Mirror - Sylvia Plath
IEB 2025
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful-
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time | meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an ode woman
Rises towards her day after day, like a terrible fish
, - The speaker, a mirror, introduces itself as objective and
precise.
- "Silver" symbolizes the reflective surface of a mirror,
connoting truth and clarity.
- The phrase "exact" emphasizes the mirror's impartiality
and its function of providing an accurate reflection.
- The lack of "preconceptions" suggests the mirror does not
I am silver and exact. I have judge or interpret; it reflects reality as it is.
no preconceptions. - The line establishes the mirror's identity as a speaker and
its unique perspective.
- This introduces the idea of an unemotional and detached
observer.
- The absence of bias contrasts with human tendencies to
project emotions or interpretations.
- The mirror's tone here is confident and self-assured,
reinforcing its sense of reliability.
- The mirror describes its instant absorption of everything
it reflects.
- "Swallow" metaphorically suggests consumption,
implying the mirror devours the truth whole.
- This highlights the mirror's passive role, it takes in but
Whatever I see I swallow does not alter.
immediately - The immediacy "immediately" reinforces the mirror's
unfiltered, direct nature.
- This suggests a sense of permanence; the mirror’s
reflection cannot be undone.
- The imagery of swallowing introduces an almost
voracious, mechanical quality to the mirror.
- The mirror's impartiality is again underscored, it neither
adds nor subtracts from what it reflects.
- The line emphasizes the theme of truth versus distortion.
- The mirror claims to reflect things exactly as they
appear.
- "Unmisted" implies clarity, contrasting human emotions
that often obscure truth.
- Love and dislike are emotional filters absent in the
Just as it is, unmisted by love mirror's perspective.
or dislike. - This line reinforces the idea of the mirror’s emotional
detachment.
- The mirror’s role as an observer of objective reality is
emphasized.
- The phrase suggests that human emotions can distort
perception.
- It subtly critiques how people might fail to see
themselves or others clearly.
- The mirror prides itself on its neutrality, presenting
itself as superior to human subjectivity.
IEB 2025
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful-
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time | meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an ode woman
Rises towards her day after day, like a terrible fish
, - The speaker, a mirror, introduces itself as objective and
precise.
- "Silver" symbolizes the reflective surface of a mirror,
connoting truth and clarity.
- The phrase "exact" emphasizes the mirror's impartiality
and its function of providing an accurate reflection.
- The lack of "preconceptions" suggests the mirror does not
I am silver and exact. I have judge or interpret; it reflects reality as it is.
no preconceptions. - The line establishes the mirror's identity as a speaker and
its unique perspective.
- This introduces the idea of an unemotional and detached
observer.
- The absence of bias contrasts with human tendencies to
project emotions or interpretations.
- The mirror's tone here is confident and self-assured,
reinforcing its sense of reliability.
- The mirror describes its instant absorption of everything
it reflects.
- "Swallow" metaphorically suggests consumption,
implying the mirror devours the truth whole.
- This highlights the mirror's passive role, it takes in but
Whatever I see I swallow does not alter.
immediately - The immediacy "immediately" reinforces the mirror's
unfiltered, direct nature.
- This suggests a sense of permanence; the mirror’s
reflection cannot be undone.
- The imagery of swallowing introduces an almost
voracious, mechanical quality to the mirror.
- The mirror's impartiality is again underscored, it neither
adds nor subtracts from what it reflects.
- The line emphasizes the theme of truth versus distortion.
- The mirror claims to reflect things exactly as they
appear.
- "Unmisted" implies clarity, contrasting human emotions
that often obscure truth.
- Love and dislike are emotional filters absent in the
Just as it is, unmisted by love mirror's perspective.
or dislike. - This line reinforces the idea of the mirror’s emotional
detachment.
- The mirror’s role as an observer of objective reality is
emphasized.
- The phrase suggests that human emotions can distort
perception.
- It subtly critiques how people might fail to see
themselves or others clearly.
- The mirror prides itself on its neutrality, presenting
itself as superior to human subjectivity.
