Chapter 2 Poem Outline for Mirror by Sylvia Plath

Mirror by Silvia Plath

Thesis: Through personification Plath expresses the honesty that a reflection can give to the viewer. In addition the unique point of view of the mirror offers honesty and truth even when the woman in the poem does not want to see it.

Personification:

In the poem the mirror acts likes a person and describes how she views the woman.

 -“Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike./ I am not cruel, only truthful—” (lines 3-4).

The mirror portrays an honest person who cannot lie. The goal of the mirror is not to be harsh, but offer honesty in what she actually sees. By giving the mirror these human traits it appears that the mirror is what is hurting the women’s feelings, not that the woman is upset that she no longer sees the same person in the mirror.

-“I think it is part of my heart” (line 8)

The mirror is given human emotions in this line. She now has a heart, and feels a connection to the pink walls that she reflects every day.

Point of View:

The mirror interprets the woman’s actions and understands that the woman is upset with what she sees in the mirror.

-“Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon” (line 12).

The mirror sees that the woman is trying to create softer lighting in order to see the reflection that she wants in the mirror. The mirror views this as lie because she is only thing that can show the woman what she actually looks like.

-“In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman” (line 17).

The mirror is now a lake and expresses that she has been on the wall for a long time and has seen the woman grow up and grow old. The mirror knows that the woman’s past is gone and only the future lies ahead but the woman is not ready to face that yet.

Simile/Metaphor:

-“Now I am a lake” (line 10).

The mirror is now a lake because like a mirror, water can reflect. Facing the water the woman is still trying to find who she is, and the mirror keeps reflecting the same image. The mirror illustrates that sometimes we do not always see what we want to see.

-“Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish” (line 17).

The woman is a terrible fish because she keeps trying to escape her future by refusing to see her true reflection. She is compared to this animal because terrible fish try to escape being captured, just like the woman runs away from her own reflection.