Mirror

• Mirror


  Flat, static
• Lake


  Depth, changeable
• The mirror claims that it is not biased. This is true, as shown by lines like "I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see, I swallow immediately. Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike"
• Meditating on the opposite wall


  Looking at, thinking about
• The woman turns to the candles or the moon

  They are called 'liars'
• The mood alters in the second stanza


  It becomes darker, with a sense of despair and hopelessness
• The mirror reveals the woman's true physical appearance, which upsets her
• The image of "the terrible fish"

  Scaly, slimy, grotesque, smelly - unwanted
• Stanza 1


  • Cold, clinical, sterile
  • The mirror consumes and exposes truth easily
  • The mirror has power, like a "little god"
  • The mirror feels depth/feeling, almost romantic
• Stanza 2


  • Defeated sight
  • The woman is putting her hope in the romantic lighting of candles and moon, but the mirror reflects her faithfully
  • The woman is disturbing the water with her tears and agitation
  • The woman is constantly looking at her reflection, even before sunrise
  • The woman is doing this to herself, the mirror/lake just reflects