Analysis of T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' demonstrates the effects of social and economic pressure in the life of a Victorian man. T.S. Eliot shows us, in an ironic monologue, how the reality of age and social position paralyzes his character with fear. The poem opens with six lines from Dante?s ?Infernio?. This particular stanza explains that the speaker is in hell and the message can only be told to someone else in hell. The speaker tells us that it is OK for the listener to hear the message, since in order to hear you must already be in hell and no one ever returns from there. So the message will never leave. I believe Eliot uses this message to infer that only a reader who understands the loneliness and desperation of Prufrock can truly understand the poem. However, in my research, I have found as many different interpretations of the poem as I have found readers. Most agree; however, that Prufrock is speaking to the reader when he says ?you and I?(Line 1). Many readers also agree that Prufrock is a lonely man, but what type of company he desires seems to vary greatly. Interpretations include sex, social company, long term love, and even death. I believe Prufrock yearns for the sense of belonging, both with a female and with his society. He struggles with issues of sex, age and social change. The beginning lines of the poem(1-25) paint for a very descriptive picture of the street where Prufrock is walking. It also alerts the reader of Prufrock?s distaste for this area and this society. He describes it as ?have deserted?,?muttering?.?one-night cheap hotels? and ?sawdust restaurants?.(5-7) He contrasts that with his destination of a ?room where women come and go/Talking of Michelangelo?(13&14). Prufrock doesn?t give the reader much insight into his thoughts until line 26. From this line forward, we get a glimpse of what it must be like to be Prufrock. He tells us ?There will be time, there will be time/ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet?(27-28), indicating repression. He must ?prepare? himself mentally to be able to put on the correct social image before he makes his ?visit?(12). The rest of the poem simply reinforces his struggle between the way he would like to be and the reality of his life. He begins to ponder the ?overwhelming question?(11) ... ... middle of paper ... ...e is ?almost ridiculous--/ Almost, at times, the Fool.?(118-119) Although many of the comments and interpretations of ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? that I have read seem to believe that the last 4 stanzas are a sign that he may break out of his shell. I believe it is the surrender of all hope and the recognition of the inconceivability of his desires. I think lines 120-130 are Prufrock?s way of telling us of the dream of youth that he will leave behind. He will not ?wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled?(121) nor ?wear flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.? These are the customs and actions of young passionate men. Men whose physical appearance and less stuffy lifestyle will attract the ?mermaids?(124). He concedes ?I do not think that they will sing to me.?(125) Prufrock leaves us with the thought of how life and society can force us from our dreams and sink us with reality. ?We have lingered in the chambers of the sea/ By sea-girls wreathed with seeweed red and brown/ Till human voices wake us, and we drown.?(129-131) Works Cited: Eliot, T. S. ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.? Collected Poems 1909-1962 . New York: Harcourt Brace, 1963.
Before we are introduced to Prufrock himself, we notice that the initial scenes of this poem paint a landscape of apathy. The narrator mentions little about himself initially and beckons that we follow him down into a world without consequence “of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels” (Eliot 6). The later “streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent” set the stage for Prufrock’s dilemma (ibid 9-10). Audrey Cahill says this scene foreshadows “Prufrock’s dialogue with himself, a dialogue which leads nowhere” and that thrusts the reader into meaningless chaos (6). Thus, even if these streets lead to an overwhelming question, the journey down them is rather mind-numbing and unnecessary if the answer gets us nowhere or, worse, merely emphasizes our own desolation. This is compounded by the appearance of a mysterious yellow catlike fog that “curled once about the house and fell asleep” (Eliot 22). Cahill also affirms that becaus...
The beginning of the poem is pre-empted by an excerpt from Dante's Inferno which Eliot uses to begin his exploration of Prufrock's self-consciousness. By inserting this quote, a parallel is created between Prufrock and the speaker, Guido da Montefeltro, who is very aware of his position in "hell" and his inability to escape his fate. Prufrock is also very aware of his current status but doesn't realize until the end that he is unable to rise above it. The issue of his fate leads Prufrock to an "overwhelming question..."(10) which is never identified, asked, or answered in the poem. This "question" is somehow associated with his social status, but both its ambiguity and Prufrock's denial to even ask "What is it?"(11) gives some insight into his state of internal turmoil.
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a reflection of Eliot’s life in almost everyway. Everything that Eliot was going through, such as a bad marriage, anxiety and depression, and his observations of city life, have been echoed in his poem “Prufrock.” Therefore, I believe that it is Eliot who walks in the streets of “Prufrock,” and not Prufrock himself.
In “Writing to Connect,” Pipher writes, “Any form of writing can change the world…” and goes on to say, “Ordinary people can and do change the world every day” (440). Pipher’s intended audience “is not directed toward sophisticates or literary critics. It is designed to influence cousin Shirley, farmer Dale, coworker Jan, Dr. Lisa, neighbor Carol, businessman Carl, or voter Sylvia” (438). Pipher uses every day language in “Writing to
Who is J. Alfred Prufrock? The answer is not stated in the poem. You will have to make an argument and defend it.
The first stanza introduces Prufrock’s isolation, as epitomized metaphorically by “half-deserted streets” (4): while empty streets imply solitude, Eliot’s diction emphasize Prufrock having been abandoned by the other “half” needed for a relationship or an “argument” (8). Hoping for a companion, Prufrock speaks to the reader when saying, “Let us go then, you and I” (1), as he needs to address his lament to an audience; conscious of the reader’s curiosity regarding the “overwhelming question,” (10) Prufrock answers, “Oh, do not ask, ‘What is it?’” (11). (The likely explanation for Eliot’s inconsistent use of you in this stanza is Prufrock probably meaning you as “To lead one,” as he refers to himself and not the reader in line 10.) Eliot continues the metaphor of Prufrock’s lonesomeness by anthropomorphizing the “yellow fog” and “smoke” (15, 16) to signify Prufrock, who interacts not with people, but only the environment in the third, fourth, and fifth stanzas. Clearly it is Prufrock who “rubs [his] muzzle on the window-panes” (15, 16), passively lets “fall upon [his] back the soot that falls from chimneys” (19), “slides along the street” (24), and performs the actions also described; also, the opacity of “fog” and “smoke” symbolizes the difficulty with which readers perceive Prufrock’s true character, further separating ...
Powell argues that Prufrock trusts knowledge gained through experience more than that gained through discussion. An example used from the poem is, “[t]o lead you to an overwhelming question ... /Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”/Let us go
"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.
‘The streets lead to an "overwhelming question" that Prufrock refuses to answer. Prufrock refuses to divulge the question because he fears his potential lover will respond negatively. If he received a rejection from her, Prufrock would undoubtedly be distraught and on the brink of full-blown depression. At least Prufrock knows himself well enough to refrain from doing this, thereby preventing his emotional
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
...emonstrative of Prufrock’s longing for the women; even though he is on the inside with them, he still lingers hesitantly like the fog. This is later reinforced by Prufrock stating that he has “gone at dusk…and watched the smoke that rises from the pipes / Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows” (ll.70-73). Both Prufrock and Samsa long for things they cannot have, because they are afraid to take a chance.
He does not ask questions such as a “Do I dare?” The poem also relates Prufrock’s shameful life to Dante’s Inferno. In regards to the fact that he is in a dark lonely place where his life has no meaning and has little sureness in himself. Dante’s is confined to hell, where Prufrock is living a lonely life within the city. Another reference to Dante’s Inferno quotes a false counselor in Hell who will tell his crime only to those he thinks will keep it a secret. Prufrock, too, would not want his story of his life to be known he wants to create “To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” but what he has to hide is insignificant. There is also reference to the Italian renaissance painter Michelangelo with the women coming and going talk to Michelangelo, that gets you to think that these women can be those of higher class. This may be in regards to the fact that Prufrock may be afraid of the fact that he will not fit the needs of these
All of these descriptions bring us closer to Prufrock. They show us the world through his eyes. The wonder and the fear of the yellow fog. The vastness and limits of time. His vision of himself as crab. The generic nature of the women as mermaids. And his feeling of loneliness in the huge sea. He doesn’t discuss other people’s opinions because all that matters is Prufrock’s opinions.
In conclusion, after exploring the theme of this poem and reading it for myself, Eliot has created this persona, in industrialised England or somewhere else. A man of low self-esteem, you embark his journey as he struggles with a rational fear of being rejected by a woman. Which gives the reader sympathy to Prufrock, as he lives within his own personal
The poem begins by suggesting that Mr. Prufrock is mentally disassociated with society. Mr. Prufrock, addressing the audience or some imaginary confidante, proposes the mental journey commence "When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised [sic] upon a table" (ll. 2-3). The lines evoke images of drug induced, altered realities. He follows by recommending visits to "one-night cheap hotels" (l. 6) and "sawdust restaurants" (l. 7). The references infer that the locations are not the speaker's normal environments and are part of fantasy environments. In lines 15 through 22, the speaker credits the smog with feline characteristics. He further states "Though I have seen my head [...] brought in upon a platter..." (l. 81). Although it is a biblical reference to the decapitation of John the Baptist, the statement is indicative of an active fantasy life. He admits to having heard mermaids sing and speaks of life on a beach. He creates the fanta...