Mirror

~ Sylvia Plath

Presented By: Avantika Chaubey, Darsh Goel, Dhruthi Yanduri,

Dhruvin Prasanth, Mishti Jethani, Nethra Viswanathan
 Table of Contents
01 02
An Overview An Analysis

03 04
Analysis of Themes Conclusion
 Perhaps when we find
ourselves wanting
everything, it is because
we are dangerously close
to wanting nothing
~ Sylvia Plath
About the Poet

Sylvia Plath, pseudonym Victoria Lucas, is

one of the most famous American poets.
Known for her work such as her poem
“Daddy” and her novel “The Bell Jar”. She ties
her poems to the themes of Alienation and
Self-Destruction. She suffered from severe
depression and had attempted suicide many
times before unfortunately succeeding in
1963.
 01
An Overview
 Mirror
The poem “Mirror” was written by Sylvia Plath
shortly after the birth of her first-born in 1961. In
the poem, Plath takes up the viewpoint of a
mirror through which people find the truth
everyday. In this poem, she describes the themes
of aging, mortality and death.
 02
A Poem Analysis
 Mirror
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.
 Tercet 1
“I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.”

Line 1
The mirror describes itself to silver, a
valued metal of wonderful
properties. It states that it is exact in
its art, reflecting exactly what it sees,
unblinded by any preconceptions of
what stands before it
Line 2
Whatever stands before the
mirror, it swallows and projects.
It shows nothing but the truth,
but how you perceive the truth
is up to you.

Line 3
The mirror only shows things as
they are in their true form, not
blinded by love or hate.
 Tercet 2
“I am not cruel, only truthful‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.”

Line 4
An objective reality, free of
any emotions or feelings.
Line 5
The mirror is feeling mighty and
powerful of itself and feels like a
god. The phrase “four-cornered”
completes the reader’s image of
presenting it as graceful and
concise.

Line 6
Meditating on a wall, the mirror
sits unbiased overlooking a pink
wall coloured by the passage of
time, darkness and the face of the
poet.
 Tercet 3
“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.”

Line 7
The wall that the mirror looks at
is discoloured, hinting at the
passage of time. The mirror says
that it has been on the wall for
so long it feels as though the
wall is a part of itself.
Line 8
Although the wall is a part
of the mirror, the wall
flickers. It is separated by
the passing darkness and
flickering faces.

Line 9
Due to the passing darkness
(also hints at the passing time)
and the face of the author, the
mirror is separated and
reunited over and over with
the pink wall.
 Tercet 4
“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.”

Line 10 Line 11
The mirror being described The lady looks deep into the
turns to a lake. A woman is surface yearning to find her
seen digging for something lost youth and robbed time.

Line 12
Upon dissatisfaction, she
turns to dim candlelight
and moonlight; liars that
romanticize and beautify
images.
 Tercet 5
“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.”

Line 13
The mirror has no bias and reflects
what is true. Every day the woman
looks at herself in the mirror but
only sees the truth, the mirror only
reflects faithfully fulfilling its duty.
Line 14
Every day the woman goes to the mirror to see
her reflection, but when she sees her face she
starts to sob. The poet is trying to portray that
although the mirror reflects what is true and
faithful it is rewarded with tears and anger upon
the dissatisfaction of the woman.

Line 15
In this line, the poet portrays that the
mirror is very important to the woman
and she has become very reliant. Every
day she looks at the mirror with the hope
of her returned youth and time but is
dissatisfied with the reflected image.
 Tercet 6
“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.”

Line 16 Line 17
The woman goes to the lake for reassurance, but
to her disappointment..the lake reflects her back The woman feels that it is the
and she seems to be upset by that. Tears well up mirror that has swallowed her
in her eyes as maybe she misses her youth and youth and robbed her time.
beauty. What this tells us about the woman is that
she is an weak and facing troubles to accept the
reality of moving on

Line 18
Yet, she walks by the lake
everyday in hope of her returning
youth. She wakes up everyday
only to see herself looking horrid
as a fish that has been out of
water for too long.
 03
Analysis of
Themes
 Perception vs Reality

The poem explores the idea that our perception of ourselves and others
can be distorted and unreliable, while the truth may be harsh and difficult
to accept. The mirror presents an objective reflection of the woman's
appearance, but the woman's own biases and desires can prevent her from
seeing the truth.
 Aging and Mortality

The poem addresses the inevitability of aging and the poet’s fear of death.
The mirror witnesses the woman's transformation over time, from a young
girl to an older woman, and the woman is unable to escape this reality.
 Self-Identity

The poem also talks about the themes of self-identity and how it is
influenced by external factors. The woman's perception of herself is shaped
by the reflection she sees in the mirror, but the mirror presents an
objective view that may challenge her sense of self.
 Gender Roles

The poem also subtly touches on gender roles and expectations. The
woman in the poem is preoccupied with her appearance, and the mirror is
personified as a female entity, suggesting that there may be societal
pressure on women to prioritize their looks.
04 Conclusion
 Lines 1-9
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 for so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
Overall, the first half of "Mirror" presents a
complex and nuanced view of the
relationship between appearance and
reality. The mirror presents an objective
reflection of the woman's appearance, but
also highlights the flaws and imperfections
that the woman may not want to see. The
poem also touches on the themes of aging
and mortality, suggesting that the woman
is unable to escape the passage of time and
the changes it brings.
 Lines 10-18
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.
Written from the view of a personified
mirror, the 2nd stanza of the poem
explores the poet’s fear of ageing and
death. The mirror insists that it
reflects the truth that greets the
woman each day as a “terrible”
reminder of her own mortality. She
searches the mirror for an image that
reflects the way she sees herself and
feels inside, yet, only finds an
increasingly older woman staring
back.
Thank You