اشياء مهمه لطالبات الادب مع أ.ايمان حمزه

[deep hope]

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Mirror by Sylvia Plath is a harsh poem. It is bleak and unloving. The mirror reflects images without making any judgements, which Plath ocontrasts with the judgemental nature of most people. She wishes that people would be more like the mirror.


First Stanza
Plath uses the technique of personification for the mirror. It says "I am silver and exact", "Whatever I see I swallow immediately / Just as it is". This tecnique of personification is the backbone of the poem. The open and honest qualities of the mirror are admired by the poet. The mirror then defends itself by saying "I am not cruel, only truthful". This is a true statement, the mirror does not set out to hurt people. Here there is an implied criticism of humanity, and possibly a sense of disillusionment that Plath feels with the way people act towards each other
Plath also admires the uncomplicated existence of the mirror. This too contrasts with the negatives she sees in humans, of the complex nature of human relationships and the difficult intricacies of human emotion. The calm, patient and accepting qualities that the mirror personifies are reflective of that which she yearns for in life.


Second Stanza
The second stanza sees a change in the mirror. "I am now a lake". The differences between a lake and a mirror are important here. The lake is not "silver and exact" like a mirror but it has more depth. A woman bends over the lake and looks in. "Searching my reaches for what she really is." The mirror now becomes a symbol for the private, hidden self. It shows that which society cannot see, that which Plath knows about herself but may not want to show.
The lake calls the candles and moon liars as they do not give enough light to give a true reflection. They stop the poet seeing who she really is. Perhaps this reflects her fear to realize her true inner potential as a writer. Perhaps it is a stab at human deception and refusal to face reality. The "tears and an agitation of hands" suggests worry and anxiety. It shows her fear of what the mirro/lake reveals, and her anger with herself for turning away from it. It may be her fear of the sings of age she sees in herself, or it may be an inner strength or beauty that she knows she possesses, but is unwilling to expose it to the harsh and judgemental world.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
rises towards her day after day, like a terrible fish.
This presents us with the image of her getting older and yet still searching for who she is. She is being lied to and she has been a victim of these lies. This final images suggests many insecurities. This terrible fish could represent both the inexorable approach of old age, and the death of what she feels is her socially accepted self. This fake exterior, of a Plath who yearns to please and be loved, might, she fears, be destroyed by the emergence of her true self, by the realisation of her true inner potential that she sees in the depths of the lake, and which she shuns. Therein lies the bitter sadness of this poem, the paradox in which she is stuck whereby she fears the emergence of her true self as a terrible process which may further alienate her from society, and yet at the same time it tears her apart to view the essence of who she truly is as "terrible". She is afraid that the mirror and the lake will someday soon both reflect the same image, yet also angry with herself that they haven't always done so.
The poem reflects Plath's insecurities and thoughts about herself. It suggests a lack of self-love and a troubled identity