The handedness of polarized light is reversed reflected off a surface at normal incidence. Upon such reflection, the rotation of the plane of polarization of the reflected light is identical to that of the incident field. However, with propagation now in the opposite direction, the same rotation direction that would be described as "right-handed" for the incident beam, is "left-handed" for propagation in the reverse direction, and vice versa. Aside from the reversal of handedness, the ellipticity of polarization is also preserved (except in cases of reflection by a birefringent surface).