Literary Terms

Literary Terms

Literary Device	Line Reference	Explanation
Allusion	10	A refrence to an outside piece of work in the poem itself. An allusion is to Greek mythology, to specifically Narcissus, who fell in love with his reflection in the water.
Synaesthesia	2	The use of one kind of sensory experience to describe another. The mirror uses the sense "see," to swallow.
Repetition	1,2,4,6,7,8, 10, 13, 15,	By bringing up words or ideas on multiple occasions, authors emphasize the importance of these words or ideas. "I" is repeated and emphasized.
Personification	2, 4, 6, 7, 8	The use of human characteristics to describe animals, objects, or ideas. The mirror can see, be cruel, meditate, has a heart, and has looked at the opposite wall, all human traits.
Consonance	2	The repetition of consonants in a sequence of nearby words, especially at the end of stressed syllables when there is no similar repetition of vowel sounds. "I swallow immediatley," in which both the l's and m's are repeated.
Assonance	3, 8	The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words. "cruel, only truthful," and "part of my heart" words have similar vowel sounds within their lines.
Alliteration	14	The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants, at the begginning of words. "and an agitation," is alliteration because all of the words begin with the same letter, "a."
Sarcasm	14	A simple form of verbal irony, in which it is obvious from context and tone that the speaker means the opposite of what he or she says. The mirror is "rewarded" with tears and agitation of hands, which is not usually rewarding.
Pun	4,5	A play on words. The "I" in line 4 becomes the "eye" of the little god.
Oxymoron	5	The association of two contradictory words. God is reffered to being as little in this line.
Meiosis	16	A form of understatement in which something is referred to by a name that is disproportionate to its true nature. The young woman's face replaces all of darkness.
Enjambment	17,18	The lines flow to one another without stopping at the end of each line. In the poem, the old woman ends line 17, while rises begins line 18, continuing the thought of line 17.
Structure	all lines	Each stanza has specifically 9 lines each.
Similie	18	A sentence using "like" or "as." "like a terrible fish," is used to describe the woman rising in the poem.
Metaphor	17	A sentence without using "like" or "as." The woman has drowned her youth in the metaphorical depths of the lake.

"Mirror" by Sylvia Plath

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