Symbolism In Sylvia Plath's Mirror

Point of View, Personification, and Symbolism in Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror” Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror” deals specifically with the feminine struggle of immortality. The poem’s speaker provides a window into the effeminate interpretation of deterioration. A woman's thoughts may forever be a mystery, but this evocative poem could give insight to the complex imagination of a woman. Throughout the poem, the speaker's point of view, the use of personification, and ironic symbolism all underscore the internal struggle of life and death.
The poem’s title is crucial to the understanding and interpretation of the poem. The speaker’s name is presented in the title, “Mirror.” The mirror’s point of view is strongly stated within the poem, and states that it can only reflect what is in front of it, and does so unbiasedly. This inanimate object cannot form an opinion about the things it sees. For it is written that the mirror is only “truthful...and has no …show more content…
The poem’s subject may indicate that the poem will be focused primarily on the reflections of the looking glass, but instead of the repetitive use of the word “reflect,” the author personifies its speaker to portray the imagery included in the poem. The mirror thinks, feels, and speaks as a human or perhaps a “little four cornered god” (line 5). The human qualities placed on the mirror establishes an unsettling mood. In line two, the word “swallow” has a menacing connotation, and has many different meanings. To take in through the mouth and into the stomach, to withdraw from sight; assimilate or absorb, or to accept without question. The mirror does not physically swallow what it sees, it reflects or absorbs the image. The last definition can give insight to the intentional meaning of the word. To accept without question reinforces the speakers promise to truth. The mirror may have many human qualities, but it does not have the choice to choose what it