The Use of Symbolism in T.S. Eliot's, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
A well-written poem is built out of levels. Each level alludes to the next until the ultimate discovery of the poet's message. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," by T. S. Eliot, provides a perfect example of a well-crafted poem comprised of sequential levels, also known as a framed story. At the level just below the very surface, the poem obscurely tells the story of a failed lobster prophet, resurrected from the dead to warn other lobsters of the cruel fate that awaits them in the event of their capture. In the course of the story, the lobster prophet falls prey to the harvest of a lobster catcher and is then sent to a restaurant as food. While in the tank with the other lobsters, he reflects on and laments his life. This interpretation serves as a vehicle for presenting the true message of the poem, which exists on the next level, to the audience. The story of the lobster represents Eliot's own fear of people overlooking the messages he attempts to convey in his poetry. Even though he has learned this lesson from previous poems, he feels an attempt to save his future poems is futile in the same way as one lobster saving another is futile.
One indicator that the lobster interpretation exists at the level below the surface of the poem is the yellow fog that fills the "... sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells" (Eliot L. 7). The persona describes "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window panes / ... Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains" (Eliot LL. 15&18). The yellow fog from the passage is the steam from a restaurant's lobster pot that boils and cooks the lobsters. The yellow fog receives its color from the dim yellow lighting of...
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...e, inside the obscurity of the poem at its most superficial level, like the abuseds' half of the ox. Eliot is afraid that the audience will mistake the obscurity of the poem as the best part, and overlook the hidden good on the inside, just as the abusers' did with their half of the ox. By wrapping one thing inside of another in this way, Eliot builds an excellent compilation of levels into one, well-written poem.
Works Cited
Eliot, T. S.. "The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 2nd Ed. Schlib & Clifford. Boston: Bedford, 2003. 851-855.
Hesiod. Theogony. Trans. Apostolos N. Athanassakis. Baltimore: John Hopkins University, 1983.
Hesiod. Works and Days. Trans. Apostolos N. Athanassakis. Baltimore: John Hopkins University, 1983.
Holy Bible. King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984.
"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.
Eliot, T.S.. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." An Introduction to Poetry. 13th ed. Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Boston: Little, Brown, 1966. 369-372. Print.
In life, there is a common ground on which most every person can relate. At one time or another, we have all been promoters of or victims of the unremitting nature of stereotypes. According to the Webster’s dictionary, a stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Most stereotypes take on a negative form and are based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, status, and personal beliefs. Generally speaking, the greatest problem that arises with stereotypes is that they judge group of people by the characteristics and actions of their ancestors, rather than on an individual basis. More often than not, these assumptions will cause people to draw false conclusions about a person’s true character. One stereotype that developed in ancient times and has lasted throughout the centuries is that of the “greedy Jew.” Over the course of history, the Jews have discovered first-hand the destructive and gruesome effects that stereotyping has on a vulnerable people. The Jews have been and will continue to be objects of stereotyping unless something is done to stop it.
Eliot, T. S. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in An Introduction to Literature. Ed Sylvan Barnet et al. 13 ed. New York: Longman. 2004. 937-940.
Organ, D.W. (1996) "Leadership: The great man theory revisited", Business horizons, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 1-4.
T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. ed. M. H. Abrams New York, London: Norton, 1993.
...for a Limited Series or Special” (“The Scarlet Pimpernel”). Astonishingly enough, the film only took six weeks to produce (IMDb). While that may seem like an insufficient amount of time to successfully produce a two-hour film, the quality of this film suggests otherwise. Not only does it feature an outstanding cast, extravagant costumes, and breathtaking scenery, but it also manages to engage audience of all ages and preferences. The Scarlet Pimpernel is dazzling and utterly irresistible adventure that is sure to capture the hearts of viewers across the globe.
The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is four times higher than the developed European countries, such as France and Germany.3 Latina and black women make up the largest part of teen pregnancy because these groups have highly disproportionate cases of births at the early ages of 13 to 18 years old.3 These groups also face the highest rates of low socioeconomic status and low levels of education which together aggravate the pregnancy problem. An approximated 60% of females live in poverty at the time of childbearing and lack the knowledge or resources to survive economically or prevent yet another pregnancy.2 ...
In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Elliot writes from the point of view of a lonely, antisocial middle age man named Prufrock, introspecting on the apathetic way he feels, resulting in his inability to propose marriage. The author uses a variety of techniques in his poem to help illustrate the type of man Prufrock is and to express his indecision, lack of initiative, and monotonous attitude toward life. From the start,Prufrock claims his purpose is to ask an important question, but only continues to beat around the bush, avoiding asking the question completely. Focusing on the fifth stanza of the poem, readers can easily gather the essence of the poem’s overall purpose through the allusions, repetition and imagery he uses.
In T.S Eliot's poem, Portrait of a Lady, he gives a glimpse into the upper class of post war society- something rather dispirited and forlorn. It is filled with people from the higher social standings and they are as soulless and empty as the lady in the poem. The upper class was also represented by the main character himself, who is truly unable to connect as a whole to his surroundings. He initially describes the world in the poem as dark, covered in smoke and haze – the scene that is in and of itself a mere half life, the individuality of the characters already swallowed by the abyss of ritual that has devoid of meaning. The truly shocking part that links this poem to the author’s previous poems is the underlying brokenness and the soullessness that the characters seem to inhabit. The main character of t...
In the United States since the beginng of the 1990’s until 2000’sthe teen pregnancy rate has decline tremdously. Although the U.S. has decline in teen birth it still leads all countries in teen pregnancy rate rate according to the 2013 statistics 52.1 per 1000 of female’s population age group of 15-19 (HTP,2013). Where as countries such as Canada have particually a low teen pregnancy rate where on average every 20.2 out of 1000 teens become pregnant before reaching 21. For the united states to decline in leading the nation in teen pregnancy and prevation plan needs to come interwish. The teen pregnancy prevation plan will constit of the follow topics such as Sexual education, teen abstinence, and open parent child realtionship.
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.
According to U.S. Health and Human Services, 1 in 3 girls will get pregnant before she turns twenty. Almost 1 million teens get pregnant every year. Most of these pregnancies are unplanned, and cause turmoil for the teen mother, the baby's father, and their families. (surviving an unplanned pregnancy). As that may come as a shock, those statistics are realistic and accurate. In 2012 alone there were 29.4 live births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19. (hhs.gov). U.S. teen birth rate is slightly higher than any over developed country. U.S.A is holding the top rank in adolescent pregnancies. Of about 82% of pregnancy are found to be in teenagers having an age group between 15-20. (Teenage pregnancy: causes and facts). Childbearing at a young age impacts the adolescent parents both momentarily and in the forthcoming future. How can a child care for a child? They simply can't. “I’m still just as young as I was” she insists, “I haven’t grown up any faster.” (Wallis). Spoken by a young girl whom gave her perspective on giving birth at a young age. In society today, the uprising issue of adolescents having children, teen pregnancy, is becoming a lifetime impediment.
According to www.cdc.gov, in 2013, a total of two hundred and seventy-three thousand, one hundred and five babies were born to women fifteen to nineteen years of age. Though this is low for the typical rate of teen- child births, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations. There are many stories of teen mothers who feel like they have their lives together, and consider their stories “success stories”. What most teens don’t understand, is the difficulties of being a mother, especially at such a young age. Teen pregnancy has more negative outcomes than positive outcomes, as shown by a girl named Haley in her teen pregnancy story. The best way to prevent teen pregnancy is through information
The title T. S. Eliot chose for his poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is ironic. Mr. Prufrock does not love anyone, nor does he believe he is loved. He has disdain for the society of which he wishes he were a part, and he believes society views him no differently. The imagery of Mr. Prufrock's thoughts provide the audience a more detailed insight into his character than had Mr. Eliot simply listed Mr. Prufrock's virtues and flaws. Mr. Prufrock is seen as an exaggeration or extreme for the sake of literary commentary, but the world has many Prufrocks in many differing degrees, and T. S. Eliot has made them a little easier to understand.