Mirror Images in the Work of Ingrid Jonker and Sylvia Plath/ Spieelbeelde in die Werk van Ingrid Jonker en Sylvia Plath‪.‬

Abstract Writing poetry has an element of healing in it, but how does it work? Plath and Jonker continually wrote about mirror images, eyes and questions of identity. Different psychological theories surrounding this issue, including those of Winnicott, Jung and Lacan, are discussed. Plath's "Mirror" and "Words" as well as Jonker's "Op alle gesigte" are specifically examined. Concluding remarks reveal that a mental block, or crypt, will always force a poet to reword hislher trauma.