The Man He Killed And Mirror By Sylvia Plath

There are numerous opinions and explanations formed when reading poetry. “Mirrors” by Sylvia Plath, is written in the perspective of the mirror. This poem talks about what a mirror reflects and sees every day. Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Man He Killed” was written from the point of view of a man, who is angered by the casualties of war. Although these poems are quite different the authors incorporate a good combination of symbolism, imagery, and irony. Within both of these stories, symbolism provides an important aspect to understanding the hidden meaning behind the words. In the poem, “Mirror” the reflection in the glass is represented by the line “ Whatever I see I swallow immediately” (Plath 715). Also, Plath writes that the mirror is calling the candle light and moon liars as if they were human and could tell a lie. In “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy “ to wet” means to drink together (Hardy 701). He uses more symbolism with the line “staring face to face”, meaning they were fighting against each other in the war (Plath 715). Both of these stories are similar in how the authors use symbolism to create a puzzle for the mind. These poems make good use of imagery to put a picture in the mind of the reader. Plath uses color, light, and darkness in her poem to instill a clear image of the

The mirror also expresses a need for the woman “I am important to her” (Plath 715). The mirror believes it has a heart when it's in fact not a living thing that has a heart. With “The Man He Killed” a man is talking about killing a man he didn’t know that could have been a friend if they had met somewhere else. The irony in this is that the man is so outraged by killing a stranger, that he disregards how meeting someone in a club is totally opposite from being on the front lines of war and is a different situation