1. “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath Oksana Veres Period 4 English 9A https://www.google.com/search?q=sylvia+plath&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=jI6IU 8LPJMXy8QGU_oCoDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=673#facrc=_&imgdii

2. Plath’s Life Born: October 27, 1932 in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts Died: February 11, 1963 in London, England Family Her father, Otto Emil Plath, was a professor and German immigrant & mother, Aurelia Schober Plath, was his former student, 20 years younger than him Otto died in 1940 when Sylvia was 8 years old Married Ted Hughes, a fellow student she meets at Newnham College later on in life Schooling Attended Smith College where she studied vigorously became infatuated with academic achievement and social success Later went to Newnham College in Cambridge, England

3. Influence/Inspiration Her father’s death significantly impacted her poetry Depression & Anxiety Suffered from anxiety and recurrent depression throughout her life influenced her dark sense of poetry Went to electroshock therapy, but increased her anxiety August 1953 – failed attempt at suicide Her husband was unfaithful & they got divorced Moved away from him with her 2 kids to London Continued to suffer with depression & anxiety till committing suicide in 1963

4. Theme Plath tends to write about herself; on her personal experiences Common Themes In her poems, themes often revolve around: - Death (her father’s death, wanting to die, etc.) - Victimization (she felt like a victim to the men in her life: father, husband, etc.) - Patriarchy (wrote about how women weren’t treated fairly in the 50s/60s - The beauty of nature - The self (personal demons, internal struggles, etc.)

5. Continued… Theme of “Mirror” Aging is inevitable This poem’s theme is similar to others Plath has written because it is about identity/searching for oneself, a common topic in her work. She writes so much about her personal life, based from her anxiety & depression anticipating the future is a huge component of anxiety

6. Poetic Devices “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.”: personification – personifying mirror with human characteristics/ability “Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.” : metaphor – a mirror can’t actually swallow something, Plath is describing how a mirror shows every part of you “I am not cruel, only truthful” : oxymoron – Plath uses cruel & truthful as if they were opposites, although they’re not