Sylvia Plath was born on October 27,

1932 and died on February 11th, 1963.

She was an American novelist,

poet and short story writer.

Background on Sylvia PlathBorn 1932, died 1963

Suffered from depression and low self-esteem

Committed suicide three days after writing 'Mirror'

Married to poet Ted Hughes – their divorce was said to be the reason behind Plath's suicide

Tips for ReadingUsing 'Mirror' by Sylvia Plath

Re-read the poem and make notes on what it means to you

Remember to use quotations (including quotation marks) throughout your essay.

The MirrorEver caught yourself looking in the mirror a

little too long, just staring at your own reflection?

The MirrorIn "Mirror," Sylvia Plath gives us the point of

view of the mirror –a mirror in the 1960s, a time when the meaning of Plath's reflection, and women's reflections in general, were rapidly changing.

Mirror  I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislikeI am not cruel, only truthful –The eye of a little god, four-cornered.Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so longI think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.Faces and darkness separate us over and over. Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me.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 faithfullyShe rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.I am important to her. 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 womanRises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

Mirror by Sylvia Plath1. Who is the narrator of this poem?

1. Find a line or phrase that suggests the mirror is unaffected by personal feelings.

1. What does ‘meditating on the opposite wall’ mean?

1. Why does Plath describe the wall as ‘part of [her] heart’?

1. How does the mood alter in the second stanza?

1. What do you think the woman is doing?

1. What does the lake symbolize?

1. Why does she call the candles and the moon ‘liars’?

1. Write a short paragraph explaining why you like or dislike this poem.

-Represents itself as “not cruel, only truthful”, “faithful”, honest and reliable.

-Too honest and too blunt for the woman and “she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon” for a distorted image of herself in order to not see her aging in the soft focus.

Throughout the poem the mirror is shown as an arrogant object. The metaphor of mirror being “the eye of a little god” is sustained throughout the poem signifying the power it has.

“I am important to her. She comes and goes.” states the value of the mirror for the woman and indicates that the woman is addicted to the mirror to the point where she’s searching “for what she really is” in the mirror, despite the fact that the mirror is cruel and blunt. This again gives power to the mirror.

STANZA TWO

“Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me.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.She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.I am important to her. 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 womanRises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.”

In stanza two the mirror becomes a perfectly reflecting lake. A woman bends over the lake, but no matter how deeply she searches she sees only her actuality. Sylvia can not fall in love with what she sees and she doesn’t like herself at all.

In the poem, it tells us about a lady who dislikes the way she looks. She thinks of herself as being ugly.

Sylvia Plath’s poem “Mirror” reflects many different ideas and thoughts. Her poem is dark, full of unhappiness, and only views the world from a pessimistic perspective. Given Sylvia Plath’s background it is understandable that the poem is full of dark ideas and wild nightmares. Sylvia Plath writes many more poems like “Mirror” Sylvia Plath uses imagery, personification, metaphors, and greatly shows a shift to express all of her emotions she intended to be put into the poem.

Introduction

-Give the title of the poem and the poet.

-Say what sort of poem it is (in this case – free-verse – it doesn't rhyme – and laid out in two stanzas)

-Write a few short sentences about the subject of the poem (truth, reflection, death, suicide...)

Imagery

-What are the pictures used in the poem? Why do you think they are used and what effect do they have on the reader?

-What metaphors, similes and personification are used?

-What senses are tapped into? Does this help you enjoy or understand the poem?

ImageryFrom the beginning of the poem, where

we find out that the mirror is "unmisted" and "swallows" everything, to the end of the poem, where a girl is drowning and a fish is rising, this poem revolves around water. Here, water is both a reflecting surface and an actual lake.

Water = Clear and Mysterious

ImageryLine 2: While this line doesn't explicitly

address water, it uses the word "swallow" as a metaphor for reflecting. The word makes us think of water, which can itself swallow things, taking them beneath its surface.

ImageryLine 3: Again, a water-related term is used

as a metaphor. "Unmisted" stands in here for "unchanged."

ImageryLines 10-11: Here we find out that the mirror

is a lake. It's a cool image, shifting from the silver of a mirror to the silver of clear water. Then we hear that a woman is searching the reaches of the water for what she really is; if you've ever spent some time peering into water, you'll know that it can be mesmerizing like this. The mythical Greek figure Narcissus even died looking into his reflection in a pond.

ImageryLine 14: The tears are another form of water,

and the woman is physically interacting with the water of the lake by stirring it up with her hands. She's taking her frustration out on the water.

ImageryLines 17-18: This drowning and rising up is,

yet again, a metaphor. With the young girl drowning, and the old woman rising, it seems most likely that the water is a metaphor for time, or aging. Also note that because the old woman rises up "like" a terrible fish, this part of the line is a simile.

Colors and LightLine 1: The color in this line gives us the

major clue that – ah ha! – the speaker is not a person, but a personified mirror.

Since this is the first line, we think of the color silver throughout the poem whenever we think of the mirror.

Colors and LightLines 7-8: Silver mirrorPink, speckled wall—less exciting than the

mirrorBut then in line 8, we find out that this

speckled pink wall is like part of the mirror's heart – and hearts often make us think of the color red.

Colors and LightLine 9: Darkness separates the mirror from

the pink wall. The mirror also mentions that faces play a

part in this separation. What does this mirror feel about human

faces if it sees them on the same plane as darkness?

Colors and LightsLine 13: We hear that, when it comes to

reflections, candles and the moon are liars, that the light they provide is false.

The mirror's declaration personifies the candles and the moons, giving them human qualities, like the ability to lie.

Colors and LightLine 16: Again, in this line, we see faces and

darkness. But instead of the faces separating the mirror from the pink wall, faces replace the darkness. We'd expect the sky, in the morning, to replace the darkness, but instead, the woman's face is the first thing reflected in the lake.

ReflectionsLine 2: "Swallow" is a metaphor for

reflecting. This line is also an example of personification – mirrors don't see or swallow anything – but Plath's poem makes this character so believable that we have to remind ourselves that mirrors don't have eyes or mouths.

ReflectionsLine 6: Again, we see personification and

metaphor teaming up to mean reflection. The metaphor is that the mirror is reflecting the opposite wall, not "meditating on" (or thinking about) it. Mirrors don't meditate, people do.

ReflectionsLines 7-8: Mirrors don't see, and they don't

look. --another example of personification used to create a metaphor for reflection.

The mirror can feel that whatever it reflects is a part of its heart, further personifying the mirror.

ReflectionsLine 11: Here we see the importance of

reflections. Now, the mirror is a lake, and a woman is searching its waters to learn something about herself.

Wider function of reflection in this poem. The woman is treating her reflection in the water as if it could reveal something about herself, and not just her appearance.

ReflectionsLine 13: Finally used the word REFLECT. But not without some personification, of

course. The mirror is providing an accurate reflection, as if it takes pride in what it does, or as if it has some loyalty to this woman.

ReflectionsLines 18-19: These two lines give reflections

physical power. Of course, this power is abstract – only a figurative young girl and a figurative old woman are in the waters of the lake.

This line takes reflections from being about present appearances and makes them about past and future appearances, all through the metaphor of drowning and rising in the waters of the lake.

Form & Structure

-Are there any interesting features in the poem from the way it appears on the page – e.g. shape, length of lines, number of stanza

Form & StructurePlath also uses repetitive phrases, like "over

and over" and "day after day." These phrases, and Plath's attention to sound, help bring a little rhythm and rhyme into this poem's free verse.

Over and OverOver and over

Over and over

Over and over

Setting This poem has two distinct settings. In the first stanza, the setting is probably a bathroom, because

the wall is speckled pink, and there are a lot of faces and darkness in the room. But the mirror could be anywhere – a bedroom, a hallway? It's left up to our imagination.

We do know that it's a four-cornered mirror, and not an oval one, so this mirror is probably just practical, and not super fancy. Also, the detail that the wall is pink might hint that there are women in the house, and that the mirror is in an area they use. We imagine this mirror in a bathroom, with perfume and hair gel right underneath it. Where do you picture the mirror hanging?

In the second stanza, the setting changes. We know that our speaker is now a lake, but we don't know how big it is, or if it's in a field, by a forest, or even in the middle of a suburb. We're guessing it's a small, clear lake, somewhere mystical and moonlit, but close enough to a house that the woman who looks at her reflection can come and go easily and often.

Rhyme & Rhythm

-Does the poem rhyme? If so, what pattern is used – e.g. ABAB, ABCB

-Are there any strong beats in the poem – rhythm?

-If so, say why the poet might have used them.

Uses slant rhymes, or words that sound similar, but don't quite rhyme. An example of this is the lines ending in "darkness" and "fish" – these two words sound similar, but the slant makes the rhyme surprising and fresh.

Language

-Does the choice of words used by the poet help us understand her feelings?

-Poets use certain words to trigger how we think about a poem – which words do this?

-Think about the sound of the poem – which techniques are used? e.g. Alliteration, Onomatopoeia

Themes

-Explore the themes and ideas more carefully.

-What is the poem really about? What message is Plath trying to put across?

Conclusion

-How do you  respond to the poem? Does it work for you?

-Give your thoughts and feelings about the poem.