Mirror analysis

Themes

• Self/identity
• Ageing
• Male/female roles

Lexis

• Agitation - a state of unsettled anxiousness/nervousness

Imagery

• Imagery of the mirror & its surroundings
• Semantic field of water "lake" "drowned" "fish" - reflective glass can be similar to water
• Imagery of woman who uses mirror & ageing process

Syntax & Rhythm

• Lots of end-stopped sentences & caesura - implies the blunt truth ("no preconceptions") that the mirror gives through  clear, truthful sentences

Form

• Two nine-line stanzas - externally implies a sense of control

Rhyme

• Free verse - suggests lack of order/control which is ironic considering ordered form

Voice

• Mirror is first person narrator - uncommon in Plath's 'confessional' poetry - however, mirror can be seen as a device to convey the emotions of the described persona - expressed through last lines which can be seen as emotive, fearful language contrasting to the dehumanized, veracious mirror

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