English: Mirror

(a) What is the poetic device used when the mirror says 'I swallow'?

Answer: When the mirror says 'I swallow', the poetic device used is personification.

(b) How does the mirror usually passes its time?

Answer: The mirror usually passes its time looking at the opposite wall which is pink in colour and have speckles.

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

Answer: Faces and Darkness disturbs 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?

Answer: The mirror appears to be a lake in the second stanza because both of them have the quality of reflecting back the image of a thing or a person that comes in front of them. The aspect of depth is being referred to here.

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

Answer: The woman is searching for her lost beauty in the depth of the lake.

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

Answer: The narrator conveys the fact that the narrator looking at her reflection is deeply distressed by the tears in her eyes and by the agitation of her hands.

(g) What makes the woman start crying?

Answer: The woman starts crying as she is not satisfied by her ugly looks and lost beauty and due to her growing age.

(h) What do you think the 'terrible fish' in the last line symbolizes?

Answer: The 'terrible fish' in the last line symbolizes the ugliness of the woman. The woman struggles for her lost beauty in the same way like a fish struggles for her life when taken out of the water. Simile is the poetic device used here.