These notes come from myself, who passed matric of 2023 with an overall average of 87% in each subject i took.
A detailed summary of the poem "Mirror" for the IEB English exam
- Written from the point of view of the mirror
- The mirror is a personified character; throughout the poem the voice of the mirror is straightforward and
direct.
Line 1: Two short, abrupt sentences: reinforce the mirror’s straightforward response; it is exact and unemotional.
'I see I swallow immediately':
- Mirror is greedy; ingesting/ feasting/ consuming what it sees.
Also reinforced by enjambment: how quickly the mirror absorbs and reflects the image.
Diction for 'unmisted':
- Reinforces the image of the mirror & Shows the straightforward approach – clear and objective.
'love or dislike':
- untainted by subjectivity of the outside world.
Truthful:
- It prides itself on always being ‘truthful’, although some might not be happy with what they see: society may
present us with a false image of ourselves but the mirror is honest.
Tone:
- Conceited, cold, detached but the mirror insists it’s not cruel.
Dash:
- Indicates an afterthought. The mirror describes itself in the lines to follow.
'little god':
- Uses metaphor to describes itself as a ‘little god’: all seeing and all-knowing (omnipotent) BUT has limitations
& rigidity in description of a square ‘four cornered’
'meditate':
- Extends the idea of the mirror’s mundane (boring/ ordinary/ routine) existence.
'opposite wall'
- The mirror sees only the opposite wall.
'It is pink, with speckles':
- The precise, short description emphasises how little the mirror sees.
'it is part of my heart':
- The mirror has looked at the wall for so long that it feels attached/ a part of it/ connected to it – shows that all
the mirror really sees is the wall and the person’s face.
English Page 1
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