1. Literary Device: Personification
Personification is a literary technique in which inanimate objects or abstractions (ideas) are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form and/or self-awareness.
Example: The mouth of the river perpetually spits water into the sea.

2. “Mirror” Sylvia Plath
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 I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long I think it is a 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 old woman Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

3. “Mirror” – Author’s Purpose
What two things are personified within the poem? (Hint: Notice the title of the poem.)
A _______ and a _____.
Select at least three adjectives describing the emotional state or tone of each object:
mirror
lake
Stanza 1
Stanza 2
Truthful
Faithful
Lonely
Important
Exact
Isolated

4. “Mirror” – Author’s Purpose
How are these personified objects similar? What are their differences within the poem? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
What are the implications of the phrase “drowned a young girl” and the simile “like a terrible fish” at the end of the poem? _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Both the mirror and the lake seem to be hungry for interaction. But only the mirror seems unappreciated and unnoticed.
Both poetic phrases point toward the changing nature of the lake’s reflection and, more importantly and directly, the female figure’s ever-altering face reflected there.

5. “Mirror” – Author’s Purpose
What could both of the personified objects within the poem represent or symbolize? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________
What is the author’s overall poetic purpose or message? How does the personification support and develop this poetic theme? __________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Keeping in mind that Sylvia Plath was a feminist poet, the mirror and lake could represent the race that females often run against the onslaught of time in terms of physical beauty.
Sylvia Plath is exploring the strain of a culturally-heightened human struggle with time. By seeing this transformation from these personified perspectives the reader receives a true reflection – exact and unmisted by emotion.

6. Answer the essay question below:
In Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror”, the author explores the passage of time through the lens of personified objects. In a well-organized response, complete with relevant text evidence and commentary, pinpoint how the poet utilizes personification and symbolism to develop her poetic theme.
Red – Major Writing Task
Blue – Minor Insights/Instructions