T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a poem which enters the dynamic consciousness of its title character, whose feelings, thoughts and emotions are displayed in a motley but organized sequence, as they ride the man's wavering mood. His is a mood wavering more often towards haplessness than fulfillment, because Prufrock is a man caught in a vicious cycle of introspection, journey, and retreat. More specifically, J. Alfred Prufrock, as developed by Eliot, is a man experiencing a mid life crisis, brought about by society, and sustained by his own fear and reluctance.
Throughout his "song," Prufrock questions himself. He does so not after a performed action, nor during, but nearly always before. Seemingly inbred in him is the tendency to think deeply into everything he does, so that the consequences of his actions may not attract the attention of a society he sees constantly lurking behind him. Nervous and fearful of this hovering critic, Prufrock finds himself considerably shaken by life actions as simple as descending a staircase.
A task considered perfunctory and performed without conflict by others, Prufrock, when atop the staircase asks himself, "'Do I dare?' and 'Do I Dare?'"(Eliot 811). His reluctance comes with the response to the question, which Prufrock in his self-consciousness answers for society, answering, "(They will say: 'How his hair is growing thin!') and "('But how his arms and legs are thin!'." Prufrock's conflict thus arises because in his consciousness it is not the end of the stairs which await him as he stands at the top, but a society crouched in the shadows and poised to attack.
Henceforth, the cycle is revealed; Prufrock professes an intention, hesitates in paranoia at the prospect of achieving it, and then retreats into self consciousness upon contemplating what society would think of him, and his 'thinning hair' as he did it. This fact incites one to wonder if Prufrock, who repeatedly asks himself, "And how should I presume?" is trapped by and within his own mind, as it continues to engage in the aforementioned cycle. It is within this 'thinning hair' and these 'thin arms and legs' where Prufrock's inhibitions, and consequently the crises he finds himself in, are rooted. Only a man in a mid-life crisis could be so shaken by a bald spot, so unnerved by silent comments aimed at his 'thin arms and legs' (which leads one to envision his torso to be the opposite) by a society which fuels its oppression of Prufrock with his own self-consciousness.
Evaluation of the Success of the Evacuation of Children from Major British Cities during World War II
Why the British Government Decided to Evacuate Children from Britain's Major Cities in the Early Years of the Second World War
did not know what the war in the air would be like; the First World
Some people question whether it was worth evacuating children, due to the overestimation of the number of deaths. The government thought 3/4 million people would be killed in the Second World War, however in reality only about 600,000 were, and only 65,000 died from the bombing of Great Britain. Some people question whether it was worth the suffering that some children had to go through during evacuation, however in my opinion, the plan clearly saved lives and so I believe it was worth it, despite the trauma endured by a number of evacuees. At the time the government’s actions were done with the best of intentions.
During World War 2, many children were moved from areas that were at risk from bombing. The children had to leave their families and go to live with strangers in less dangerous parts of the country.
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.
Prufrocks next thoughts tell of his old age and his lack of will to say what is on his mind. He mentions his bald spot in his hair and his thin arms and legs. This suggests that he knows he is growing old, and therefore contradicts what he had mentioned earlier in the poem about having plenty of time. Throughout the poem he is indecisive and somewhat aloof from the self-involved group of women. One part of him would like to startle them out of their frustratingly polite conversations and express his love for her, but to accomplish this he would have to risk disturbing their ?universe? and being rejected. He also mentions ?sprawling on a pin?, as though he pictures himself being pinned in place and viciously analyzed like that of an insect being literally pinned in place. The latter part of the poem captures his sense of overwhelming lack of willpower for failing to act daringly, not only at that tea party, but throughout his life.
In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, the third murderers identity is unknown and it is never revealed at the end of the play. But there are some clues throughout the story that suggests Lady Macbeth could be the unknown third murderer. Lady Macbeth could be the third murderer in Macbeth because she shows signs of wanting to be like a man, she is the one that influenced Macbeth to kill Duncan, and because she shows signs of extreme guilt later in the story. With these three pieces of evidence, Lady Macbeth is shown to be the third murderer in Macbeth.
Reinforcing the central idea of the poem through fragmentation techniques, and through commentary from Eliot about the social world of Prufrock, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is of a man in a human connection voided modern society’s inability to take decisive action. Through Eliot’s fragmentation, the social world of Prufrock is seen as disordered, empty, repetitive, chaotic, judgmental, isolated and a couple others, but nonetheless, he painted a good portrait of the society and has a good sense of the society in which Prufrock inhabits.
The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a poem that was written by T. S Eliot. The poem introduces the character, Prufrock, as a man who is very pessimistic about everything and is incapable of change. Prufrock sees the society he lives in as a place that is full of people who think alike, and he thinks he is different from them. Though Prufrock, realizes that the society he is associated with needs a change and have more people who think differently, but the fact that he is very concerned about what people would think of him if he tries to speak up to make a change or that he would be ignored or be misunderstood for whatever he says hindered him from expressing himself the way he would like to. Prufrock then decides not to express himself in order to avoid any type of rejection. In the poem, Prufrock made use of several imagery and metaphor to illustrate how he feels about himself and the society he is involved in. Prufrock use of imageries and
Eliot and Kafka characterize their respective characters as having negative self-images, a prior lack of success, and as being fundamentally lonely. Prufrock views himself as undesirable, and his self-image seems to grow worse with age. While Prufrock has the chance early on to make something of his life, he sits in a room, presumably one in which there is a display of artwork, and “the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” (ll. 13-14). Prufrock goes by unnoticed next to what could be the beautiful works of Michelangelo. It can especially be presumed that he feels inadequate next to the Statue of David, a sculpture for which Michelangelo is famous. As time goes on, his feelings of inadequacy increase when he begins to fear what others will think of his aged appearance, for “They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin!’” and “They will say: ‘But how his arms and legs are thin!’” (ll. 41, 44). Prufrock’s lack of self-confid...
T.S. Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock has a plethora of possible interpretations. Many people argue that the poem represents a man who appears to be very introverted person who is contemplating a major decision in his life. This decision is whether or not he will consummate a relationship with someone he appears to have an attraction to or feelings for. People also debate whether or not Prufrock from the poem is typical of people today. While there are a plethora of reasons Prufrock is not typical of people today the main three reasons are he is very reserved, he overthinks most situations and he tries avoid his problems instead of solve them.
T. S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" reveals the unvoiced inner thoughts of a disillusioned, lonely, insecure, and self-loathing middle-aged man. The thoughts are presented in a free association, or stream of consciousness style, creating images from which the reader can gain insight into Mr. Prufrock's character. Mr. Prufrock is disillusioned and disassociated with society, yet he is filled with longing for love, comfort, and companionship. He is self-conscious and fearful of his image as viewed through the world's eye, a perspective from which he develops his own feelings of insignificance and disgust. T. S. Eliot uses very specific imagery to build a portrait of Mr. Prufrock, believing that mental images provide insight where words fail.
With time poems may have lost their voice, but not their importance. Up to this day, poetry is still one of the greatest forms of artistic expression; Poems speak to emotions and capture feelings. There is no right format of a poem, but yet a world of possibilities. Instead being unchangeable poems are innately open to interpretation; they should be spoken out loud in order to be “heard”, convey truth and cause impact. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is an extremely meaningful poem; it is one of Elliot’s best-known works and without a doubt a masterpiece (Hillis). T.S. Eliot introduces the poem with a quote from Dante's Inferno (XXVII.61-66), and with that sparks our curiosity. He then makes statements and questions that perhaps everyone has done, or will do at some point in life (Li-Cheng, pp. 10-17). The poem is a legitimate work of the modernist movement, the language used is contemporary; the verses are free and the rhythm flows naturally.
When reading “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, there is no doubt at all that Elliot has indeed, created the most distinguishable anti-hero. Prufrock is shy, timid, haunted by thoughts degraded by failure, indecisive, pessimistic, self-conscious, and overall pathetic. He has a horrible, distorted view on society and feeling sympathy for the man is almost inescapable. Prufrock will never be the hero. His self-doubting and cynical nature, bundled with suppression and a melancholy attitude towards life is leading only to a future full of isolation and loneliness. This is the summarization of the life of the anti-hero.