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Literary Forms Videos 43 videos
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The Mirror 1299 Views
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Description:
Mirror, mirror on the wall, what site is the fairest of them all? What? IntelligenceHut.com? Are you sure? Ugh, we want a refund.
Transcript
- 00:04
LIT.136 Mirror (2B) Mirror, a la Shmoop.
- 00:06
It must be difficult to be a mirror. You have to see the same thing day after day after
- 00:12
day...
- 00:12
...usually the same person...
- 00:16
...with no ability to look away. In Sylvia Plath's poem, “Mirror”...
Full Transcript
- 00:23
...a mirror describes the things it reflects, including the woman who uses it regularly.
- 00:29
Why might the mirror be important to this woman?
- 00:31
Could it be because she’s vain and likes to look at herself?
- 00:38
Perhaps the woman is so preoccupied with her appearance that she can't help looking at
- 00:42
her reflection in the mirror again...
- 00:43
...and again...
- 00:45
...and again.
- 00:46
That would certainly make the mirror feel important...
- 00:48
...or maybe just put-upon. Or could the mirror be important to the woman
- 00:52
because it helps her see… what she wants to see?
- 00:55
The mirror shows the woman her reflection...
- 00:58
...but that doesn't mean she can't focus only on certain aspects of what she sees in the
- 01:02
mirror. Or could the mirror be important because it
- 01:05
shows her the truth?
- 01:06
If the woman has a piece of broccoli stuck in her teeth, the mirror isn’t polite about
- 01:11
it...
- 01:11
...and, as the woman grows older, the mirror shows she's aging.
- 01:15
Maybe what the woman really wants is to know what she truly looks like…
- 01:19
…even when there are things about her appearance that she can't change.
- 01:22
So, why is the mirror so important?
- 01:25
Is it because the woman is vain about her appearance?
- 01:27
Is it because it allows her to see what she wants to see?
- 01:30
Or because it shows her the truth about how she looks?
- 01:36
Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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