ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Literary Forms Videos 43 videos
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...
Books are meant to be enjoyed. Sure, authors have different motives for their works—some may want to start a revolution while others hope to deli...
The Mirror 1299 Views
Share It!
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.
Related Videos
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...
Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.
Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...
