In this essay on Selected Poems of Octavio Paz, author John M. Fein discusses the use of the mirror as both image and theme in the works of Paz. Fein sees the mirror as symbolic of the endless possibilities for the poet to both find and lose himself in the act of creation.

One of the principal reasons for the success of the poetry of Octavio Paz is that it can be meaningful without being inaccessible and highly refined in form without being meaningless. It is axiomatic that the poet of the 20th century, no matter what language he uses to declare himself, must express his personal feelings and reactions. Even when discoursing on absolutes and infinites, he must maintain a close relationship between his views and his own experiences. The demands on his readers, accordingly, have been proportionately greater, and in Mexico as in the United...