Poems

The poem "Mirror" was one of Sylvia Plath's earlier works. As usual, she is questioning who she is. This poem differs from "Daddy" because in this poem she is trying to define who she is.

This poem is written in two stanzas. In each stanza Sylvia appeals to a different reflection to help her unhe is and the purpose of her life.

The first stanza begins with "I am silver and exact." The word es u a mirror. Sylvia says that the mirror "swallr it sees which is an example of personification. She uses a metaphor that the mirre G-d" to describe its judgmental characteristic that makes Sylvia face the truth no matter what tnsequences. Sylvia is unhappy with what she sees in the mirror and so now shethe reflection of the lake for answers. is a little easier for when Sylvia wishes, the image invoked by the lake can be adjusted with the help sonification is used to provide the reader with the image of how candlelight or moonlight can be used to deceive, if one is willi the truths softened by the glow of moonlight or candles.

Sylvia Plath

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Sylvia does not take the easy way out and she keeps returning to the lake trhe answer to who she really is and what her role on earth is meant to be. Sylvia, as reflected in the lake is no different than she is in life and so shind solace in the lake's reflection. She "rewards (the lake) with tears and an agitation of hands" an image that is powerful enough to evoke tears in the reader. Sylvia's mood is very obvious in this line. s the mirror, is personified throughout the poem. The lake knows, holds the key to Sylvia's happinyet it continues to coldly mark her transformation from a young girl, to an older woman who is constantly drawn back, seeking answers that for her, do not exist.

Sylvia is trapped in her body, observing what sheher descent from youth to an old age that "rises r day, like a terrible fish." With this simile and vivid imagery, one cannot help but wish that Sylvia could have resolved her conflict with e in society, so that when she looked in the mirror or lake she could have seen a fulfilled person looking back at herself.

a Plath describes her mood and sets the tone that instills in the reader her obsession with aging, isolation and entrapment. It is a sad comas like for a woman of the 50's who had omplish more that being an appendage to a man.

Sylvia Plath | The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath [Hughes]

SYLVIA PLATH