Sylvia Plath's Poem 'Mirror'
Mirror
In today’s day and age, it seems that some would do anything to erase a crease in their forehead, or a crinkle on the outskirts of an eye. Because time is something that we can never get back, growing older is an idea that many try to deny, especially in today’s society. Told from a mirror’s point of view, the mirror in the poem witnesses the truth of what it means to age. Sylvia Plath’s poem, Mirror, is a poem that deals with the truths and lies in the struggle a woman goes through when grasping the reality of aging. The poem is appealing due to the ways in which Plath successfully uses personification, figurative language, and diction in her writing to emphasize this idea, as well how the concept of keeping up appearances and aging are relevant topics for many women in modern day culture. One of the many literary devices Plath utilizes in the poem is the reoccurring use of personification to a mirror. The entire poem is told in the perspective of a mirror and what is has been like for this mirror to watch a woman age. It is a great way to capture the reader 's interest and in addition, focus on the truth of the physical aspect of aging. Beginning in the third line of the poem, the mirror says “What ever I see I swallow immediately / just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike” (2-3). The mirror is personified by saying it swallows what it sees, meaning that it takes everything in because mirrors reflect all the things surrounding them. The mirror is again personified because it is given the feeling of not loving or disliking something. This line effectively demonstrates how the mirrors personality is untainted by looks or pre judgments. This quality of the mirror should be greatly appreciated by the woman of the poem because as we go on to read, the mirror only sees the woman superficially, whether that is good or bad, the mirror passes no judgment, it only sees what is right in front of it. Unlike in today’s society, people often are inclined to base a
In today’s day and age, it seems that some would do anything to erase a crease in their forehead, or a crinkle on the outskirts of an eye. Because time is something that we can never get back, growing older is an idea that many try to deny, especially in today’s society. Told from a mirror’s point of view, the mirror in the poem witnesses the truth of what it means to age. Sylvia Plath’s poem, Mirror, is a poem that deals with the truths and lies in the struggle a woman goes through when grasping the reality of aging. The poem is appealing due to the ways in which Plath successfully uses personification, figurative language, and diction in her writing to emphasize this idea, as well how the concept of keeping up appearances and aging are relevant topics for many women in modern day culture. One of the many literary devices Plath utilizes in the poem is the reoccurring use of personification to a mirror. The entire poem is told in the perspective of a mirror and what is has been like for this mirror to watch a woman age. It is a great way to capture the reader 's interest and in addition, focus on the truth of the physical aspect of aging. Beginning in the third line of the poem, the mirror says “What ever I see I swallow immediately / just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike” (2-3). The mirror is personified by saying it swallows what it sees, meaning that it takes everything in because mirrors reflect all the things surrounding them. The mirror is again personified because it is given the feeling of not loving or disliking something. This line effectively demonstrates how the mirrors personality is untainted by looks or pre judgments. This quality of the mirror should be greatly appreciated by the woman of the poem because as we go on to read, the mirror only sees the woman superficially, whether that is good or bad, the mirror passes no judgment, it only sees what is right in front of it. Unlike in today’s society, people often are inclined to base a
Cited: Plath, Sylvia. “Mirrors.” Poetry: An Introduction by Michael Meyer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford / St p. 145-146