Speaker & Point of View
The speaker of the poem is a non-human object. What is it?
What is a mirror?
“Whatever I see I swallow immediately” is an example of this device.
What is personification?
The tone of the mirror is mostly emotionally neutral.
What is objective?
One central idea developed throughout the poem.
Truth is reflected even when it’s painful.
The “pink wall” makes the mirror feel ____.
What is bored?
Which word best describes the speaker in stanza one?
What is objective?
The word swallow suggests the mirror does what with images?
What is completely consumes them?
The two short sentences in line 15 create what tone?
What is pride?
The poem suggests that beauty is ____.
What is temporary?
The candles and moon are called “liars” because they ____.
Soften or distort the truth.
The speaker compares itself to “the eye of a little god,” meaning it ____.
What is sees all?
“Eye of a little god” is an example of this device.
What is a metaphor?
The mirror’s attitude toward the woman’s feelings can best be described as ____.
What is indifferent?
“In me she has drowned a young girl” suggests what theme?
Aging is inevitable.
Why does the woman turn away from the mirror?
To avoid discovering her true self.
The mirror claims it reflects things exactly as they are, without bias. This literary idea supports what trait?
What is objectivity?
The woman looking into the mirror is compared to this creature at the end of the poem.
What is a fish?
The woman’s emotional reaction to the mirror suggests what mood?
Unease / distress
Which theme can be inferred from lines 15–18?
What is beauty fading is inevitable?
What does “drowned” suggest in line 17?
The unavoidable passing of time.
Why is the mirror an effective speaker for the poem’s message?
Because it reflects truth without emotion or distortion.
The final simile suggests what happens to the woman over time?
She loses youth / sees herself more negatively.
Why does the mirror not comfort the woman?
Because it only reflects truth, not feelings.
Why is the mirror important to the woman?
It confirms her identity and aging each day.
What evidence best supports the poem’s main idea?
“Whatever I see I swallow immediately.”