The life of a mirror is epitomized through the point-of-view poem Mirror, by Sylvia Plath; the characterization and personification pair with the multiple metaphors to define the sights of a mirror, sitting in a girl's room.
Paragraph 1:
-To best represent the life of the mirror, the entire poem is written with the view point of the mirror itself. All narration is 'spoken' by the mirror.
-"Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,/ Searching my reaches for what she really is" (9-10)
-The direct narration of the mirror allows the reader to identify who the narrator is. Through analysis
of the title and narration of the poem, the reader is able to infer that the mirror is speaking, the mirror
is the one who is telling their story.
Paragraph 2:
-The figurative language used by the mirror enhances the narration and provides a more complex view of the mirror's surrounding and life.
-"In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman/ Rises toward her day after day, like a
terrible fish" (16-17)
- The comparison and detailed description provide insight on what the mirror is thinking and what the
mirror sees as the months an years go by.
Paragraph 3:
-The personification of the mirror creates a relatable yet ominous connection to the mirror.
-"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" (2-5)
- The mirror watches and sees objects all around it, it takes in information like any human may do, this
creates a connection to the mirror, we are one like the mirror. However, the mirror has a menacing
feature, it has no emotions. The mirror eerily watches its world, the solitary room, with no opinion or
feelings. This view into the mirror's 'mind' gives the poem an uncanny mood: the mirror is almost a
supernatural being, who will forever spend his life observing a dying woman.
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