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Comment on “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
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In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," T. S. Eliot reveals the silent insecurity of a man, for whom the passing of time indicates the loss of virility and confidence. Throughout the poem, Prufrock struggles with his fear of inadequacy, which surfaces socially, physically and romantically. The desire to ask some "overwhelming question," of the one he wants is outweighed by his diffidence, reinforcing his belief in his shortcomings. Ultimately, this poem is the internal soliloquy of someone who attempts to know what he wants and how to get it, but whose social paralysis and lack of self-assuredness prevents either of these possibilities.
Eliot begins the poem with an epigraph from Dante's Inferno. "If I thought that my reply would be to someone who would ever return to earth, this flame would remain without further movement; but as no one has ever returned alive from this gulf, if what I hear is true, I can answer you with no fear of infamy," (CowboyJunkies.com). These words, spoken to Dante, signify an important aspect of Eliot's poem--Prufrock's confused vacillation and neurotic ambiguity are entirely contained within his own mind, allowing them to occur without concern for the reaction of peers. Eliot chooses to emphasize the insecure nature of his character Prufrock throughout the text, exemplified in his self-questioning, "Do I dare...to turn back and ascend the stair, with a bald spot in the middle of my hair--they will say: `How his hair is growing thin!'" This concern over social perception strengthens the importance of the introductory message: Prufrock is desperately afraid of being rejected, and if he thought that his nervous wonderings would be heard by "someone who would return to Earth", or could repeat th...
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... and brown, till human voices wake us, and we drown." The chambers of the sea are the habitats of the beautiful women he has been surrounded by, but never known. They, Prufrock and his companion, "have lingered" in their social setting, surrounded by beautiful women and other beings worthy of passing judgment. This judgment passed upon such a sensitive ego will ultimately lead to Prufrock's downfall. He is woken from his private world of contemplation and tossed into a sea of his fears, of public rejection, to drown.
Works Cited
Eliot, T. S.. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Class handout.
The Love Son of J. Alfred Prufrock. 18 December, 2005. Cowboy Junkies. 15 April,
2006.http://www.cowboyjunkies.com/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002954
"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.
Before we are introduced to Prufrock himself, we notice that the initial scenes of this poem paint a landscape of apathy. The narrator mentions little about himself initially and beckons that we follow him down into a world without consequence “of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels” (Eliot 6). The later “streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent” set the stage for Prufrock’s dilemma (ibid 9-10). Audrey Cahill says this scene foreshadows “Prufrock’s dialogue with himself, a dialogue which leads nowhere” and that thrusts the reader into meaningless chaos (6). Thus, even if these streets lead to an overwhelming question, the journey down them is rather mind-numbing and unnecessary if the answer gets us nowhere or, worse, merely emphasizes our own desolation. This is compounded by the appearance of a mysterious yellow catlike fog that “curled once about the house and fell asleep” (Eliot 22). Cahill also affirms that becaus...
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.
The beginning of the poem is pre -empted by an excerpt from Dante's Inferno which Eliot uses to begin his exploration of Prufrock's self-consciousness. By inserting this quote, a parallel is created between Prufrock and the speaker, Guido da Montefeltro, who is very aware of his position in "hell" and his inability to escape his fate. Prufrock is also very aware of his current status, but doesn't realize until the end that he is unable to rise above it. The issue of his fate leads Prufrock to an "overwhelming question.
J. Alfred Prufrock is a man who is destined to find the right women to with for the rest of his life. He always holds off finding the perfect women to another day, but time is ticking against him and he does not have much time left. In T.S. Eliot’s, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” Illustrates Prufrock’s inability to interact with women in the coffee shop, fear of being turned down, and the significance of love and time.
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
The main character of T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a man named J. Alfred Prufrock, who is extremely insecure. Prufrock clearly has an inferiority complex, throughout the poem he shows his feeling of inadequacy. For example, Prufrock is very concerned with his own appearance. Due to his inadequacies he is unable to enter into a romantic relationship with a woman. Prufrock often feels judge and scrutinized by women making it impossible to pursue any sort of relations with women. He eventually admits, “in short, [he] was afraid” (86). Prufrock keeps trying to convince himself that he has plenty of time to seize his opportunity with women, despite the fact that he “grow[s] old” (line 120). He not only feels anxious
Eliot begins the poem with the original Italian text of Dante’s epic, “The Divine Comedy.” It contains six lines borrowed from “Inferno” that are verbal quotes from a character in the eighth circle of hell, stating he will confide in Dante on the basis that Dante should not be able to escape hell, and therefore cannot divulge his secrets to the people still living (Alighieri, 61-66). This reflects J. Alfred’s willingness to lament to the reader since the reader has no means to share his secrets with those in his world. With the reader being Dante in this analogy, it puts Prufrock in the position of Guido da Montefeltro, the damned soul speaking to Dante. While Guido is not alive, his soul is technically still living, having to endure torture for his mortal misdeeds. Similar to how Prufrock is a searing soul inside a decaying body, evidenced by the lines “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair” (Eliot, 40) and “(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)” (Eliot, 44). Meanwhile, Prufrock’s inner psyche is tormented by thoughts such as “though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed” (Eliot, 81) and saying his place in life is “Almost, at times, the Fool.” (Eliot, 118). These descriptions of himself develop the idea that Prufrock is likewise in a figurative Bolgia of hell, unwilling or unable to climb out, and so, like Guido, confesses his woes. Prufrock is, however, physically more alive than
Eliot, T.S.. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 1996. 2459-2463.
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.
In conclusion, after exploring the theme of this poem and reading it for myself, Eliot has created this persona, in industrialised England or somewhere else. A man of low self-esteem, you embark his journey as he struggles with a rational fear of being rejected by a woman. Which gives the reader sympathy to Prufrock, as he lives within his own personal
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.
T.S. Eliot has been one of the most daring innovators of twentieth-century poetry. His poem“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, is different and unusual. He rejects the logic connection, thus, his poems lack logic interpretation. He himself justifies himself by saying: he wrote it to want it to be difficult. The dissociation of sensibility, on the contrary, arouses the emotion of readers immediately. This poem contains Prufrock’ s love affairs. But it is more than that. It is actually only the narration of Prufrock, a middle-aged man, and a romantic aesthete , who is bored with his meaningless life and driven to despair because he wished but
One of T.S. Eliot’s earliest poems, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, is a prime example of a text that takes a turn inwards in terms of conveying the experience it presents. The poem provides a look into the distressed mind of an archetypal modern man of the times. It does this using the speaker’s stream of consciousness presented as a dramatic monologue. Prufrock, the poem’s speaker, seeks to advance his relationship with a woman who has caught his eye. He wonders if he has “the strength to force the moment to its crisis” (Eliot, 80). Prufrock is so entrenched in self-doubt that he is uncertain whether he is capable of having a relationship with this woman. His knowledge of the world he lives in and his circumstances keep him from attempting to approach this prospective lover. He contemplates the reasons for which he believes he cannot be with her and scolds himself for even thinking that it was possibl...
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.