“Mirror” is a poem that Sylvia Plath first wrote in 1961, and which later appeared in her posthumous poetry collection, Crossing the Water (1971). “Mirror” encapsulates Plath’s frustrations with the patriarchal expectations of her time—namely, the sexist aversion people had toward women aging. The poem also delivers an unflinching depiction of the despair that Plath was experiencing at the time the poem was written (two years prior to her suicide) as she struggled with bipolar disorder.

Summary

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Characters

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Literary Devices

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Quotes

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Deeper Study

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