“Mirror” and “Metaphors” by Sylvia Plath are two poems that deal with how events occur in the natural course of life. These two tackle almost opposite ends of the life cycle, with the aging process being the focus of “Mirrors” and the creation of new life being the focus of “Metaphors”. The natural course of life's events can be both a challenge and a reward. Feelings of finality and despair are evident in both poems. “Mirror,” published in 1963, was written near the end of Sylvia Plath's life and reflects her concern with aging and the loss of her youthful beauty. “Metaphors,” published in 1960, was written while Plath was pregnant and unsure whether she is happy to have this baby and interrupt her well-ordered life. (journal p. 294) Throughout life, people face obstacles and events that test their ability to overcome them and shape the kind of person they are or want to be become. The form of the two poems is similar, but different. Both use nine stanzas, with "Mirror" having two sections of nine each while "Metaphors" has only one section of nine. “Metaphors” has nine syllables in each line, nine metaphors in the poem, and nine letters in the title (Stewart), all of which represent the nine months of pregnancy. The poems are each written in the first person using the “I”. In “Metaphors,” the “I” refers to the person as a woman and how she feels about her pregnancy. In "Mirror", the "I" refers to the mirror, an inanimate object, describing its existence in a woman's life, the image that the woman sees when she looks in this mirror and the attitude that she has towards her reflection. Feelings of despair and finality are each apparent in the poems. “Mirror” describes the...... middle of paper ......arch Prime. EBSCO. Internet. March 27, 2010. Axelrod, Steven Gould. “THE MIRROR AND THE SHADOW: THE POETICS OF PLATH’S SELF-DOUBT.” Contemporary Literature 26.3 (1985): 286. First academic research. EBSCO Web. March 27. 2010. Freedman, William. "The Monster in Plath's Looking Glass". Articles on Language and Literature 29.2 (1993): 152. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Internet. March 27, 2010. Kukil, Karen V. The Unabridged Diaries of Sylvia Plath. New York: Anchor Books, 2000. Plath, Sylvia. “Metaphors”. Literature: read, react, write. Ed Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2007. 772 Plath, Sylvia. "Mirror." Literature: read, react, write. Ed Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2007. 993jStewart, Penny. “Plath’s Metaphors.” Explainer 40.3 (1982): 60. Academic Research Premier. EBSCO. Internet. March 27. 2010.