The Pitiful Prufrock of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock T.S. Elliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," is a melancholy poem of one man's frustrated search to find the meaning of his existence. The speaker's strong use of imagery contributes to the poems theme of communion and loneliness. The Poem begins with an invitation from Prufrock to follow him through his self-examination. The imagery of this invitation begins with a startling simile, "Let us go then
When creating his famous poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", T.S. Eliot was inspired by a character depicted in the novella known as Daisy Miller, written by Henry James. This character, Winterbourne, was intertwined and considered when creating the timid character of Prufrock. It is evident that both men share similar personalities and characteristics that link them together, both being prime examples of emptiness and despair told through theses writings. The central concern in Daisy Miller
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
I have found what I believe to be the central theme of the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S Eliot. Although there can be many interpretations of the central theme of the poem such as “Aging and dying; Midlife crises; Old age and regret; Wealth and poverty”, I disagree that one of these themes is the “central theme” of the poem. I would also disagree with the notion that there are many meanings to poem; in the often vague short cut way. Although these potential themes hit at pieces
unraveling. The opening of this stanza reminds readers that Prufrock is characteristically quite similar to Hamlet, in terms of the pressing anxiety and indecisiveness which they both experience. As the stanza opens, Mr. Prufrock makes it clear that he is not worthy of being compared to Hamlet in any way, articulating that he is “not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be” (111). William Irwin reiterates Prufrock’s thoughts contending that, “Prufrock is no prince Hamlet, who, despite being paralyzed for most
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The pursuit of youth, of sex, of “yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window panes,” some pursue this their whole lives, a bachelor looking in the corners of streets and bars for a bit of youth and company. This is the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, 1917. It is the song and love story of men who search for their lover in places absent of love and instead only finds lust. Those who only find lust in these lonely places eventually become old,
The Loneliness of J. Alfred Prufrock In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", written by T. S. Elliot in 1917, J. Alfred Prufrock makes the reader privy to his innermost thoughts on an evening out. Prufrock wants to lead the reader to an overwhelming question, raising expectations, but he is a bitterly disappointing man; he never asks the question. He lacks self-esteem, women are intimidating to him, and he is too much of a coward to ever be successful with women. The title is "The Love Song
In our ever advancing world, meaningful connections are sometimes hard to come by. In the poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, the narrator feels a disconnect from the world around him. Much like people in our 20th century world do too. The poem discusses a theme that the main character is deficient in finding a meaning and purpose is increasingly impossible in an ever-changing world. Eliot is saying that the world is changing too fast and he no longer fits in to the newly industrialized
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. The epigraph of the poem is an excerpt from Dante's Inferno, in which that the perfect audience could only be someone who would never be allowed into the real world where that person(s) might reveal Prufrock's idiosyncrasies. This of course is
S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" invariably footnote the reference to Lazarus as John 11:1-44; rarely is the reference footnoted as Luke 16:19-31. Also, the reference to John the Baptist is invariably footnoted as Matthew 14:3-11; never have I seen the reference footnoted as an allusion to Oscar Wilde's Salome. The sources that one cites can profoundly affect interpretations of the poem. I believe that a correct reading of Eliot's "Prufrock" requires that one cite Wilde, in addition
In the poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” T.S. Eliot uses many metaphors to grab our attention from how Prufrock feels from his peers. In the first stanza, it is safe to say that Prufrock feels that no woman loves him, but maybe the real issue is that he doesn’t love himself. Prufrock lives more on the opinions of others making the chance of him gaining self-confidence very unlikely. Many times Prufrock begins to think, “Do I dare?” when someone begins to speak with him. We see how the
In the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” T.S Eliot uses a man named Prufrock to describe the uncertainties in life and how they affect a person views. Prufrock does not have the confidence to give or receive love. There is an equally amount of unhappiness to the concept of time and space. He is unsatisfied with life and with the decisions to think rather than act. He claims that there will be much time to do things in the social world. Prufrock is more of an anti-hero that is controlled
Prufrock by Eliot In his poem Eliot paints the picture of an insecure man looking for his niche in society. Prufrock has fallen in with the times, and places a lot of weight on social status and class to determine his identity. He is ashamed of his personal appearance and looks towards social advancement as a way to assure himself and those around him of his worth and establish who he is. Throughout the poem the reader comes to realize that Prufrock has actually all but given up on himself
Question Who is Prufrock? The modern propensity for excessive introspection prevents people from living full, active lives. Is this true of Prufrock? Refer to examples from the poem to support your opinion. Answer It is obvious that the excessive and obsessive reflection of self that Prufrock undergoes in the poem, "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" written by T.S. Eliot, prevents him from living to his true potential, and this is shown through the poet?s language and his use of poetic
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the author is establishing the trouble the main character, Prufrock, is having coming to terms with middle age. He is deeply distressed over the fact that he is growing old, and feels that the prime of his life has passed him by. His preoccupation with time throughout the poem characterizes his fear of aging. He is a man experiencing a mid-life crisis, brought about by his perception of aging and his own feelings of inadequacy. J. Alfred Prufrock is a man caught in a
The poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” contains a variety of ways T.S. Eliot shows how Prufrock is living in his own hell. The darkness can not be contained in this poem. It is lonesome, sad road Prufrock is on. Hell is described as one of the worst places to be. Hell is never ending, and the souls that are there are forever slaves to dreadful place. One can endure hell in their everyday life. The scenarios Prufrock describes is definite ways he is living through his own hell. To begin
Paralysis in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Prufrock's paralysis follows naturally from this subjectivizing of everything. If each consciousness is an opaque sphere, then Prufrock has no hope of being understood by others. "No experience," says Bradley in a phrase Eliot quotes, "can lie open to inspection from outside" (KE, 203). Prufrock's vision is incommunicable, and whatever he says to the lady will be answered by, "That is not what I meant at all./That is not it, at all" (CP, 6). The
T.S. Eliot’s modernist poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock consists of literary devices and references that present a dramatic monologue of an inconclusive character who pulls readers into his world. The title of this poem indicates a romantic love situation, but the poem takes a rather anti-romantic approach. The title also introduces the speaker, whose name “J. Alfred Prufrock” lacks poetic beauty. At the beginning of his poem, Eliot includes an epigraph to reveal the inner conflict of the
Prufrock and Plath, one in the same While my initial reading of ‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath and ‘The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’ by TS Eliot revealed no obvious similarities between the two, a deeper, comparative analysis depicted a mutual, overarching and universal theme of an individual’s inherent desire for connection. I established that isolation is highlighted by each poem as a result of three primary causes, a flaw in thought, a flaw in action and a flaw in self, a thread which revealed more
TS Elliot is very methodical about the craft and meaning of his poem: “The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock.” Through a plethora of literary devices, TS Elliot portrays a question that J. Alfred Prufrock never asked, through this unasked Question Elliot portrayed Prufrock as desperate to find a female partner to have a relationship with. Elliot starts The Poem out by making an invitation saying “Let us go then, you and I” - to whom?: it remains unclear. The first Stanza goes like this: Let us go