Theme of the Supernatural in Poems Mirror by Sylvia Plath and Ol’ Higue by Mark McWatt

There are two poems in the world of prose that share the theme of the supernatural, Mirror by Sylvia Plath and Ol’ Higue by Mark McWatt. The first poem Mirror by Sylvia Plath is narrated by a mirror which describes its physical appearance and its lack of intentions except the fact that whatever it sees it would just take it away instantly. Next in the poem the mirror talks about a woman looking into the mirror trying to find her true self and it describes that it is the only thing that truly reflects who she is. The woman accepts this and returns to the mirror everyday. The poem ends with the mirror describing what he took from the woman who is her age. The second poem Ol’ Higue by Mark McWatt is narrated by a soucouyant who is describing the frustration she has with her lifestyle. She describes the fact that she would prefer to acquire her blood by cooked meals like everyone else. The main pain that she has is how salt feels and the work of having to count rice grains. She states her urge to want to stop but she also states the fact that she wants to live forever and as long as women keep giving birth she would stay alive.

Sylvia Plath deals with the theme of the supernatural from the perspective of a personified mirror that can take away things or swallow things from anything reflected in it as seen in the first stanza. Mark McWatt chooses the perspective of a folklore character to portray the theme of the supernatural. 

For the first poem Mirror by Sylvia Plath personification of the mirror for example in the first three lines of the poem was used to depict a supernatural aspect as it portrayed the mirror as a being with power with the ability to take away or swallow. In Ol’ Higue the use of alliteration in through lines thirteen to sixteen showed the strong dependence on baby’s blood that is needed to live forever which is supernatural as it refers to drinking young blood for immortality. The personification used by Sylvia Plath is effective as it helps the reader understand the perspective of the mirror better, it reinforces the power of the mirror and it adds to the mystical tone in the poem. The alliteration used by Mark McWatt is effective as it strongly describes the urge and the addiction that the socouyant has to baby’s blood which also helps the reader understand the perspective of the narrator better in the poem like the mirror in the first poem.

In conclusion, the two poems were very effective in depicting the theme of the supernatural from the different perspectives of an inanimate object and a folklore character.