Born in 1932 to middle class parents in jamaica plain, massachusetts, sylvia plath published her first poem at the age of eight. Poems study guide contains a biography of poet sylvia plath, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of select poems. Though sylvia plath never realized her youthful wish to walk into the mirror like alice plath. Plath had a history of severe depression due to her fathers death when she was a child and her failed attempts of suicide throughout her life. Sylvia plath s mirror is a poem which deals intimately with the idea of women searching for distinctions between the real self and the false. In the beginning the changes are simple, like the acts of day turning to night, but at the end we see the life changes of a woman in particular. It uses the titular mirror as its central symbolic device. Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow effacement at the winds hand. I recommend you to read the laburnum top by ted hughes. Lexie stohr, victoria nicholson, mitchell grantham. I am not cruel, only truthful in the poem, mirror, by sylvia plath, which can be read in full here, the mirror gives its own description and says that i am silver coloured and i am very accurate while reflecting the images of.
One year in every ten i manage it1 a sort of walking miracle, my skin bright as a nazi lampshade, my right foot a paperweight, my face a featureless, fine jew linen. Get an answer for what are the figures of speech used in the poem the mirror by silvia plath. This poem is not a riddle, speaking with the voice of some mysterious i until the end, where the reader is shocked to find out that its a mirror, and not a person speaking. Mirror was written two years before plath committed suicide in 1963. In the second stanza, sylvia plath introduces a new element to the poem. Sylvia plaths mirror stands as an icon of seeing all objects true to its existence.
The rest of the body is all washed out, the color of pearl. The duality that sylvia plath wrote about in her thesis provides the basis for the personality of esther, the protagonist of plath s the bell jar. Pdf sylvia plaths mirror stands as an icon of seeing all objects true to its existence. Sylvia plath was an american poet, novelist, and shortstory writer. Read the questions thoroughly and comment if you liked. Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike i am not cruel, only truthful the eye of a little god, fourcornered. Brainstormfivethingsyouknowaboutmirrors,associatewith. In greek mythology, narcissus is a young boy who fell in love with his reflection in a lake a natural mirror. She had spent her senior year working on a special honors thesis which she titled. The mirror watches a womans youth pass her by, and it appears that the woman gauges her worth based on what she sees. Custom mirror by sylvia plath essay paper essay the poem mirror is adeptly exploring and advancing the themes of both truth and ageing.
Daddy by sylvia plath uses emotional, and sometimes, painful metaphors to depict the poets own opinion of her father. Background of the poem the poem was written by sylvia plath in 1961. In this post, you can find some important questions from the chapter mirror. Reflections of self and other in sylvia plaths mirror.
The freeverse poem tells the story of a woman who continuously looks at her reflection first in a mirror and then in a lake. She was raised by her mother after her father died of complications from diabetes when she was eight. Though sylvia plath never realized her youthful wish to walk into the mirror like alice plath 1982. Perception and relevance of mirror imagery rajani sharma one mirrory eye a facet of knowledge. Mirror by sylvia plath question and answers short answer type questions. By the time she took her life at the age of 30, plath. Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow. In mirror, sylvia plath gives us the point of view of the mirror actually a mirror in the 1960s, a time when the meaning of plaths reflection, and womens reflections in general, were rapidly changing. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, must i look so bloody grim.
Whatever i see i swallow immediately just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. While sylvia might sound a little bit like silver, were pretty sure from this firstperson declaration that plath isnt the speaker in this poem. Without yet any official biography or even any memoir longer than fifty pages, it is possible to construct a fairy detailed account of her life, and of her relationships to her. The mirror by sylvia plath full explanation mytutor. A sensitive person who tended to be a bit of a perfectionist she was what many would consider a model daughter and student popular, a straight a student, always winning the best prizes. Reflections of self and other in sylvia plaths mirror imagery. Spiderlike, i spin mirrors, loyal to my image plath, 259 the image is synonymous to death, she can only remember but deadly single word of what is left. I am not cruel, only truthful in the poem, mirror, by sylvia plath, which can be read in full here, the mirror gives its own description and says that i am silver coloured and i am very accurate while reflecting the images of the objects that fall on my surface. Plath is able to emphasize the loneliness, hope, despair, and insecurity that awaits us through. The mirror was written by sylvia plath in 1961 but wasnt published until 1971, eight years after her death by suicide. In lines 1718, the image of the aging woman is compared to a terrible fish.
Mirror mirror, mirror, on the wall, cant you show me tall and slim. While living in winthrop, eightyearold plath published her first poem in the boston heralds childrens section. What is the best way to find sylvia plaths senior thesis. Sylvia plath chooses a simple everyday object, a mirror in her mirror by sylvia plath. I agree with denvor fernandez because people really do hate the truth and they turn to other things to tell them what they want to hear like the woman turns to the candles and the moon to make her prettier.
It appeared in plath s posthumously published collection crossing the water. May 30, 2015 its on microfilm at the smith college library and there should be a copy in smiths plath collection. The monster in plaths mirror, essay date october 1993 in the following essay, freedman discusses plaths use of the mirror as a symbol of female passivity, subjugation, and plaths own conflicted selfidentity caused by social pressure to reconcile the competing obligations of artistic and domestic life. October 27, 1932 february 11, 1963 was an american poet, novelist, and shortstory writer. The bell jar is a novel about the events of sylvia plath s twentieth year. He is at once, a black shoe she was trapped within, a vampire, a fascist and a nazi. What are the figures of speech used in the poem the mirror. This applies to both of the characters described in the poem.
Mirror by sylvia plath by mitchell grantham on prezi. Mirror by sylvia plath question and answers important. The relationship between the mirror and the woman is uneasy and almost abusive in sylvia plath s poem mirror by sylvia plath. In this video, you will mirror by sylvia plath mirror class 10 important question and answers for exam class 10 important question and answers for exam. In the last post, i wrote about mirror summary in hindi. In line 12, the mirror calls the moon and candles liars. Jul 31, 2016 line by line summary of mirror by sylvia plath mirror is written in blank verse and is divided into two stanzas. The overall meaning of the poem mirror pen and the pad. How is this poem different from the poem by sylvia plath.
I am silver and exact, i see her back, and reflect it faithfully, these descriptions follow the definition of a mirror. Anna oneil jul 25, 2017 the mirror is not interested in truth, alone mirror. Many of plath s poems deal with the complexities of defining womanhood and existing in a female space. A short analysis of sylvia plaths mirror interesting.
I have looked at it so long i think it is a part of my heart. Plath was educated at smith college and at newnham college of cambridge university. She was suffering from depression and her poetry is a proof. Through the use of metaphor and personification in the poem, plath creates images of water, reflections, and colors as having human characteristics to emphasize the strong. Sylvia plath was one of the most dynamic and admired poets of the 20th century. Sylvia plath bibliography sylvia plath was born on october 27, 1932 in boston, massachusetts.
Jul 07, 2017 the mirror by sylvia plath full explanation mytutor. I am not cruel, only truthful the eye of a little god, fourcornered. I am not cruel, only truthful 5 the eye of a little god, fourcornered. By the time she took her life at the age of 30, plath already had a following in the literary community. Mirrorsof entrapment and emancipation forugh farrokhzad and sylvia plath leilarahimibahmany a io mirrors of entrapment and. In the ensuing years her work attracted the attention. An analysis of intimacy in sylvia plaths poetry 17 fourth stanza with its own reflection in the mirror of loyal and unique loneliness. Sylvia plaths poem mirror is a reflection on what it means to be a woman uncertain of the future, haunted by the past. Sylvia plaths poem mirror is about a women maturing with time and her mirror is witness to her aging and her journey to finding herself. Metaphors and personification in sylvia plaths mirror. Mirror by sylvia plath shows the shallowness and superficial concerns of women through the personification and the description of a mirror reflecting a womans life and her character. Her novel, the bell jar, is strongly autobiographical, and her later poems, such as daddy and lady lazarus, show great power and. In the poem mirror, by sylvia plath, the poet communicates the idea that ones perception of youth and old age can influence how one views the passage of time.
We know mirrors dont talk but that just makes us more curious about what this mirror is. Welcome to the mirror by sylvia plath question and answers. In a pit of rock the sea sucks obsessively, one hollow the whole seas. Daddy by sylvia plath about this poet sylvia plath was one of the most dynamic and admired poets of the 20th century. Sylvia plath wrote the poem in 1961, just two years before her actual. What is the message behind mirror, sylvia plath s poem.
The poem is written from the perspectives of two entities. Sylvia plaths writing depicts the anguish of an unresolved and ambivalent attachment with her father. Sylvia plath graduated smith college with honors in june 1955. A study of the double in two of dostoevskys novels. A split in the mirror i sit composed in grecian tunic. Apr 11, 2009 sylvia plath mirror i am silver and exact. Mirror by sylvia plath uses a couple of different figures of speech in it to get its point across. With its portrayal of a talented yet frustrated young american woman in the 1950s, sylvia plath s the bell jar 1963 depicts the experiences of a nineteenyearold girl before her mental breakdown. The author of several collections of poetry and the novel the bell jar, sylvia plath is often singled out for the intense coupling. Line by line summary of mirror by sylvia plath mirror is written in blank verse and is divided into two stanzas. Nov 15, 2015 the relationship between the mirror and the woman is uneasy and almost abusive in sylvia plaths poem mirror by sylvia plath. The mirror serves as a vivid portrayal of womens life and stride through a very reliable persona, the mirror. In the poem mirror by sylvia plath, there is a continuing theme of change. Copas url to download pdf format b00qbod59wthisthingcalledloveamirrorlakenovelbook1.
Analysis of mirror by sylvia plath reading by sherice blair. Plath an american poet, novelist and short story writer. The bell jar by sylvia plath biographical note by lois ames drawings by sylvia plath eversion 3. Get an answer for what is the central idea of the poem mirror by sylvia plath. Essay about mirror by sylvia plath, analysis 861 words. Mirror sylvia plath 19321963 i am silver and exact. In this poem, sylvia plath revists the myth of narcissus. The use of personification and metaphor in mirror in the poem mirror by sylvia plath, there is a continuing theme of change. Have a class discussion on the comparison in terms of the theme, the tone and the language used. A jungian alchemical reading nephie christodoulides, university of cyprus in this paper i propose a new reading of sylvia plaths honor thesis the magic mirror, a reading which, like the idol in a magic mirror demonstrating a disturbance. Sylvia plath 193263 was an american poet and novelist whose bestknown works explore the themes of alienation, death, and selfdestruction. The mirror is described as a lake, because the woman who stands before it, seeing her image tries to look deep into every part of her image. It was published byfaber and faber eight years after her death in 1971 as part of thecollection crossing the water. Sylvia plath s poem has her hallmark stamp of powerful language, sharp imagery and dark undertones.
Mirror is an exploration of this uncertain self and was probably influenced by an earlier poem by the poet james merrill with the same title. She changes the narrator from the rectangular mirror, meditating on the opposite wall, to a lake. This is an interesting poem and what makes it even better is that she talks as if she is the mirror. The poem begins with the speaker describing her father in several different, striking ways. Mirror displays tremendous insight and objectivity into the natural human behavior of growing older. Along her required journey she is faced with obstacles, such as herself and time ticking. Sylvia plath is the author of the poem mirror, written in the early 1960s. In mirror, sylvia plath gives us the point of view of the mirror actually a mirror in the 1960s, a time when the meaning of plath s reflection, and womens reflections in general, were rapidly changing. Oct 27, 2017 sometimes we can only rely on what we see in ourselves as the truth. The entire poem is told by the mirror itself, meaning that personification is used throughout the poem because most mirrors lack the ability to talk excepting, of course, the mirror is snow white. Jul 25, 2017 why sylvia plaths mirror is such an unsettling piece of work. Instead, the poem lets us know from the start that were hearing from a mirror, with its title, mirror, and its first line, i am silver and exact. Plaths mirror that for sylvia plath, mirror holds great significance because the search. The female protagonist in plaths mirror identifies herself with the inanimate mirror.
Pdf plaths mirror is an allseeing eye researchgate. Her poetry, dreams and journal writings reveal the. Sylvia plath was an american poet best known for her novel the bell jar, and for her poetry collections the colossus and ariel. Mirror by sylvia plath read a free literary analysis essay.
It appeared in plaths posthumously published collection crossing the water. A jungian alchemical reading nephie christodoulides, university of cyprus in this paper i propose a new reading of sylvia plath s honor thesis the magic mirror, a reading which, like the idol in a magic mirror demonstrating a disturbance. The narrator, that is the mirror, begins by saying that it is silver and exact. Berckplage 4849 william freedman demonstrates in his article entitled the monster in plaths mirror that for sylvia plath, mirror holds great significance.
The feminist movement was becoming more prominent just as plath herself was beginning to experience motherhood and to enter middle age. Mirror sylvia plath essay example topics, sample papers. Essay on analysis of sylvia plaths mirror 1289 words cram. Morning song by sylvia plath poems academy of american. Hence, although the narrators form has changed, its function hasnt. Born in boston, massachusetts, sylvia plath grew up in winthrop.
Introduction the problem of the double personality has been of central concern to man from primitive times to the present. Jul 31, 2016 in the second stanza, sylvia plath introduces a new element to the poem. Analysis of sylvia plaths mirror sylvia plath is known as the poet of confession. In essence, the appearance of the double is an aspect of mans eternal desire to solve the enigma of his own identity.
Sylvia plath s mirror is a poem told from the point of view of the mirror. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, the colossus and other poems and ariel, as well as the bell jar, a semiautobiographical novel published shortly before her death. Its on microfilm at the smith college library and there should be a copy in smiths plath collection. This lesson plan presents the poem to the class and is supported by a text lesson that summarizes key points. So when one looks in the mirror, one is drowned in it, yet one can come out, of it alive.
Complete analysis of daddy by sylvia plath poem analysis. Mirror is a free verse written by the american poet sylvia plath. If youre not near northhampton massachusetts, or unable to get permission to see it, there were copies printed in book form in the 1980s, but t. Something whether it is in the form of its any state. What is the central idea of the poem mirror by sylvia plath. The second stanza in particular reworks the narcissus myth and adapts it to a womans experience. By seeking to read the riddle of his soul in its myriad. The poem is written from the mirror s perspective and details what it. Reflections of self and other in sylvia plath s mirror imagery. The poem is narrated by the mirror, which doesnt provide an unbiased and impartial view on its character contrar. Plath personifies the mirror and narrates the poem from this persona giving us the perspective of things in the light of the mirrors point of view. She uses poetry as a way to confess her feelings, to express and release her pain in life. What is the theme of the poem mirror by sylvia plath. Sylvia plath s mirror sylvia plath s mirror offers a unique perspective on the attitudes of aging.
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