Summary Of The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock

During the semester of my American Literature class, many authors were studied along with many of their famous works. Authors such as Walt Whitman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Booker T. Washington, and T. S. Eliot, were introduced briefly in this American Literature class. The one author that stood out to me the most was T. S. Eliot. His poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” was quite unique and distinct from mainstream love poems. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” draws readers to experience an “anxiety filled, insecure, middle aged” love story (Pagnattaro). According to Marisa Pagnattaro, and her critical essay “An Overview of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock””, the descriptions and emotions of the character J. Alfred Prufrock allows individuals to feel his “anxiety filled” experience. In Pagnattaro’s critical essay, she explains the events that occurred throughout the story of J. Alfred Prufrock’s. She begins by explaining the introduction, or epigram, that T. S. Eliot began the poem with. The epigram is a reference from Dante’s “Inferno”. The epigram depicts that an individual is surrounded by “flames as

S. Eliot’s poem for the American Literature class, Pagnattaro’s critical essay allowed me to further understanding the meaning of his text. The details of his ongoing and growing anxiety, and insecurity were portrayed more prominently in the story after I have read Pagnattaro’s overview of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” text. Her text allowed me to further understand why Prufrock refrained himself from asking the woman he noticed to pursue him. Although his intentions are to pursue her, his doubts and questions against himself overwhelmed him. This resulting in him not being able to move forward towards a good future for himself. These details show how “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is not what one might have thought was a mainstream love poem, or something as close to “Romeo and Juliet” by