In the poem Mirror, it explores Slyvia Plath’s own fear of aging.

It was written
from the first point of view of the mirror. The poem is about how the mirror has no
predetermined notions or assumptions about anything, but simply takes in
whatever stands in front of it right away, exactly the way it is, unclouded by any
feelings. The mirror isn't mean or harsh, only honest. Throughout the day the
mirror reflects whatever comes in front of it, a pink wall is mostly seen by the
mirror every day that the mirror considers the wall to be a part of itself. A woman
leans on the mirrored surface of a lake, searching closely into the water's depths for
some hint of who she is inside. When she can't find it, she turns her attention to the
candle she's holding or the moonlight sources she believes are deceiving her by not
revealing who she truly is. As the woman walks away, the mirror monitors her
back and correctly reflects it. The woman expresses her gratitude to the reflection
by crying and wringing her hands in pain. The mirror is well aware that it is
important to this woman, who returns to look into it on a regular basis, the young
girl the woman once knew no longer looks back at her, she’s has now gone
insecure as the days go by she only notices the elderly lady she has become which
she considers to be an awful fish approaching her.

The poem Little Boy Crying is how a father has slapped his three-year-old son for
playing in the rain. The little boy feels somewhat betrayed by his father, and finds
no sign of remorse in him. The father regrets the method he has used to deal with
his child. It is also clear that the boy can feel this regret, however this does nothing
to make him feel better because of the hatred and anger he feels. The poem uses
allusions such as “the ogre towers above you, that grim giant”, to give the readers
an idea of how the boy is currently viewing his father or how he perceives him.
This helps us as viewers to really understand the mentality of the boy and how he
is currently feeling. The poem is an exploration of the complicated characteristics
of a father-son relationship defined by love, bitterness, and regret.

In both poems Little Boy Crying and Mirror, they both have characters feeling
pain. The boy felt pain due to his father hitting him and the woman felt pain
watching herself grow old each time she looked at a mirror.
“Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me.” mythological allusion to Narcissus.
He was a beautiful man that fell in love with his beauty and drowned while staring
into his own reflection in a pool of water. Sylvia Plath wanted to show just how
powerful an object the mirror is in people's lives. Using allusions helps the reader
to get a deeper meaning to the poem by referring to another piece of work that they
are most likely familiar with.