Summary
Summary Mirror in-depth notes - IEB English Home Language Poem
- Course
- Institution
One of the selected poems for IEB English Home Language. 'Mirror' by Sylvia Plath. Explores the themes and poetic devices of the poem.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
aimeelia05
Reviews received
Content preview
Mirror, Contents
Contents....................................................................................................................................... 2
Summary...................................................................................................................................... 3
Themes......................................................................................................................................... 3
Time, aging & mortality...................................................................................................... 3
Appearance & identity........................................................................................................3
Poetic devices..............................................................................................................................4
Personification................................................................................................................... 4
Consonance.......................................................................................................................5
Assonance......................................................................................................................... 6
Diacope..............................................................................................................................6
Metaphor............................................................................................................................7
Simile................................................................................................................................. 7
Imagery.............................................................................................................................. 8
Allusion.............................................................................................................................. 9
Enjambment.......................................................................................................................9
FORM.......................................................................................................................................... 10
METER........................................................................................................................................ 10
RHYME SCHEME........................................................................................................................11
Class notes.................................................................................................................................11
, Summary
● Told from mirror’s perspective
● Mirror insists it has no predemtermined notions or assumptions
● Mirror is not harsh, but simply honest
Themes
Time, aging & mortality
● Poem describes personified mirror looking on as the woman’s youth fades
● The woman resents getting older & losing her beauty & youth
- 2 important social currencies for women living in a male-dominated society
● Illustrates the anguish of aging
- Woman confronts her mortality in the mirror each morning
● Stanza 1 illustracts mirror’s objectivity
- Metaphor: Like a god, mirror sees things exactly as they are
● Does not exist to flatter or insult, but only reflect appearances truthfully
● Mirror is “important” to the woman, perhaps because women in particular are so
often expected to conform to rigid standards of beauty & youth
- The parts of the woman that patriarchal society deems most valuable are also
the parts of her that have a time stamp; they are quickly fading
● “Like a terrible fish”: woman’s reflection is disconcerting - the aging process has
made her unrecognisable
● Highlights the horror & difficulty of confronting aging and - because ahing
inevitably lead to death - the idea of mortality
Appearance & identity
● About woman who sees herself in the mirror
● Woman is preoccupied w her reflection, hoping to find in it “what she really is”
● Even though the mirror is precise and objective - the woman looking looking at
her reflection still cannot see herself in its image
- People are so much more than what they look like on the surface
- The mirror only reflects how things appear, not what they are
● The mirror is objective - factual - trustworthy
- Can count on it to tell the truth
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller aimeelia05. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.65. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
79223 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now