Mirror by Sylvia Plath – Summary & Analysis

Short Summary

• A mirror speaks about its truthfulness and objectivity as it observes the world.
• The mirror transforms into a lake where a woman looks for her true self.
• The woman sees her aging face and becomes sad and disturbed by the truth.
• The mirror cannot lie or comfort her like softer lights can.
• Young beauty drowns in time and is replaced by an old woman's face rising like a terrible fish.

Mirror by Sylvia Plath – Line by Line Analysis

First Stanza: Lines 1-9

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.

The poem opens with a mirror speaking in the first person. The word "silver" describes a mirror's metal coating and also suggests coldness and precision. "Exact" means the mirror does not change or distort what it sees. "No preconceptions" means the mirror has no biases or assumptions. It does not judge or favor any person or idea. This opening establishes the mirror as a speaker who claims complete honesty.

Whatever I see I swallow immediately just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.

The verb "swallow" is unusual. Normally mirrors reflect, not swallow. To "swallow" means to take in and accept without question. The mirror takes in every image completely and instantly. "Unmisted" means not clouded by feeling. The mirror does not let love make images beautiful or dislike make them ugly. It simply shows what is there, without emotions changing the reflection.

I am not cruel, only truthful.

The mirror defends itself against an unheard complaint. Someone may have called the mirror cruel, but the mirror claims it is not. Cruelty means wanting to hurt someone. The mirror says it only speaks the truth. If the truth hurts, that is not the mirror's fault. The mirror is innocent because it has no intention to harm. It simply shows what is real.

The eye of a little god, four-cornered.

The mirror compares itself to "the eye of a little god." An eye watches and sees everything. A god is powerful and divine. But this god is "little," suggesting it is not all-powerful. The mirror describes itself as "four-cornered," which means it has four sides like a square or rectangle. This odd phrase emphasizes the mirror's material form while also giving it spiritual power.

Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles.

When no one is looking into the mirror, it watches the wall opposite to it. "Meditate" means to think deeply about something. The mirror focuses on this pink wall, studying it carefully. "Speckles" are small spots. The wall is not perfectly smooth or clean. The mirror has looked at this same wall so many times that it has memorized every detail.

I have looked at it so long I think it is part of my heart.

The mirror has watched the wall for so long that it feels emotionally connected to it. The wall has become part of the mirror's heart, meaning it is emotionally important. This shows that even a mirror, which claims to be purely truthful and unemotional, can develop feelings. It cares about what it sees.

But it flickers.

The wall does not remain constant. It flickers, meaning it wavers, changes, or becomes uncertain. This represents time passing. Day and night cause changes in light and shadow. The wall is not stable. Nothing stays the same forever, not even the familiar things a mirror watches.

Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

People look into the mirror, then leave. Darkness comes (night passes), and people return. "Faces and darkness separate us over and over" means this cycle repeats endlessly. The mirror is separated from the wall by human faces looking into it, and then by darkness when no one is there. Time keeps dividing the mirror from what it watches.

Second Stanza: Lines 10-18

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, searching for something.

The mirror transforms. It is no longer a flat glass on a wall but a lake with water. The transformation is sudden and unexpected. A woman leans over the lake's surface, looking down at her reflection. She is "searching for something." She searches for her true self, hoping to see who she really is.

She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.

After looking at her reflection, the woman cries. "Rewards" is an odd word for tears—normally rewards are good. But the mirror accepts the tears as a gift or response. "Agitation of hands" means her hands move nervously or emotionally. She is disturbed by what she sees. The mirror notes her emotional reaction without judgment.

I am important in her life.

The mirror now recognizes that it matters to this woman. The mirror is not just a neutral surface. It plays an important role in her life. She comes to it seeking truth about herself. The mirror is her witness and her counselor, even though it offers no comfort.

Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.

When the mirror's truth becomes too painful, the woman turns away. She seeks out candlelight and moonlight instead. The mirror calls these lights "liars" because they are not truthful like the mirror is. Candlelight and moonlight are soft and flattering. They hide wrinkles and make skin look younger and more beautiful. They lie by making people look prettier than they really are.

I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.

As the woman turns away from the lake, the mirror sees her back. Still, the mirror reflects faithfully. Even though she looks away, the mirror continues to show the truth. It reflects what is there, whether the woman wants to see it or not.

She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.

This line repeats. The woman returns to the mirror again and again. Each time she cries and her hands shake with emotion. Her visits become a pattern. She cannot stay away from the mirror even though it upsets her.

Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.

Every morning, the woman comes back. Her face appears where darkness had been. She visits day after day, unable to stop herself. She is trapped in a cycle of looking, seeing her aging face, crying, and returning the next day.

In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

These final lines are the most powerful. The woman's young self has metaphorically "drowned." It is gone forever. In its place, an old woman's face "rises" from the reflection. The old woman is compared to a "terrible fish" rising from the depths of water. Fish are strange creatures from the underwater world. They are alien and frightening. The old woman's face seems alien to the woman herself. The terrible fish rises day after day, reminding her that aging continues. She cannot escape it.

Mirror by Sylvia Plath – Word Notes

Silver: A shiny metal used to coat mirrors. Also suggests coldness, precision, and reflective clarity.
Exact: Precise and accurate, with no changes or distortions.
Preconceptions: Beliefs or opinions formed before knowing all the facts; biases.
Swallow: To take in and accept completely without question or resistance.
Unmisted: Not clouded or covered by mist; clear and clean.
Meditate: To think deeply and carefully about something; to focus attention on.
Speckles: Small spots or marks, often blemishes or imperfections.
Flickers: Moves unsteadily between light and dark; wavers or changes.
Bends: Leans over; physically lowers oneself.
Searching: Looking carefully for something; seeking truth or identity.
Agitation: A state of disturbance, nervousness, or emotional upset.
Faithfully: In a true and honest way; without changing or distorting.
Drowned: Died or was submerged; here used metaphorically for loss of youth.
Terrible: Very bad, frightening, or causing fear and disgust.
Fish: A water creature; here represents something alien, strange, and ugly.

Publication

Sylvia Plath wrote "Mirror" in October 1961, shortly after the birth of her first child. The poem was first published in The New Yorker magazine in 1963. It was later included in the posthumous collection "Crossing the Water: Transitional Poems," published in 1971 by her husband, Ted Hughes. The timing of the poem's publication is tragic and significant. Plath died by suicide on February 11, 1963, just weeks after the poem appeared in The New Yorker. The poems in "Crossing the Water" represent a transitional period in Plath's work, written between her first collection "The Colossus" (1960) and her most famous collection "Ariel" (1965).

"Mirror" belongs to a group of poems Plath wrote during a period of intense creativity but also growing personal distress. The poem's themes of aging, identity, and harsh truth reflect the struggles Plath was experiencing during this time in her life. Today, the poem is recognized as one of Plath's most significant works, celebrated for its powerful exploration of beauty, aging, and self-perception.

Context

Sylvia Plath wrote "Mirror" during a significant period of her life. She had recently given birth to her daughter Frieda in 1960 and her son Nicholas in 1962. Plath was living in Devon, England, with her husband, poet Ted Hughes. This was a time of both creative productivity and personal struggle. Plath was challenging traditional roles expected of women as wives and mothers. She wanted to continue her writing career, but society expected her to focus on family. The winter of 1962-1963 was one of the coldest on record in England, and Plath faced isolation, illness, and domestic tension. Her earlier poem collection "The Colossus" had been published, but she was not yet famous. During this difficult time, she wrote some of her greatest poetry, exploring themes of identity, anger, fear, and the limits of truth. "Mirror" was written just months before her death, making it part of a body of work that grapples with pain, self-awareness, and the harsh realities of human existence. The poem reflects the intensity and darkness of her final creative period.

Setting

The poem does not describe a specific physical place in the traditional sense. Instead, it creates a symbolic setting through two transformations. In the first stanza, the setting is a mirror in a room, with a pink wall opposite to it. This could be any room in any house. The setting is domestic and ordinary. The mirror is stationary, mounted on a wall, observing the same pink wall across from it repeatedly.

The second stanza transforms the setting dramatically. The mirror becomes a lake, and the setting shifts to a natural landscape by water. A lake is a natural mirror, reflecting the sky and the woman's face. Lakes are deeper, wider, and more mysterious than mirrors on walls. The water setting adds symbolic meaning about depth, drowning, and transformation. 

The final setting is inside the woman herself—she is drowning in time, watching the old woman's face rise from the depths. So the setting moves from domestic and small to natural and deep to internal and psychological, reflecting the poem's themes of aging and self-discovery.

Title

The title "Mirror" is simple but contains many layers of meaning. A mirror is an object that reflects exactly what it sees without judgment or change. The title prepares the reader for a poem about reflection, both physical and psychological. The poem will explore how we see ourselves, what we learn from reflections, and how painful that truth can be. The title also suggests honesty and accuracy. We expect a mirror to show us the truth about our appearance. In the poem, the mirror insists on its truthfulness and refuses to lie or comfort us with flattering distortions. The title is plain and direct, which matches the mirror's claim to be "exact" and without "preconceptions."

There is no fancy language in the title, just the simple word for a simple object that reflects what is real. However, the poem transforms the simple mirror into something deeper and more complex—a lake, a witness to aging, and a symbol of time passing. So the title begins simply but opens into profound questions about identity, aging, beauty, and the cost of truth.

Form and Language

Plath wrote "Mirror" in free verse, which means it does not follow a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Free verse allows the poet freedom to shape the poem according to meaning and emotion rather than strict rules. The poem has two stanzas of nine lines each, creating a balanced visual structure. The first stanza introduces the mirror speaking about itself. The second stanza shows the mirror transformed into a lake observing a woman.

The language is simple and direct, using everyday words and short sentences. This simplicity matches the mirror's claim to be truthful and exact. Plath avoids ornate or fancy language. Instead, she uses concrete, physical details: silver, pink speckles, tears, hands, fish. These specific images make the poem vivid and memorable. Personification is central to the language—the mirror speaks, thinks, meditates, and has a heart. This gives the mirror a voice and personality, making it a character in the poem rather than just an object.

The tone is calm and detached in the first stanza, matching the mirror's claim of objectivity. In the second stanza, the tone shifts to become darker and more disturbing. The language becomes more emotional, describing tears, agitation, drowning, and a terrible fish. This shift in language and tone reflects the movement from the mirror's cold observation to the woman's painful reality.

Meter and Rhyme

"Mirror" is written in free verse, which means it has no fixed meter and no regular rhyme scheme. The poem does not follow the pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables that appear in traditional metered poetry like iambic pentameter. Instead, Plath uses natural speech rhythms. The lines vary in length according to the meaning of the words, not according to a predetermined pattern.

Without a regular meter, the poem feels closer to prose or natural speech. This helps create the mirror's voice as natural and conversational. The mirror speaks to us directly, explaining itself honestly. The lack of formal meter also allows the emotional intensity to build without the distraction of a regular beat.

There is no regular rhyme scheme either. Some lines end with words that rhyme or nearly rhyme—for example, "immediately" and "dislike" do not rhyme, but "me" and "lake" have assonance. However, these sound connections are not systematic. The poem is not organized around rhyme patterns. Instead, the meaning and emotional impact drive the structure.

The free verse form allows Plath to create variation and surprise. Readers do not know where lines will end or how long they will be. This uncertainty mirrors the unpredictability of aging and time that the poem explores. The lack of formal structure suggests that truth cannot be contained in neat, regular patterns. Truth is messy, surprising, and sometimes ugly—just like the old woman's face rising from the lake.

Mirror by Sylvia Plath – Themes

1. The Cruel Truth of Aging and Mortality

The most important theme is that aging changes appearance in ways that are difficult to accept. The mirror shows what actually is, not what we wish to see. As the woman looks at her reflection daily, she sees signs of aging: wrinkles, changes in skin, loss of youth. These changes upset and disturb her. The poem suggests that time and age are inevitable and cruel. No one can escape becoming older. The mirror does not pity the woman or comfort her. It simply shows what is real. The "terrible fish" rising each day represents aging as an alien, frightening force that we cannot stop. The theme teaches that denying the truth does not help. We must face what we are.

2. Truth versus Illusion and Comfort

The poem contrasts the mirror's harsh truth with the comfortable lies of candlelight and moonlight. The mirror insists it is "not cruel, only truthful." It will not flatter or deceive. When the woman cannot bear the truth, she turns to softer lights that hide her age and make her appear more beautiful. These lights are called "liars" because they do not show what is real. They comfort by deceiving. The poem asks a difficult question: Is it better to know the truth even if it hurts, or to believe comfortable lies? The mirror seems to say that truth is more important than comfort. Yet the woman's tears and agitation show the cost of such truth. The theme suggests that real self-knowledge requires facing painful realities, not hiding behind illusions.

3. Self-Perception and Identity

The woman searches in the mirror for her true self: "searching for something" or "searching for what she really is." But what she finds disturbs her. The reflection shows her aging face, not the young face she expects. She does not recognize herself. The mirror reveals a gap between who we think we are inside and who we actually are in appearance. The "young girl" drowns in the woman, replaced by an "old woman" she does not recognize. This raises questions about identity: Are we defined by our appearance or by something deeper inside? Can we know our true selves? The poem suggests that identity is not fixed. We change constantly, and these changes can be shocking and unwelcome. The woman returns daily, unable to escape the truth about herself.

4. Time and Transformation

Time is an invisible but relentless force in this poem. The mirror watches time pass as "faces and darkness separate us over and over." Each cycle of day and night represents time passing. The woman visits "day after day," but with each visit, she has aged further. The transformation from youth to age happens gradually, but the mirror makes it visible. The "terrible fish" rising is time made visible. It represents not just one moment of aging but the entire process of aging that continues throughout life. Each day brings more change. The poem suggests that time is something we cannot control or escape. We can only witness it in the mirror's reflection. Transformation is constant and inevitable.

Mirror by Sylvia Plath – Symbols

The Mirror Itself

The mirror is the central symbol of truth and objectivity. It represents the harsh, unfiltered reality of what we actually look like, separate from feelings or wishes. The mirror does not judge. It does not flatter. It shows exactly what is there. The mirror's insistence that it is "not cruel, only truthful" suggests that truth itself can be painful but is not intended to hurt. The mirror is also a symbol of honesty and integrity. It cannot lie even if lying would be kinder. In the poem, the mirror witnesses the woman's aging without pity or comfort. As a symbol, the mirror represents the need to face reality, even when reality is unwelcome or painful. The mirror is both a tool and a truth-teller.

The Lake

The transformation of the mirror into a lake deepens the symbolic meaning. A lake is a natural mirror, suggesting that truth and reflection are not just human creations but part of nature itself. Water is associated with depth, emotion, and the unconscious mind. A lake holds deeper meanings than a simple mirror. Lakes are also subject to change—they can be calm or turbulent. The lake in the poem becomes the space where the woman confronts her deeper self. She "bends over" the lake, lowering herself humbly. The lake reflects not just surface appearance but something more profound. The reference to the myth of Narcissus and Echo suggests that looking at one's reflection can be both beautiful and dangerous. The lake is a symbol of psychological depth and the dangers of self-absorption.

The Moon and Candles (Liars)

The moon and candles are symbols of comforting illusion and self-deception. These soft lights are traditionally romantic and flattering. They hide flaws and make skin look younger and more beautiful. The poem calls them "liars" because they do not show truth. They provide comfort through deception. The woman turns to them when she cannot bear the mirror's honesty. These lights represent the temptation to deny reality and believe pleasant falsehoods about ourselves. Many people prefer the kind lies of flattering light to the cruel truth of bright light. The moon and candles symbolize the human desire to feel good about ourselves even when the truth is different. They represent self-deception and the refusal to face what is real.

The Terrible Fish

The "terrible fish rising like a terrible fish" is the poem's most haunting image. Fish are strange creatures from the deep. They are alien and not fully understood by humans. The terrible fish symbolizes aging itself—an alien, frightening force that rises from the depths of time. It is "terrible" because it is ugly, frightening, and unwelcome. The fish represents the woman's old face that she does not recognize as her own. It rises "day after day," suggesting that aging is relentless and continuous. The fish is not human. It is something other, something monstrous. The symbol suggests that aging transforms us into someone we do not recognize. It makes us alien to ourselves. The terrible fish represents mortality, the inevitable decline of the body, and death approaching.

Mirror by Sylvia Plath – Literary Devices

Personification

Example: "I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately." The mirror speaks as if it is a living being with thoughts and feelings.

Explanation: The entire poem is told from the mirror's point of view. A mirror is an object, not a person, yet Plath gives it human speech and consciousness. Personification creates a unique voice for the poem. It allows the mirror to explain itself and its nature. By making the mirror speak, Plath gives truth and objectivity a voice and personality. This makes abstract ideas like truth and reflection more concrete and understandable.

Metaphor

Example: "Now I am a lake" and "In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish."

Explanation: The mirror becomes a lake, expanding the symbol of reflection from a small object to a vast natural phenomenon. The woman "drowning" is a metaphor for losing her youth. The old woman "rising" is a metaphor for aging becoming visible. These metaphors transform abstract experiences like aging and time into concrete physical actions. Metaphor helps readers understand invisible changes through visible imagery.

Simile

Example: "like a terrible fish" - the old woman's face is compared to a fish rising from the depths.

Explanation: The simile uses "like" to make a comparison between the aging face and a fish. Fish are strange, ugly, and alien creatures from the water's depths. This comparison makes the woman's aging face seem alien and frightening. Simile helps readers understand something unfamiliar by comparing it to something they know. The terrible fish is more vivid and disturbing than simply saying "she looks old."

Imagery

Example: "It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long / I think it is part of my heart" and "She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands."

Explanation: Plath uses specific, concrete details that appeal to the reader's senses. Pink walls, speckles, tears, hands—these visual and emotional details make the poem vivid. Strong imagery creates mental pictures and emotional responses. Readers can see and feel what the poem describes, making it more powerful and memorable.

Allusion

Example: The reference to the myth of Narcissus and Echo when the mirror becomes a lake.

Explanation: In Greek mythology, Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a lake and cannot look away, eventually drowning. The poem alludes to this story when the woman cannot stop looking at her reflection despite her distress. Allusion connects the poem to larger literary traditions and adds layers of meaning. It suggests that the woman, like Narcissus, is trapped by her reflection.

Paradox

Example: "I am not cruel, only truthful" - the mirror claims truthfulness is not cruel, yet the woman's tears show the truth is painful.

Explanation: A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory but may be true. The mirror insists it is kind because it is truthful, yet truthfulness causes the woman pain. The paradox highlights the complexity of truth: it can be both honest and harmful. This device makes readers think deeply about the relationship between truth and kindness.

Oxymoron

Example: "the eye of a little god" - combining "little" with "god," two ideas that seem opposite.

Explanation: An oxymoron combines contradictory words. A god is all-powerful, but a "little" god is weak and limited. This device emphasizes the mirror's strange nature: it has power to show truth, yet it is limited to what it can see and reflect. The oxymoron creates an unusual, memorable phrase.

Repetition

Example: "She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands" appears twice. "Faces and darkness separate us over and over."

Explanation: Repetition of words, phrases, and ideas emphasizes their importance. The repeated line about tears and agitation stresses the woman's recurring emotional pain. The phrase "over and over" emphasizes the endless cycle of time and visits. Repetition creates rhythm and reinforces major themes.

Enjambment

Example: Lines flow from one to the next without stopping: "I have looked at it so long / I think it is part of my heart."

Explanation: In free verse, enjambment means sentences continue across line breaks without pausing. This creates flowing, natural speech rhythms. The lack of stops suggests continuous time passing and the ongoing nature of the mirror's observation. Enjambment matches the poem's theme of time flowing endlessly forward.

Irony

Example: The woman comes to the mirror seeking her true self but finds an old face she does not recognize and does not accept.

Explanation: Irony occurs when the opposite of what is expected happens. The woman seeks truth but cannot accept the truth she finds. The mirror offers healing through honesty, but the woman is wounded by what she sees. The word "rewards" for tears is also ironic—rewards are usually positive, but here the mirror is "rewarded" with sadness. Irony adds depth and complexity to the poem's meaning.