Mirror in February

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Mirror in February The poem I have chosen to my report on is ‘Mirror in February’ by Thomas Kinsella. It describes the shock at aging and decay he finds himself having as he realises he is getting old. The poem begins with his description of a winter’s morning in a cold country house. There is a freshly dug garden next to the house and Kinsella describes the mixing smells of clay and the stale air of the bedroom. He then goes onto describe how the lamp fades as the day gets brighter and he begins to shave. He thinks of some idyllic fantasy he has thought of before and then glimpses himself in the mirror. He is shocked to see his own tired face and “exhausted eye”. He then goes onto describe the mutilation or pruning of trees in the third stanza, and begins to think if maybe there are positives to human suffering. There are many examples of poetic techniques in this poem, for example the mirror is a metaphor for his reflection or thinking back on his life in the second stanza “mirror of my soul”. There is also an example of personification found in the third stanza, “awakening trees, hacked clean for better bearing, stand defaced suffering”. If I were to paint this poem I would use dark blue, a very light yellow and blood red. The dark blue would be used to symbolise the dark morning light just as dawn is breaking. The light yellow would be for the light of the sun as it breaks over the horizon and also for the fading light of the lamp. The red is for the visual image of the “mutilation” of the trees. If this poem was a piece of music I would imagine it to have a very sad, sorrowful feel to it. I think that the piano or violin would suit it best as they create a slow, sorrowful feel. In my opinion the most important line in the poem is “In slow distaste I fold my towel with what grace I can, not young, and not renewable, but man.”, as it shows the poets feelings

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