The Terrible Fish

The Terrible Fish

Identity and the passing of time are two of the most pondered questions by human beings from anywhere and from any time period. People have a hard time answering these questions and frankly would rather not think about them. People are often insecure of their identities and fearful of the dreadful reality that we are a clock that is winding down and at one point our time will run out. The “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath is a poem which analyzes these questions from the perspective of a mirror. Plath also brings out the unique quality of emotions in humans by contrasting it with the emotionless mirror. The purpose of “Mirror” is to portray the reality and inevitability of aging.

The “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath is a poem in which life is told from the perspective of a mirror. Naturally, a mirror cannot speak, Plath uses the literary method of personification to add a voice for the mirror. The mirror in the first

“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.” The diction employed by Plath effectively conveys the idea of time words like “comes and goes,” “Each morning,” “young,” and “old.” In contrast with the first stanza where the passing of time did not accompany aging, the second stanza introduces the idea of aging. The mirror describes the young girl that it has “drowned” and the rising old woman. Clearly, this is conveying that the girl is growing up and is now an old woman. She keeps aging “day after day, like a terrible fish.” This final thought helps to explain the woman’s previous actions. Humans by nature resent the thought of aging and ultimately death. This is why aging is directly associated with a “terrible fish.” Plath has effectively portrayed the general emotions that humans exhibit towards