The speaker in Sylvia Plath's poem "Mirror," is a mirror that is trying to express what it sees daily, and how sometimes the person that looks to the mirror for support does not like the way that he/she is perceived. The person to whom the mirror is reflecting may be used to false perceptions by other sources, but the "reflection" that the mirror gives is not prejudiced by the world of feelings or restricted by intellectual preconception. The mirror protects the person from any illusions about himself/herself, but this truthful mirroring can devastate the person when he/she honestly confronts the "reflection." Conflict with this "reflection" is a source of spiritual pain but it is necessary for the development of self-knowledge and self-acceptance. In order to appreciate this poem and interpret it accurately, each line must be closely analyzed.
             "I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions." (1) This line means that the mirror is silver and reflects a person exactly as he/she is. The mirror is not opinionated and is always truthful. Plath goes on to say: "Whatever I see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike." (2-3) This line means as soon as a person looks into a mirror it immediately shows a reflection. The mirror will never delay in portraying what is visible nor is it ever false in its portrayal. "Unmisted by love or dislike," (3) means a person, unlike a mirror, only sees things as they want to. If a person likes or loves someone, they are going to find that person more attractive than he/she would if he/she disliked that person. The mirror does not see a person this way, it always perceives whatever it sees with extreme exactness and never fails. Line four states, "I am not cruel, only truthful." (4) This could mean that a mirror shows how someone or something truly looks; it does not giv
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