Examples Of Similes In The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock

T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock tells a story through the perspective of an ordinary man in a way that reveals both the beauty and complexities of love, time, and life. Through his emphasis on the mundane things of ordinary everyday progression, Eliot exposes a skewed perception of these elements of life. Mr. Prufrock, who is perceived as a very simple man, takes readers on a journey through a day like every other, pointing out various simplicities in a way that slowly reveal more of his own character. His character, therefore, acts as a symbol of humanity itself and Eliot’s use of different literary elements further elevate his main idea. Throughout The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot utilizes a number of metaphors and similes in a way that give insight into Prufrock’s fragmented view of love, time, and life itself.

Throughout the poem, Eliot uses a number of similes to reveal different parts of Prufrock’s character and internal dilemma. An example of this is seen in lines 1-3 when Eliot writes, “Let us go then, you and I, when the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon the table.” What is interesting about this quote is that it sets the stage, essentially, for the rest of the poem. Eliot starts out by opening the piece with a line that gives the poem a very calm vibe, suggesting an invitation to go on an intimate stroll with the narrator. The third line, however, compares the evening to someone lying on a table about to go through surgery. The fact that Eliot uses this simile reveals, early on, a part of Prufrock’s character and his fragmented view of love in that he sees it as a rather gilded part of humanity. We, the readers, notice that Prufrock associates love with ...

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... things in light of his internal fear of rejection and the unknown.

Eliot’s use of metaphors and similes in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, are effective in that they take concrete, yet simple, ideas and parallel it to that of something rather organic. This, in essence, gives the elements of the poem authenticity in that it makes alive Eliot’s main themes through his creation of Prufrock’s character as a very complex, yet ordinary, man with a fragmented view of love, time, and life itself. From something as simple as love and relationships with women, to things more complex like death and decisions, Prufrock’s disconnection from the modern world is elevated through Eliot’s literary elements. Through his comparison to seemingly attainable ideas and his use of metaphors and similes, Eliot highlights Prufrock’s fragmented character and core internal dilemmas.