be its dutiful, impassive and
objective gaze.
In two brief stanzas, the poem manages to

examine the essence of reality, the nature of
representation and appearances, and the search
for identity and a deeper sense of self.
The mirror describes itself ‘exact’, which suggests that it reflects
accurately and precisely.
Caesura.
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Meaning: whatever it sees, just as it is.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately Unmisted (synonyms): Unblemished, see-through, undimmed

Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
Eye of a little god: ‘truthful’ likening itself to the eye of a god,
I am not cruel, only truthful‚ implying that it’s seeing everything without prejudice
The eye of a little god, four-cornered. 5
“[…] meditate on the opposite wall: This subverts our usual
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. notion of a passive mirror mounted on a wall. Connotations: wise,
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long immortal, deity.
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers. “[…] pink with speckles.” Literal sense, the ‘speckles’ refer to
Faces and darkness separate us over and over. the discolouration that occurs to paint over time. Figurative
sense, the allusion to the ‘speckles’ suggests that the mirror has
studied the wall closely enough to perceive the flecks and spots on
it in the same way that a person might regard the freckles or
blemishes on the skin of a loved one.
“[…]” flickers. The mirror reveals that its relationship with the
wall is inconsistent or unsettled and ‘flickers’. It also is used to
refer to a light that wavers unsteadily.
“[…] separate […]” Literal: the dark of the night and the
A shift in the outlook and reasoning in the poem is highlighted by
the word “now”.
Mirror describes itself as a lake – symbolic of reflection, self-

contemplation and revelation.
Mirror describes the woman as “bending” over it, which creates

the image of the woman on the shore of a lake, leaning over to
see her reflection in the water.
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, 10 Mirror portrays the woman as examining its depths, its
Searching my reaches for what she really is. extremities or ‘reaches’. The woman appears to be studying her
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon. reflection closely.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
Note: “What” and not ‘who’ is used. Is the woman an object from
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
the perspective of the subjective experience of the mirror.
I am important to her. She comes and goes. 15
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness. Candles and moon are liars. Reference to the way the softer light
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old from those sources can be deceptive and make a person more
woman attractive.
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
Line 13: Could be interpreted as the mirror returning the woman’s
gaze steadily, like a devoted servant.
Irony: the mirror misinterprets her response as an expression of

joy or happiness.
Important: mirror matters a great deal to the woman.
Boundaries between mirror and woman are blurred, as mirror

describes the relationship between them.
Structure
The poem comprises two stanzas of nine lines each.

Modernist in style, it is written in free verse.
It has no set rhyme scheme and has an irregular meter, with the lengths of
lines varying and no repeating pattern of stressed and unstressed syllabus.
Using enjambment, internal and half rhymes and repetitive phrases, however,
Plath creates a natural, elegant sense of rhythm within the verse.
The use of repetitive phrases, such as ‘over and over’ and ‘day after day’, also
give the poem a sense of rhythm and cohesion.
Title
The title of the poem is both illuminating and intriguing.
By identifying the subject of the poem, Plath avoids making the poem a
gimmick, a riddle to be solved, which would arguably distract the reader from
the message of the poem.
The title is also surprising because it suggests that the poem refers to an
object, a mirror, and yet the first line subverts those expectations by revealing
that, more than simply being about a mirror, it is written from the perspective
of a mirror.
The title is also intriguing because it prompts us to consider the role of mirrors
play in our lives, our relationship to mirrors around us, and even what it means
Questions:
1. Suggest an alternative title for the poem, drawing on evidence from the text to substantiate
your response.
2. Provide a synonym for the word ‘exact’ (line 1)
3. The first three lines are presented like a riddle, except that the answer is provided in the title.
Why do you think the poet does this?
4. Provide a synonym for the word ‘swallow’ (line 2)
5. Identify three attributes the speaker claims to have in the first stanza.
6. Describe the tone of the speaker in the first five lines of the poem, drawing evidence from the
text to support your answer.
7. In your own words, explain why the wall ‘flickers’ (line 8).
8. Why does the mirror describe the candles and moon as ‘liars’ (line12)
9. How does line 16 amplify line 9?
10.Comment on the effect of using the word ‘rewards’ (line 14) in this context.

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I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.

Whatever I see I swallow immediately

Mirror is a prime example of her poetic style.

Certainly, being a first-time parent often provokes powerful thoughts and

Nonetheless, it is a universal theme and few of us can claim to be wholly

In two brief stanzas, the poem manages to

Whatever I see I swallow immediately Unmisted (synonyms): Unblemished, see-through, undimmed

Mirror describes itself as a lake – symbolic of reflection, self-

Mirror describes the woman as “bending” over it, which creates

Irony: the mirror misinterprets her response as an expression of

Important: mirror matters a great deal to the woman.

Boundaries between mirror and woman are blurred, as mirror

The poem comprises two stanzas of nine lines each.

2. Provide a synonym for the word ‘exact’ (line 1)

4. Provide a synonym for the word ‘swallow’ (line 2)

9. How does line 16 amplify line 9?

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