Analysis of BEFORE THE MIRROR CRACKED
There was a time that I recall
it was there
hung in the hall,
a huge ornate
Oak frame mirror
that had a dusty look
embedded in the glass,
Kind of made it smokey
removed the blemishes
of your skin
quite an odd reflection.
Almost detached from reality
that mirror did not seem to fit
it belonged to a bygone age
long before the crack appeared in it.
Maybe then it was resplendent
hung upon a mansion wall
then when someone cracked it
it fell from grace
ended up in some junk store
hidden away.
I wonder what stories it could tell
before the crack appeared again
upon this wall,
who gazed upon it
admiring their faces
perhaps looking so pretty
or neat
even blowing kisses.
Before that crack appeared
this mirror was revered
a place of comfort
self-praise and appeal,
now it merely
serves a function
tie straight
hair neat,
just a mirror
and a passing
tete a tete.
Scheme | ABACDEFGHIJGKLKMAKNOPQRAKSGTSUUVWGJCTDXY |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (40%) Etheree (23%) |
Metre | 1101111 111 1001 0101 1110 110101 010001 111110 010100 111 111010 101110 11011111 1011011 101010101 10111010 1010101 11111 1111 1010111 1001 110110111 01010101 0111 11011 010110 0110110 11 101010 011101 110101 01110 11001 1110 1010 11 11 1010 0010 101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 860 |
Words | 169 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 40 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 17 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 690 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 160 |
About this poem
We often place a huge responsibility on a mirror, it is expected to understand us, make us look what we are not, and so much more.
Font size:
Written on September 27, 2022
Submitted by Nolostalgia on September 27, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 53 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"BEFORE THE MIRROR CRACKED" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/139095/before-the-mirror-cracked>.
Discuss this John Townsend poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In