Mirror (Symbol)
The mirror is a symbol for insight and self-reflection. Alone in his room, the speaker dances nude before his mirror. This image is important to the poem because it means that the speaker is not engaging in this morning ritual unobserved. He studies his own reflection in the mirror as he sings, dances, and waves his shirt over his head. He also goes on to admire the various aspects of his body. The mirror functions as a symbol for his self-reflection in that it allows him to examine himself in the midst of this moment of solitude. Without the mirror, the scene would have been simply an unstudied, unexamined instance.
Dance (Symbol)
As the title implies, dance is a central symbol in the poem. The speaker uses his brief time alone in the morning to dance comically in his room. He waves his shirt over his head and sings a song about being by himself. In this way, the dance itself symbolizes the freedom and elation the speaker feels in this moment. As he declares himself the "happy genius" of his household, the speaker clearly feels unweighted (in every sense) by responsibility and obligation. As he dances loosely, the reader can intuit his sense of carefreeness.
