Sylvia Plath 1

Sylvia PLATH
Sylvia Plath through her poem ‘Mirror’ tries to reveal how human prefer
the world ofillusions. In this poem, the protagonist mirror monologuically narrates its character. Themirror says it is silver in colour and exact in appearance and has no prejudices about theobjects that come before it. It says whatever appears before it, is suddenly swallowedwithout any alteration. In comparison to human the mirror does not have any emotions likelove or hatred. The mirror says though its truthfulness does not please the onlooker, it doesnot have any intention to be cruel and it only likes to be truthful. The mirror metaphoricallycompares itself with eye of omnipresent God that sees an object from all the angles. It saysit always contemplate looking into the opposite pink wall with speckles as it (wall) is alwayswith the mirror, it considers the wall as its indispensable part. The wall remains with itexcept when darkness and object flickers (disturbs) them.The mirror metaphorically compares lake, which has the quality to reflect the object as amirror does, with itself. When a woman bends over the lake and searches her realappearance in it, she is not satisfied with the reflection seen. So she shows agitation ofhands and her tears to show her resentment and hatred towards the mirror. Then she runsbehind those liars, the candles and moonlight, which give dim light unlike the mirror which
sees her reality and reflect it faithfully. The mirror says though the woman dislikes mirror’s
character but she cannot have an existence without it. So each morning she comes before itto replace the darkness. The woman when she was in her youthful glory used the mirror toaccess her appearance but now that beauty has been drowned (lost) in it and now when shelooks into it she feels as if she has grown terribly old wherefrom she cannot have an escape.So she feels like a terrible fish out of water that struggles for its existence. The significanceof using symbolic fish is...