Analysis Of Mirror By Sylvia Plath

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The poem “Mirror,” by Sylvia Plath, portrays the difficult truth in relation to aging. The poem is told in the point of view of a mirror belonging to an aging woman. The mirror “[is] silver and exact,” with “no preconceptions” (1). It reflects only the truth, real images without distortion. The mirror has been a part of the woman’s life ever since she was young, sitting across her pink, speckled walls acting like “the eye of a little god” (5). As the woman ages, she seems to be in frustration with her appearance, seeking relief by looking at “liars, the candles or the moon” (12). This symbolizes the woman’s attempt to look at things that will reflect back an image she desires, a fake image versus reality. The mirror, however, only gives her the …show more content…

While real life, mirrors are inanimate objects, the author uses personification. In this way, Plath allows us to see the story as the mirror sees it. Considering that a mirror only sees the truth, we are also given a story without alterations. In the first stanza the mirror tells the reader what it is. In the first verse the mirror tells the reader “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions” (1). Further, in the third and fourth verse the mirror tells the reader that it is “unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful” acting as “the eye of a little god” (3-5). Through the mirror’s description of itself, the reader learns that this is an object or being that can only reflect back what is shown. The mirror gives an unbiased reflection of reality, not blinded by love or fueled by dislike. Through the line “the eye of a little god,” Plath uses imagery to show us how truthful and observing the mirror is (5). It sees and reflects everything like a god, and only shows the reality. Although the mirror never explicitly says it is a mirror, Plath allows us to infer the object’s identity through diction such as “silver,” “four-cornered,” and “reflect” (1, 5,

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