Why I Love Sylvia Plath's "Mirror"

     Written in 1961, Sylvia Plath's "Mirror" is a poem about womanhood and how women, and their roles, change over time.  This poem was written only two years before Plath took her own life, but it was not published until ten years later.  Plath had a difficult life and constantly struggles with depression, so her poetry sometimes has a dark undertone.  The poem is written in free verse, which means there is no set pattern of rhythm or rhyme.  Despite this, Plath uses words that sound similar such as "fish" and "darkness."  She also uses repetition with pharses such as "over and over" and "day after day."  These elements make the poem seem to have a type of rhythm even though it is written in free verse.   
     The most fascinating part of this poem is that it is told from the perspective, or point-of-view, of a mirror.  Plath does not hide this fact or try to make a riddle out of it. She makes it clear before you have even started reading the poem by making the title "Mirror" and then makes the first line "I am silver and exact."  We as readers are immediately intrigued by what the mirror is going to say or do. The title choice could also symbolize poetry and how all poetry somehow reflects something about the reader and their life. 
     The first stanza of the poem is mostly about the mirror, which we learn is hanging across from a pink speckled wall probably in a bathroom.  The mirror is very personified and has human characteristics and thoughts.  The mirror feels affection for the pink wall and is almost egotistical about how it only reflects the truth.  The poem continues with a woman looking into the mirror and seeing herself older and not as beautiful as when she was young.  The mirror turns into a lake about halfway through the poem, but it still has the same characteristics and reflects the same truth as it did as a mirror. 
     This poem is not just about appearance, but it is also about the passage of time and growing older.  This is shown in the line "In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman."  The poem also has the theme of feminism and how women were changing at that time.  Women were not only changing individualy, but as a gender.  This relates those feelings of fear, but also tells that truth even if it is scary to contemplate. 
     I absolutely love this poem and I think it really makes the reader, especially women, look at how they themselves will change, but also how the times and roles of people change.  It's a powerful and interesting poem that is easy to interpret and grasp even if you are not accustomed to reading poetry.