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Description
Mind Map by Joseph Gianotti, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Joseph Gianotti
over 3 years ago
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"Mirror" by Sylvia Plath
- Author Background
- Sylvia Plath – b. 1932, d. 1963
- Born and raised in Boston, MA.
- She is remembered as one of
the most iconic poets of the
20th century, even though she
took her life at the age of 30.
- She was married to the poet,
Ted Hughes. They had a
troubled relationship that Plath
often explored in her poetry,
along with her severe
depression.
- A journal entry of hers reads: “It is as if
my life were magically run by two
electric currents: joyous positive and
despairing negative—whichever is
running at the moment dominates my
life, floods it.”
- A journal entry of hers reads: “It is as if
my life were magically run by two
electric currents: joyous positive and
despairing negative—whichever is
running at the moment dominates my
life, floods it.”
- She was married to the poet,
Ted Hughes. They had a
troubled relationship that Plath
often explored in her poetry,
along with her severe
depression.
- She is remembered as one of
the most iconic poets of the
20th century, even though she
took her life at the age of 30.
- Born and raised in Boston, MA.
- Sylvia Plath – b. 1932, d. 1963
- Poem Background
- Most likely written
around 1961, around
the time of the
writing of her only
novel, "The Bell Jar".
- Published
posthumously in the
anthology ‘Crossing
the Water.’
- Plath often wrote
about getting older in
her journals as a
teenager.
- “I am afraid of getting
older. I am afraid of
getting married. Spare me
from cooking three meals
a day-spare me from the
relentless cage of routine
and rote.”
- “I am afraid of getting
older. I am afraid of
getting married. Spare me
from cooking three meals
a day-spare me from the
relentless cage of routine
and rote.”
- Plath often wrote
about getting older in
her journals as a
teenager.
- Published
posthumously in the
anthology ‘Crossing
the Water.’
- Most likely written
around 1961, around
the time of the
writing of her only
novel, "The Bell Jar".
- Poem Breakdown
- I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
- 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.
- Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
- It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
- I think it is 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 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 woman
- Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
- This last part references the mirror as a lake.
The woman drowned her face as a young girl
in the mirror, while an older appearance
rises out from the depths. Her new, wrinkled
self is as unusual and uncanny as a terrible
fish. Terrible can be read both something
unappealing or as something that inspires
fear or awe.
- This last part references the mirror as a lake.
The woman drowned her face as a young girl
in the mirror, while an older appearance
rises out from the depths. Her new, wrinkled
self is as unusual and uncanny as a terrible
fish. Terrible can be read both something
unappealing or as something that inspires
fear or awe.
- Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
- In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
- The woman is attached
to the mirror, despite
what it shows her about
her changing self.
- Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
- I am important to her. She comes and goes.
- She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
- By the dim light of a
candle of the moon,
imperfections are not as
easy to see.
- I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
- Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
- Perhaps an allusion
to Echo & Narcissus.
- Searching my reaches for what she really is.
- Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
- Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
- I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
- Despite its inability to
judge what it sees;
the mirror is very
observant.
- It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
- Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
- It tells the truth whether
someone likes it or not. It
has a tiny bit of power in
people’s lives.
- The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
- I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
- Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
- A mirror is
objective. Because
it has no biases, a
mirror will send
back everything
exactly.
- Whatever I see I swallow immediately
- I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
- Poem Analysis
- Structure
- Free
verse; no
rhyme
scheme.
- 2 stanzas –
there is
symmetry
between
the 2
stanzas (9
lines each).
- Use of
commas
and
periods.
- Not a lot of
enjambment
– leads the
poem to read
a bit more
like prose.
- Not a lot of
enjambment
– leads the
poem to read
a bit more
like prose.
- Use of
commas
and
periods.
- 2 stanzas –
there is
symmetry
between
the 2
stanzas (9
lines each).
- Free
verse; no
rhyme
scheme.
- Perspective
- Written from
the
perspective of
a mirror.
- It is easier to
understand why
the woman
would become
so attached to
the mirror
when its own
humanlike
traits are
displayed.
- It is easier to
understand why
the woman
would become
so attached to
the mirror
when its own
humanlike
traits are
displayed.
- Written from
the
perspective of
a mirror.
- Poetic Devices
- Metaphor
- Ex. “the eye
of a little
god”; The
mirror is
powerful,
but only
slightly.
- It might also
only be a little
god, because
only one
person
devotes
herself to it
regularly.
- Ex. “Now I am a lake.” Lakes
are large bodies of water
that are deep and reflective.
They are usually pretty
calm, so they can reflect
back faithfully like a mirror.
The depths of a lake also
hide things.
- Ex. “Now I am a lake.” Lakes
are large bodies of water
that are deep and reflective.
They are usually pretty
calm, so they can reflect
back faithfully like a mirror.
The depths of a lake also
hide things.
- It might also
only be a little
god, because
only one
person
devotes
herself to it
regularly.
- Ex. “the eye
of a little
god”; The
mirror is
powerful,
but only
slightly.
- Simile
- Ex. ‘like a
terrible fish’
- The older face
of the woman is
as awful and
dreadful as a
fish rising to
meet her.
Perhaps alludes
to wrinkles and
other changes
that happen as
people age.
- The older face
of the woman is
as awful and
dreadful as a
fish rising to
meet her.
Perhaps alludes
to wrinkles and
other changes
that happen as
people age.
- Ex. ‘like a
terrible fish’
- Repetition
- “I am” is repeated
at the beginning of
several lines.
- “I am” is repeated
at the beginning of
several lines.
- Allusion
- The entire poem can be read
as an allusion to the tale of
Snow White and the Evil
Queen who always asked her
mirror if she was the fairest in
the land.
- Plath alludes to the myth of Echo and
Narcissus in the 2nd stanza.
- Narcissus rejects the beautiful Echo, and a goddess punishes him by
making himself fall in love with his own reflection. He refuses to leave
the pool that he sees his reflection in. Both Narcissus and Plath are
obsessed with the mirror, although for opposite reasons (Narcissus
because he loves his own image, Plath because she detests her own
image.
- Narcissus rejects the beautiful Echo, and a goddess punishes him by
making himself fall in love with his own reflection. He refuses to leave
the pool that he sees his reflection in. Both Narcissus and Plath are
obsessed with the mirror, although for opposite reasons (Narcissus
because he loves his own image, Plath because she detests her own
image.
- Plath alludes to the myth of Echo and
Narcissus in the 2nd stanza.
- The entire poem can be read
as an allusion to the tale of
Snow White and the Evil
Queen who always asked her
mirror if she was the fairest in
the land.
- Personification
- This entire poem
is written from the
perspective of a
mirror. It is
objective and very
observant, which
is unlike most
humans.
- The mirror
‘swallows’ images
and will ‘meditate
on the opposite
wall’ for hours.
- It also talks about
having a heart;
something a
mirror does not
have
- It also talks about
having a heart;
something a
mirror does not
have
- The mirror
‘swallows’ images
and will ‘meditate
on the opposite
wall’ for hours.
- This entire poem
is written from the
perspective of a
mirror. It is
objective and very
observant, which
is unlike most
humans.
- Imagery
- Ex. “silver and
exact”; The
mirror is not a
deceitful or
imprecise
instrument.
- Ex. “It is pink,
with speckles.”
This might
show how long
the mirror has
been in one
place, because
the wall
opposite it has
speckles.
- Ex. “But it flickers.” The
image of the wall flickers,
because people come and go
from the frame.
- Ex. “But it flickers.” The
image of the wall flickers,
because people come and go
from the frame.
- Ex. “It is pink,
with speckles.”
This might
show how long
the mirror has
been in one
place, because
the wall
opposite it has
speckles.
- Ex. “silver and
exact”; The
mirror is not a
deceitful or
imprecise
instrument.
- Oxymoron
- Ex. ‘little god’ • A
god is a powerful
being, but the one
Plath describes is
little and must be
limited.
- Ex. ‘little god’ • A
god is a powerful
being, but the one
Plath describes is
little and must be
limited.
- Metaphor
- Structure
- Themes and Symbols
- Self Reflection
- The idea of reflecting on
one’s self is given new
meaning in this poem.
- Plath writes about a
woman looking at
herself in the mirror
from the perspective of
a mirror. That woman is
both looking at her
reflection and reflecting
on herself.
- The woman, however,
look so often at her
reflection that she
may be too in tune
with her changing
self.
- The mirror is also a tool
for direct self reflection.
The mirror reflects the
self directly back at the
subject, naked and
unabashed, allowing for
the subject to
contemplate themself.
- The mirror is also a tool
for direct self reflection.
The mirror reflects the
self directly back at the
subject, naked and
unabashed, allowing for
the subject to
contemplate themself.
- The woman, however,
look so often at her
reflection that she
may be too in tune
with her changing
self.
- Plath writes about a
woman looking at
herself in the mirror
from the perspective of
a mirror. That woman is
both looking at her
reflection and reflecting
on herself.
- The idea of reflecting on
one’s self is given new
meaning in this poem.
- Ignorance is Bliss
- A mirror does not hide
the truth from people.
Even when it might feel
better to not see reality.
- The mirror forces us to
confront the
uncomfortable truths
about ourselves.
- Ex. “unmisted by love or
dislike”; The mirror in this
poem does not try to
lighten the appearance of
age for those who look in
it, nor does it emphasize
their imperfections. It just
reflects back what there is
already
- The woman looking in the
mirror in this poem
sometimes turns her back
on the mirror. She prefers
to see her reflection by
candlelight or moonlight as
any imperfections or
blemishes are softened in
low light. Candlelight and
moonlight are also more
romantic, and therefore
more sympathetic. The
mirror says they are ‘liars’ –
they would rather someone
stay ignorant.
- The woman looking in the
mirror in this poem
sometimes turns her back
on the mirror. She prefers
to see her reflection by
candlelight or moonlight as
any imperfections or
blemishes are softened in
low light. Candlelight and
moonlight are also more
romantic, and therefore
more sympathetic. The
mirror says they are ‘liars’ –
they would rather someone
stay ignorant.
- Ex. “unmisted by love or
dislike”; The mirror in this
poem does not try to
lighten the appearance of
age for those who look in
it, nor does it emphasize
their imperfections. It just
reflects back what there is
already
- The mirror forces us to
confront the
uncomfortable truths
about ourselves.
- A mirror does not hide
the truth from people.
Even when it might feel
better to not see reality.
- The Process of Aging
- Plath’s obsession with aging
is apparent in the final
stanza of the poem.
- The woman in her poem
looks in the mirror
constantly. “Each morning it
is her face that replaces the
darkness.”
- The mirror talks about how
the woman “drowned a
young girl”. She has looked
in the mirror so often that
all her youthfulness has
been swallowed in the
mirror.
- And out of the ‘lake’ (that is,
the mirror) rises the face of
an old woman. The poem
is written as though this
old woman is
unrecognizable to the
woman looking into the
mirror.
- Aging is represented as “a
terrible fish.” There can be
two ways to read this; 1)
Terrible = exceptionally bad
or displeasing, and 2) Terrible
= causing fear, dread, terror,
or awe.
- Aging is represented as “a
terrible fish.” There can be
two ways to read this; 1)
Terrible = exceptionally bad
or displeasing, and 2) Terrible
= causing fear, dread, terror,
or awe.
- And out of the ‘lake’ (that is,
the mirror) rises the face of
an old woman. The poem
is written as though this
old woman is
unrecognizable to the
woman looking into the
mirror.
- The mirror talks about how
the woman “drowned a
young girl”. She has looked
in the mirror so often that
all her youthfulness has
been swallowed in the
mirror.
- The woman in her poem
looks in the mirror
constantly. “Each morning it
is her face that replaces the
darkness.”
- Plath’s obsession with aging
is apparent in the final
stanza of the poem.
- Self Reflection
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