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 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.

Summary

The poem is about a mirror in its many forms. It is written from the view of the mirror as it comments on its own objective reflection of the things around it. The mirror is honest as it retells what it sees. It cannot delve into deeper concepts about who uses it and so it only comments on the physical appearance. The mirror is not biased. The first stanza connects the basic function of the mirror, and its regular meditation on the pink speckled wall opposite it. This is separated only by the momentary darkness of night cycles and the passing faces. Stanza Two shows the mirror in the form of a lake. It relates the stressful moments when a woman uses the lake as a mirror, trying to see what she is. As the lake, the mirror reflects her appearance truthfully and the woman tearfully embraces the truth. The woman goes to the lake as a ritual because she gets an objective view of her fading youth. Each day, she sees old age appear more and more in her features, as though something horrible is rising in the lake each time she consults its impartial reflection.

Themes – appearance vs reality, ageing, time, and women.

Mood – reflective and pensive.

Tone – matter of fact or dignified.

Analysis

“I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately

Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.”

The poem starts with the mirror declaring the nature of its existence. As the conventional glass mirror and in any other form, it is accurate and impartial. It does not have likes or dislikes which would lead to it confusing details or altering the result of one’s appearance. It seems proud that it is exact in its assessment of the objects it sees. An alliteration is used in line two to support this: ‘Whatever I see I swallow immediately’.

“I am not cruel, only truthful‚ The eye of a little god, four-cornered.”

The mirror states that it is an agent of complete truth. It mentions cruelty which hints at its honesty and that someone may feel hurt because of the way that they may appear in the mirror. This is not the fault of the mirror itself as it only seeks to be truthful regardless of the emotions of that person. The ‘eye of a little god’ suggests that there is a solid truthfulness, which can be associated with God being impartial in judging mankind.

“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 part of my heart. But it flickers. Faces and darkness separate us over and over.”

When people are not using the mirror, the mirror gets a chance to reflect on the pink-speckled wall that is opposite to it. The mirror sees the wall as a part of itself because it has looked at it for so long. But this indefinite staring contest between them is broken up by the darkness of regular night cycles and the faces of people who look into the mirror for their appearances.

“Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, / Searching my reaches for what she really is.”

The mirror describes itself as a reflective surface of a lake. It tells the reader about a woman who bends over the lake. She is trying to see what she really is. This language is interesting because the mirror states that she searches for ‘what she really is.’ This would suggest that the mirror will define her identity. It is strange as one’s appearance does not define one’s identity.

“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.”

The mirror says that the moon and candles are ‘liars’ because they do not reflect the real appearance of the onlooker. Yes, they are sources of light but the innate beauty of these sources of light shed a different outlook on the onlooker. The woman rewards the mirror with tears of sadness and so she disturbs the calm with her hands. This is an oxymoron, as the ‘reward’ for such true reflection is something negative and displeasuring. The mirror surface of the lake reflects the woman’s back, but she is obviously displeased by her own appearance.

“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.”

The lake is ‘important’ to the woman who returns every day to look at her own face. It is an obsession or a ritual as she continues to look at her fading youth. The poet uses a metaphor to show that the woman is aging: “in me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman rises toward her day after day.” After this constant obsession, the young girl has disappeared, and instead, an old woman is appearing in her features. This is the reflection that the woman sees by the lake. The simile: “Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish” shows that the “old woman” sees her aging image and finds it repugnant and hideous to her. Still, she grows older daily.