THE MIRROR: A POEM

 The Mirror By Augus Obinna Chukwuka

I did not know

That life is like

A mirror beneath the Sun

I did not know

That there is

A mirror in

A still and clean

Water

I did not know

That first mirror

Of every man is

First his conscience 

And then his clan

I did not know

That the main

Work of a mirror

Is to make-believe 

Of that which is real?

I did not know

A broken mirror

Is far from a broken image

But a broken image stands

Broken before a mirror

I did not know 

That the shadow

Of a substance 

Cast by the sun

Upon a curious soil or sea

Is best mirror

Of the year!

Background of the Poem

A mirror is a piece of glass that reflects images, something that shows what another thing is like in a very clear and accurate way. However, the poem reflects the true self of human kind. The poem is likened to an axiom that says, "the you you see is the you you are". The mirror cannot change the person's character; it only reflects the original image o the looker. But the person will be judged based on his intuition and conscience.

Analysis of the poem 

The poem is a didactic poem that talks about man's characters and conscience.The poet opines in stanza one and two that it is only clean character can reflect good image. In the third stanza, the poet brings to our notice that the first mirror of every human being is his sense of the moral goodness of his own character which he called "conscience".

Themes in the Poem 

1.Theme of ignorance

2. Theme of Nature

3. Theme of Unexpectedness

4. Importance of Clan and Conscience

Poetic Devices 

1. Diction: The language used is simple.

2. Simile: "life is like a mirror beneath the Sun" line 1 and 2

3. Alliteration: broken before /b/

4. Personification: "Broken image stands"

5. Repetition: "a mirror" is repeated in stanza 1, 3,4 and 5

6. Enjambment: This is a literary device in which a line in a poem moves it's idea to the next line e.g

 "That life is like

A mirror beneath the 

Sun"

7. Blank or Free verse: This refers to any kind of poem whose lines do not rhyme.

8. Anaphora: This refers to the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. E.g "I did not know"

Structure of the poem

The poem is made up of six stanzas of unequal length. The poem employs the use of enjambment without any rhyming scheme.

Evaluation

1. Who wrote the poem "The mirror"

2. The expression "life is like a mirror beneath the Sun" is an example of ------

3.List three themes in the poem

4. The poem is made up how many lines?

5. Give one example of alliteration in the poem.