In this page you can find Mirror Extra Questions and Answers Class 10 English Literature, Extra Questions for Class 10 English will make your practice complete.
Mirror Extra Questions and Answers Class 10 English Literature
Mirror Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type
Question 1.
Why does the woman not like the mirror?
Answer:
This poem explores the relationship that we have with truth, and particularly the truth about ourselves. The mirror doesn’t tell lies—it, in fact, tells the truth. It is objective—‘exact’ and without ‘preconceptions’, swallowing whatever it sees without a second thought, ‘unmisted by love or dislike’. The mirror is, ‘not cruel, only truthful’ but Plath suggests that truth itself is cruel for human beings, and we turn away from it, presenting only our backs to those mirrors that offer to show it to us. The woman does not like the blemishes which the mirror shows her and turns away to ‘those liars, the candles or the moon.’
Question 2.
Why is the woman bending over the lake?
Answer:
The lake is something else into which humans have traditionally gazed, in search of their own reflection. The lake is not as exact as the mirror and hence the person who looks into it will get a flattering view of himself or herself as the reflection in the lake can be distorted by the ripples in the water. Though some of her imperfections are hidden by the water, here too the woman moves away as the depth of the lake reflects her repressed mind. She turns to more flattering devices like the candles and the moon.
Question 3.
In the poem, The Mirror, the poet underlines the misery of an ageing woman when she sees her reflection in a mirror. What makes her hate the mirror?
Answer:
The woman looks into the mirror to see her reflection. But the mirror being objective shows her an image that she does not like. It shows her the flaws which have appeared on her face as she is ageing. Though the mirror is being ‘not cruel, only truthful’ but truth itself is cruel and the woman turns away from it, presenting her back to that unbiased truth. What value we can derive from these lines is that is that it takes courage to face the truth. The woman cannot live without knowing the reality even if it upsets her and so each morning the woman is back, even though it is only to cry and wring her hands at what she sees.
Question 4.
The mirror plays a significant role in the life of the woman. Discuss.
Answer:
The mirror is an object the woman has always turned to in search of truth, from childhood to the present, when she is ageing. It is objective and without ‘preconceptions’, swallowing whatever it sees without a second thought. The mirror in presenting reality is being ‘not cruel, only truthful’.
The value that can be derived from this is that truth itself is cruel for the woman who is agitated by the truth and turns away from it, presenting her back to the mirror. It does not intend to hurt the woman but truth is sometimes unintentionally cruel.
Question 5.
The poem is tragic, sad and moody and does not offer a positive solution to an individual’s problems.
Answer:
In the light of this statement discuss the theme of the poem. The theme of the poem is tragic, sad and moody because it does not offer a positive solution to an individual’s desire to estimate the worth of one’s self. What she sees in the mirror is still a projection of her self—the ‘terrible fish’ that rises from under the objective surface. This inability to come to terms with a clear, objective point of view ‘unmisted’ by projections and preconceptions is really the central theme of the poem.
Mirror Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context
Read the extracts below and answer the questions that follow. Write the answers in one or two lines only.
Question 1.
“I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.”
(a) Who does ‘I’ refer to in these lines?
Answer:
I refers to the mirror.
(b) When the poet says that the mirror has no preconceptions what does he mean?
(i) it reflects back your image objectively.
(ii) it gives a biased view of the person. ,
(iii) it is emotionally involved with the person whose image it reflects.
Answer:
(i) it reflects back your image objectively.
(c) Why has the mirror been described as being ‘unmisted’?*What is the image it is trying to convey about the nature of the mirror?
Answer:
It shows that the mirror is unbiased and lacks sensitivity.
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.”
(a) How does the mirror swallow?
Answer:
The mirror absorbs all the images that are reflected on it. The images seem to disappear into the mirror.
(b) What is the poetic device used in the second line?
Answer:
The poetic device used is personification.
(c) List the qualities of the mirror mentioned in the above extract.
Answer:
The qualities of the mirror are silver, exact and unmisted.
Question 3.
“I am not cruel, only truthful—
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time
I meditate on the opposite wall.”
(a) Why does the mirror say ‘I am not cruel’?
Answer:
The mirror does not reflect the truth to hurt the viewer. It only reflects what it sees.
(b) Why has the mirror been called ‘a four-cornered god’?
Answer:
Like god, the mirror watches a person in an unbiased and fair manner and from all angles.
(c) How does the mirror spend its time?
Answer:
It meditates on the opposite wall and on the people who come to check their appearance in the mirror.
Question 4.
“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.”
(a) What does the mirror reflect on when it is not looking at the woman?
Answer:
The mirror then reflects on the opposite wall.
(b) What disturbs its contemplation of the opposite wall?
Answer:
People who come to check their appearance in the mirror disturbs its contemplation.
(c) What does the phrase ‘pink speckles’ refer to?
Answer:
It refers to the opposite wall that is pink with speckles.
Question 5.
“Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches foi; what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.”
(a) In the second stanza, the mirror is compared to another object. What is it? Why do you think this comparison has been made?
Answer:
The mirror is compared to a lake. The lake is not as exact as the mirror, the image is distorted by the ripples in the water and hence the person who looks into it will get a flattering view of herself or himself.
(b) What is the woman searching for in the depths of the lake?
Answer:
The woman is upset with the signs of ageing reflected by the mirror and she is trying to find her lost looks in the water of the lake.
(c) Is she satisfied with what she observes? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
No, because the woman starts crying at the signs of growing old that are reflected back.
Question 6.
“Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.”
(a) What is the woman bending over?
Answer:
The woman is bending over the lake.
(b) Why does the woman bend over?
Answer:
The woman bends over because the lake is spread out before her feet and to look closely at her reflection.
(c) Why have the candles and the moon been called ‘liars’?
Answer:
The candles and the moon have been called ‘liars’ because they create a flattering image of the person by hiding their blemishes.
Question 7.
“I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.”
(a) What does the phrase ‘agitation of the hands’ mean?
Answer:
It means that the woman is very upset.
(b) Why does the woman start crying?
Answer:
The woman starts crying as she is upset at the signs of her ageing as reflected by the mirror. The woman rewards the mirror with tears for she does not like the truth.
(c) What does this reveal of her character?
Answer:
The woman is unable to face the truth about herself.
Question 8.
“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.”
(a) How has the poet changed over the years?
Answer:
The woman has aged. She has changed from a young girl to an old woman.
(b) Why does the poet refer to the fish in the last line? Why does she describe it as being ‘terrible’?
Answer:
The thought and the fact that she is growing old is the terrible fish that comes to haunt the woman. She sees herself as a sad, angered and emotionless woman.
(c) What does the mention of the ‘fish’ symbolise?
Answer:
The fish reminds the woman that she is no longer beautiful and that tells her that she is cold and incapable of love.