NCERT SOLUTIONS FOR CLASS 10 - ENGLISH NOTES - MIRROR - SYLVIA PLATH - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - CBSE

 

MIRROR

SYLVIA PLATH

a. When the mirror is being described as being ‘un misted by love or dislike’ we understand that the mirror is: Not prejudiced

b. The other word for ‘contemplation’ is: Meditation

c. When the mirror says ‘it has no preconceptions’ it means that: It reflects back an image objectively.

d. The mirror has been called ‘a four-corned God’ because: Like God it watches you unbiased and fair from all four angles.

e. The ‘speckles’ refer to: The opposite wall which has spots on it

f. The phrase ‘agitation of the hand’ suggests that the person is: Very upset

g. By saying ‘Now I am a lake’ the narrator wants to show that: the lake can also reflect surfaces.

 

Answer the following questions briefly

a) What is the poetic device used when the mirror says ‘I swallow’?

Ans: The poetic device used is personification. The mirror means to say that it accepts the reality as it is seen. But the human beings find it difficult to accept the reality shown by the mirror.

 

b) How does the mirror usually pass its time?

Ans: Mirror usually passes its time by meditating on the opposite wall.

 

c) What disturbs the mirror’s contemplation of the opposite wall?

Ans: Faces and darkness disturb the mirror’s contemplation of the opposite wall.

 

d) Why does the mirror appear to be a lake in the second stanza? What aspect of the mirror do you think is being referred to here?

Ans: The mirror appears to be a lake because the lake can reflect surfaces. The mirror displays the true and objective images as it is truthful.

 

e) What is the woman searching for in the depths of the lake?

Ans: The woman is searching for her reflection, her face.

f) How does the narrator convey the fact that the woman looking at her reflection in the lake is deeply distressed?

Ans: The woman is weeping, has tears and is upset. She is also showing her protest with agitation of hands.

 

g) What makes the woman start crying?

Ans: The woman starts crying because she is not happy with her image reflected by the lake.

 

h) What do you think the ‘terrible fish’ in the last line symbolizes? What is poetic device used her?

Ans: The ‘terrible image’ symbolizes the old, worn out face of the woman. The poetic device ‘Smile’ is used here.