Analysis Of The Lovesong Of J Alfred Prufrock

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How does T.S. Eliot portray Prufrock’s crippling social anxiety in ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’? We can see Prufrock’s crippling social anxiety through the language though the language and symbolism in T.S. Eliot’s poem: A love song by J Alfred Prufrock. Elliot uses the self-description “Like a patient etherized upon a table” Eliot, uses a simile to put this point across, giving us the image of a patient literally being etherised upon the table as if he’s crippled socially. Whereas everybody else is free flowing, he struggles and cannot cope with having to be a social butterfly, questioning everything he should say constantly. “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair” shows his anxiety and the fact that he is extremely self-conscious, thinking too much of people’s opinions of him. Eliot uses more formal and intelligent language to put across the idea that Prufrock is well off in terms of money and generally is well spoken, but he is just seeking emotional fulfilment rather than material fulfilment. “Of restless nights in cheap hotels” reinforces this as Prufrock is referring to either one night stands which are both meaningless in an emotional sense, Prufrock could most likely have both as they carry little to no social interaction. However, …show more content…

Prufrock throughout the poem appears to make constant reference to these small social meetings which he supposedly hates as he feels crippled by the constant pressure of social interaction. It also potentially shows that he is constantly in the environment to achieve his goals but finds it impossible to take action due his crippling social anxiety. He also makes the actual taking of the “toast and tea” appear to be a large event, perhaps showing his anxiety as he places such significance on a relatively small

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