NCERT Solutions Class 10 English Literature Reader Chapter 8 Mirror

Extract Based Choice Questions

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

Question 1. In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman.
Rises toward her day after day like a terrible fish. (Board Term-12013, Set 8SRR)
(a) Why does the poet refer to the ‘terrible fish’ in the last line?
(b) Why has it been described as being ‘terrible’?
(c) What does the phrase ‘in me she has drowned a young girl’ mean?

Answer :
(a) The phrase ‘terrible fish’ describes the hog like wrinkled face of the old woman.
(b) Loss of her youth and beauty makes her behave like a fish trapped in the pond of time which looks terrible without any grace or elegance.
(c) Since her youth she has been admiring her reflection in the mirror.

Question 2. I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions ,
whatever I see I swallow immediately
just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. (Board Tenn-12013, Set WKYS)
(a) Who does I refer to here?
(b) What does the poet mean when she says the mirror has no preconceptions?
(c) Which figure of speech is used in ‘I Swallow’.

Answer :
(a) I refers to the mirror.
(b) She means that the mirror is unbiased and reflects the image objectively.
(c) Personification.

Question 3.’I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.’ (Board Term-12012, Set 39)
(a) What does T refer to in these lines?
(b) What is meant by ‘I have no preconceptions’?
(c) Why has mirror been depicted as ‘unmisted’?

Answer :
(a) The mirror.
(b) T reflects your image objectively.
(c) The mirror is not biased either due to love or hate.

Question 4. I am not cruel, only truthful
The eye of a little God, four cornered (Board Term-12012, Set 37)
(a) Who is T in the above lines?
(b) Why is T only truthful?
(c) Which poetic device has been used in line?

Answer :
(a) The mirror.
(b) Because it reflects what it sees.
(c) Metaphor.

Question .5.It is pink with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over. (Board Term-12012, Set 24)
(a) What is it which is pink with speckles?
(b) When does it flicker?
(c) Who is ‘us’ in the last line?

Answer :
(a) The wall.
(b) When faces and darkness come in between.
(c) The wall and the mirror.

Question 6. I think it’s part of my heart but it flickers
Faces and darkness separate us over and over (Board Term-12012, Set 24)
(a) Who is the speaker?
(b) What is separated from it?
(c) The poetic device used here is……………..

Answer :
(a) The mirror.
(b) The wall.
(c) Personification.

Question 7.”I am important to her. She comes and goes
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day like a terrible fish.” (Board Term-12012, Set 51)
(a) How is the mirror important to her?
(b) How has the mirror drowned a young girl and replaced her with an old woman?
(c) Which peotic device in used in line 4?

Answer :
(a) It satisfies her curiosity.
(b) The young woman has been growing old day by day.
(c) Simile.

Question 8.A woman bends over me.
Searching my reaches for what she really is
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon (Board Term-12012, Set 48)
(a) What is the woman bending over?
(b) The candles and moon have been called liars because……………..
(c) The woman goes to them even though they are liars because……………..

Answer :
(a) The mirror.
(b) They hide the blemishes and make people look beautiful in dim light.
(c) The reality is too harsh for her to bear.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.What does the woman search for in the mirror everyday? (Board 2014)

Answer :
Value Points:

The woman searches for her lost beauty in the lake and mirror-her lost young age. (CBS1 Marking Scheme, 2014)

Detailed Answer:

The woman stands in front of the mirror everyday and searches for her lost beauty in the lake and the mirror. She feels agitated of the loss of her young age as she’s not able to accept the reality of her lost youth.

Question 2.Why has mirror been called cruel? (Board Term-I 2013, Set 7PZ8)
Or
Why does the poet call the mirror ‘cruel’? (Board Term-I 2012, Set 24)

Answer :
Mirror is honest and shows the true reflection. It does not reflect false images so people in their agitation call it cruel.

Question 3.Why is mirror called a ‘four cornered God’? (Board Term-I 2012, Set 19)

Answer :
The mirror is unbiased, and from all angles it looks at its subjects like God. He treats them without any preferences.

Question 4.What do you think the ‘terrible fish’ in the poem, ‘Mirror’ symbolizes? What is the poetic device used here? (Board Term-I 2012, Set 50)

Answer :
Terrible fish symbolizes wrinkled, old face of the woman which has lost its youth and beauty. She can’t come to terms with her change. Only mirror makes her realize that she is no more young and beautiful. She feels agitated and behaves like a terrible fish.

Question 5.How has Sylvia Plath used the poetic device of ‘personification’ to describe the Mirror? (Board Term-I 2012, Set 51)

Answer :
Mirror describes itself as silver-coloured and exact. It has no preconceived notions and is not affected by love, hate or other emotions. It is objective and unbiased-woman, who bends over it can see what she really is as the mirror doesn’t lie or deceives like candles or moon. It indulges in human activities – ‘sees’, ‘swallows’, ‘mediates’ and ‘thinks’.

Question 6. How has Sylvia Plath projected mirror? (Board Term-I 2012, Set 53)

Answer :
Sylvia Plath has projected mirror as unmisted and non-biased. Unprejudiced, with no preconceived ideology, it projects the crystal clear image of an object facing it. Having four comers, it reflects all that it captures realistically and is impartial.

Question 7. What are the personal qualities the mirror claims to possess? (Board Term-I 2012, Set 55)

Answer :
Mirror is silver and exact. It has no preconceptions. It is unbiased and truthful. It is neither cruel nor indifferent. It has four comers and has the eye of a little God.

Question 8. Give evidence from the poem, ‘Mirror’ to prove that the mirror is exact and truthful. (Board Term-I 2012, Set 59)

Answer :
The mirror is exact. It symbolizes truthfulness. It is free from all distortions. It shows things as they are. It doesn’t hesitate to show flaws, signs of old age or loss of beauty and youth. Objectivity is the main trait of the mirror, whatever it sees, it reflects faithfully.

Question 9. What does the mirror do most of the time? (Board Term-I 2011, Set 14)

Answer :
The mirror spends most of its time watching and meditating on the opposite pink wall quietly. It keeps reflecting the opposite wall, so much that it has become a part of its heart.

Question 10. What aspect of life has been discussed in the poem ‘Mirror’. Mention two poetic devices used in the poem. (Board Term-I 2011, Set 17)

Answer :
The process of ageing has been discussed in this poem. The two poetic devices used in this poem are personification and metaphor.

Question 11. Why is the woman, looking into the mirror, agitated? (Board Term-I 2011, Set 27)

Answer :
The woman is agitated because the mirror shows her the true reflection. She notices her ageing image in it and realizes that she is losing her charm.

Question 12. What according to Sylvia Plath, are the qualities of a mirror? (Board Term-1-2011,2009)

Answer :
Sylvia Plath presents mirror as a symbol of truth, reality and objectivity. Unlike human beings, it is free from any preconception and prejudices, unmisted by emotions of love and hatred. Mirror has compared itself to an eye of ’ a little God, viewing everything in an unbiased and fair manner. It calls itself a lake because like a lake it reflects what is shown to it truthfully. 1

Question 13. Why are the candles and the moon called liars? (NCT 2014) (Board Term-12012, Set 28)

Answer :
The moon and the candles are called liars as they never reveal the truth about anyone. They give the false reflection as they make things look brighter and glowing than they actually are.

Question 14. What does the phrase, ‘terrible fish’ symbolize in the poem, ‘Mirror’?

Answer :
The ‘terrible fish’ refers to the fear of ageing that rises from the depths of her repressed mind, it also symbolizes the woman’s self loathing and perception of herself as being unworthy of being loved and as old as a fish. !

Question 15. Why does the woman turn to those liars, the candles and the moon in the poem ‘Mirror’?,

Answer :
The woman turns to the liars because they give her a false picture of being young which she is not. The mirror shows the real picture.

Question 16. Why is it said that the mirror swallows everything it sees?

Answer :
The mirror says that whatever it sees, it absorbs that image and reflects it. It reflects the reality as it sees, uninfluenced by love or dislike.

Question 17. Why does the woman reject the mirror and turn towards the candles and the moon?

Answer :
She is unable to accept the reality that the mirror shows her that she is ageing and isn’t pretty any more. The candle and the moon don’t show her the harsh reality that she has lost her youth and beauty.