Poetry Research Sample Paper
Key Points:

Each time you include information from your research you will need to cite the source of the
information. Without including this citation you have plagiarized.

We will be using parenthetical citation. Follow the instructions below.
o Insert the author’s last name and a page reference in parentheses after the
information that requires citation. End punctuation follows the parentheses.
Example: (Author’s last name page number). No comma between!
o If there is no author use the title of the article and the page number.
Example: (“Title of Article” page number).

Remember titles of short works like poems are punctuated with quotation marks.

When referring to your author the first time in your paper, use both his/her first and last
name. Every time you reference the author after this then use only his/her last name. Using
only an author’s first name is inappropriate because this is a formal paper.
Everything below this sentence represents a final poetry research paper.
“Mirror” by Sylvia Plath
Tweeted by Brad Smith
Mirror is silver and exact.
Only truthful
Woman searching for what she is.
In me a young girl, an old woman,
a terrible fish.
People look into mirrors every day. Some of us look into a mirror more than once to check
our hair or outfit. We never doubt that the mirror will always show us a truthful representation.
This obsession with seeing one’s reflection is one of the ideas reflected in “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath.
The poem describes a mirror hanging on the wall. The speaker continues to look into the mirror
searching for her identity. In the middle of the poem the mirror becomes a lake also reflecting the
woman. Faithfully, the mirror reflects that the woman has grown old and ugly like a terrible fish.
Through careful study, I have minimized this poem to a tweet of 140 characters and spaces. The
purpose of this paper is to qualify my selection of words in my tweeted poem and explain how the
message of this poem is reflected in the lives of people of today’s society.
The first section of my tweeted poem explains the details of the mirror. The words “silver and
exact” were chosen because “The terse, chopped phrasing of the first line, along with language such
as ‘exact’ and ‘no preconceptions,’ help to establish the mirror’s persona as blunt, honest, and
unemotional” (“Mirror” 116). In addition “the mirror claims for itself a kind of nonjudgmental and
unemotional character that human beings lack” (Johnson 122). Therefore I included the phrase
“only truthful” to support the idea that the mirror is always honest.
To reflect the shift of the poem the next section of my tweet is about the woman searching for
her identity. “. . . suggest a yearning for truth, on the part of the unnamed woman, who ponders her
reflection, in search of ‘what she really is’” (“Mirror” 117). The woman hopes to see “a flattering
image of herself” (“Mirror” 118) but is disappointed time and time again. She looks into the mirror
not just to see her appearance but “she is pursuing more profound information about her basic
identity” (Johnson 122).
My tweeted poem ends with the woman’s realization that she has changed from a young girl to
an old woman. “The young girl and old woman represent the woman in the poem at different stages
of her life” (Johnson 123). The tone is depressing since the ending of Plath’s poem “presents an
example of the type of sudden, unexpectedly violent, imagery for which Plath’s poetry is famous”
(“Mirror” 117). The words “terrible fish” are necessary in my tweet since “Plath then employs a
rather shocking metaphor, comparing the woman’s reflection to ‘a terrible fish’ rising from the
depths of a lake” (“Mirror” 117).
The ideas of Plath’s poem connect to the lives of teens today. Many students spend time
looking in the mirror. Their reflection in the mirror is a representation of how others see them and
physical appearance is very important in today’s society. “The poem reminds me of how I am
always checking my hair in the mirror. I don’t want someone to look at me funny because my hair
is sticking up” (Brown). Although the poem focuses on a woman, males today are also concerned
about how they look. “People seem to think that only girls care about how they look. I’m a guy
and I look in the mirror too. I want to look good just like they do” (Smith).
The way that the woman sees herself changing from young to old is also present in the world
today. “My older sister is worried about how she’s getting wrinkles. I think she’s exaggerating, but
it’s like in your tweet. She sees herself changing from young to old in the mirror” (Peterson). “I
disagree with Sally. I think it’s mostly older people that are like this woman. No one our age or
even a few years older looks in the mirror and thinks they are old” (Michaels).
“I really connected to the idea in your tweet about the woman trying to find herself. I think
that all kids today are wondering who they are or who they’ll be” (Brown). Although the poem and
my tweet mention this idea of searching for self it doesn’t really provide a clear answer like most
teens seek. “Your tweet says she is ‘searching for what she is’ but it never says that she finds it.
This is just like kids today. They try to find themselves by dressing a certain way or hanging out
with certain people but it doesn’t work” (Smith).
Sylvia Plath’s poem “Mirror” was first published in 1963 (“Mirror” 115) however the
messages within the poem seem to connect to the youth of today. The speaker constantly visits the
mirror searching for a definition of herself while some students may do the same. In the poem, the
woman finds that she is older but today’s youth may be still searching.
Poetry Research Sample Works Cited
Key Points to remember:

Your works cited page should be titled Works Cited.

All entries should be in alphabetical order by author’s last name. If no author then organize
by title of article.

For each entry, all lines after the first must be indented 5 spaces (reverse indent).
Everything below this sentence represents a final poetry research works cited page.
Works Cited
Brown, Molly. Comment on “Mirror by Brad Smith.” phpoetry.pbworks.com. PBworks.com. Perry
Hall High School. 8 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.
Johnson, Jeannine. Essay on “Mirror.” Poetry for Students. Eds. Marie Rose Napierkowski and
Mary K. Ruby. Vol. 1. Detriot: Gale, 1997. 121-123.
Michaels, Andrea. Comment on “Mirror by Brad Smith.” phpoetry.pbworks.com. PBworks.com.
Perry Hall High School. 7 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.
“Mirror.” Poetry for Students. Eds. Marie Rose Napierkowski and Mary K. Ruby. Vol. 1. Detriot:
Gale, 1998.
Peterson, Sally. Comment on “Mirror by Brad Smith.” phpoetry.pbworks.com. PBworks.com.
Perry Hall High School. 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.
Smith, Brandon. Comment on “Mirror by Brad Smith.” phpoetry.pbworks.com. PBworks.com.
Perry Hall High School. 8 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.