Prufrock Analysis

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In T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock many people see Prufrock as the ultimate loser. He’s too scared to step out and take a chance to court a woman. He is bogged down with critizing homself. He is divided, wanting to sing with the women, but also wanting to hide away from everyone. But is he really such a loser? Many parts of his song say that this may not be the case. Prufrock tells his long song he isn’t talking to no one, nor is he keeping his fears hidden. Prufrock is talking to us. He is walking with us. He is inviting us into his life. We get to see all the good and bad that make up Prufrock. In the beginning we go with him through the streets of England. He is taking us on a physical journey and a spiritual journey. He slowly introduces his fears and his short comings. We feel his anguish. We learn his wishes. All because he is openly telling …show more content…

He is a crab who wants to hide at the bottom of the sea. He is wearing casual clothing walking along the beach. He dreams of the mermaids singing to him. The sea is an immeasurable expanse he is lost in. It is his unknown that he is afraid of and fears losing himself in. All of these descriptions bring us closer to Prufrock. They show us the world through his eyes. The wonder and the fear of the yellow fog. The vastness and limits of time. His vision of himself as crab. The generic nature of the women as mermaids. And his feeling of loneliness in the huge sea. He doesn’t discuss other people’s opinions because all that matters is Prufrock’s opinions. There is no omniscient narrator looking down at Prufrock and telling us about the poor life of Prufrock. The narrator could describe Prufrock’s actions and maybe give us a glimpse into his thoughts, and that would have given us a story about a down trodden man. This poem is told in a more intimate manner. We are hearing Prufrock’s story through his words and

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