Question

Read lines 6-8 of the poem “Mirror” and answer the question.

Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart.

Which literary device does the poet use in these lines?

Click here to read the poem.

metaphor to compare the wall to a heart
hyperbole to dramatize the mirror’s suggestions
pun to accent the mirror’s apparent sense of humor
personification to allow the mirror’s expression of thoughts

Answer 1

First, you should know that a hyperbole is a resource used in literature to intentionally intensify what is been saying, in other words, overreact. Looking at this extract of the poem, we can choose B “hyperbole to dramatize the mirror’s suggestions” as the correct answer. We can see it in the last line “I think it is part of my heart”, the narrator is clearing exaggerating because he wants to express the feeling of huge love he has for the mirror and how he trust completely on it.

Answer 2

The literary device that the poet is using in those lines is that of Personification to allow the mirror´s expression of thoughts.

In this poem by Sylvia Plath, we have a mirror as a narrator which is an inanimate object, as we know personification is a figure of speech that we use when we give human attributes to a thing.