The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock - The Distress of J.Alfred Prufrock
The human psyche is divided into three distinct aspects: the Persona, the Shadow, and the Anima/Animus; at least, it is according to Jungian Psychology. Drawing heavily on the theories developed by Freud, Jung's psychological concepts tell us that if these three facets are not properly integrated - that is, if one of the three is overly dominant, or repressed, or all three are in conflict with each other - then an individual's energies - his libido - will be out of alignment, causing psychological distress and unconscious problems.
The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock, if read Archetypaly, reveals to us such an individual. J.Alfred Prufrock, the nebbish little man that he is, has some very serious problems - he is extremely indecisive, obsessed with trivial details, and frets over inconsequentials ('Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare eat a peach?'); more importantly, he seems to have an inability to confront the opposite sex, choosing instead to develop elaborate fantasies in which to meet imaginary women - all of whom seem to be either cruel, vain, or sinister in some subtle way.
An archetypal analysis drawing upon Jung's theories seeks to uncover the reasons behind Prufrock's neurosis. The first line of the poem - 'Let us go then, you and I' - gives an immediate insight into Prufrock's problem: his psyche is out of joint. The 'You' and 'I' of the poem are two aspects of his personality: his Shadow and his Persona, respectively.
Prufrock is very much aware of the schism within his own mind. His Persona - the aspect of himself he presents to the social world - remains dominant most of the time. His Shadow, however, comp...
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...s earlier illness.
Unfortunately for Prufrock, this apparent cycle is entirely contained within a small portion of the whole. Prufrock participates in a greater cycle, but one that seems to end, not in life, or rebirth, but in a symbolic death. He is a crab, a '... pair of ragged claws/Scuttling across the floors of silent seas', a man who wakes... and drowns. His cycle ends negatively, without the rebirth. He never gets his act together, never integrates his personality properly, never stops being the sad little nebbish of a man that he is; the cracks in Prufrock are never mended.
-Michael J.Noakes
Works Cited
Eliot, T.S. "The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock ." The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume Two. Ed. M.H.Abrams, 6th Edition. New York: Norton, 1993. 2140-2143.
The founding fathers of the United States of America, envisioned a country where no one person would have too much control. This led to their writing of the Constitution. Within this document, the fathers laid out a government based on three branches: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. All three branches would have their own responsibilities and amount of power. Each branch would keep the others in check not allowing one to obtain more power than the other two. This system stuck and is still in use in our country today.
Hall, Kermit L, eds. The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
The Executive Branch is explained in Article II of the Constitution. It explains the president’s term of office, the procedure for electi...
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Palmer, Elizabeth A. "The Court and Public Opinion." CQ Weekly 2 Dec. 2000. CQ Weekly. SAGE Publications. Web. 1 Mar. 2000. .
a judicial branch (Supreme Court). The Constitution is most of all a document of checks and balances: among the three branches of the federal government; and between the levels of government, nation and state. The legislative branch (Congress) that has the power to make laws valid for the whole country. Powers like the regulation of taxes,
Koppel, N & Ashby Jones (2011, January, 12). Early Legal Issue: Where to Try Case. retrieved February 2 2014, from Wall Street Journal Web Site: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405274870451590457607624427344507
The legislative, executive, and judicial branches represent the constitutional infrastructure foreseen by the Founding Fathers for our nation 's governing body. Together, they work to maintain a system of lawmaking and administration based on checks and balances, and separation of powers intended to make certain that no individual or embodiment of government ever becomes too controlling. America is governed by a democratic government or a democracy which is a government by the people, in which the power is established in the people themselves. The people then elect representatives who carry out their power in a free electoral system. The United States government’s basic claim is to serve the people and only through a combined effort can we
T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” tells the speaker’s story through several literary devices, allowing the reader to analyze the poem through symbolism, character qualities, and allusions that the work displays. In this way, the reader clearly sees the hopelessness and apathy that the speaker has towards his future. John Steven Childs sums it up well in saying Prufrock’s “chronic indecision blocks him from some important action” (Childs). Each literary device- symbolism, character, and allusion- supports this description. Ultimately, the premise of the poem is Prufrock second guessing himself to no end over talking to a woman, but this issue represents all forms of insecurity and inactivity.
On the surface, ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? is about an older man who is distressed by his own inability to tell a woman of his desire for her. He tries to relay his feelings to her but comes up with all kinds of excuses not to, and ultimately does not. The speakers? real problem is not that he is just too timid to confess his love for this particular woman, it is that he has a somewhat unproductive, bleak life and has a lack of willpower and boldness to change that life.
"Key Supreme Court Cases: Schenck v. United States - American Bar ..." 2011. 14 Jan. 2014
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is about a timid and downcast man in search of meaning, of love, and in search of something to break from the dullness and superficiality which he feels his life to be. Eliot lets us into Prufrock's world for an evening, and traces his progression of emotion from timidity, and, ultimately, to despair of life. He searches for meaning and acceptance by the love of a woman, but falls miserably because of his lack of self-assurance. Prufrock is a man for whom, it seems, everything goes wrong, and for whom there are no happy allowances. The emptiness and shallowness of Prufrock's "universe" and of Prufrock himself are evident from the very beginning of the poem. He cannot find it in himself to tell the woman what he really feels, and when he tries to tell her, it comes out in a mess. At the end of the poem, he realizes that he has no big role in life.
American politics is often defined by a continuing power conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. This struggle for political power between the two stronger branches of the three is inherent in the Constitution, itself. The concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances ensure that the branches of government will remain in conflict and provide a balance that keeps the entire government under control. As it was first established, the executive branch was much smaller and weaker than as we know it today. Consequently, the legislative branch was unquestionably dominant. Over the course of history, the executive branch grew in both size and power to the point where it occasionally overtook the legislative and today rivals the legislative in a much closer political battle. Today both branches have major factors that contribute to their power, but on the whole the legislative remains the lastingly dominant branch.
There is no omniscient narrator looking down at Prufrock and telling us about the poor life of Prufrock. The narrator could describe Prufrock’s actions and maybe give us a glimpse into his thoughts, and that would have given us a story about a down trodden man. This poem is told in a more intimate manner. We are hearing Prufrock’s story through his words and
In the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Elliot, Prufrock is a man that is pessimistic, has low self-esteem, and has much internal conflict. He believes that he isn't good enough for the women of his desire; this theme also becomes a motif.