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The love song of j. alfred prufrock symbolism
The love song of j alfred prufrock what is it about
The love song of j. alfred prufrock symbolism
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With particular reference to ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, do you think that Eliot’s employment of symbolism obscures the message of his poetry?
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF HIS POETRY?!
The original title of the poem was ‘Prufrock Among the Women’. (Addresses the message of the poetry- WOMEN WOMEN WOMEN)
The original title of the poem was ‘Prufrock Among the Women.’ This initial title addresses the message of T.S Eliot’s poetry as it engages with both the fear of rejection and the ephemeral essence of life. The alteration
J Alfred Prufrock feels incapable of making any decisive action. The dramatic monologue depicts his on-going flow of thoughts, which revolve mainly around life and death and his fear of rejection. Alternatively, it can be argued that T.S Eliot is taking us on a literal journey and letting us, the audience “go and make our visit” travelling to an unknown, yet seedy destination- a specific time and place, uncovering the inequalities within society with genuine intent rather than spouting an uninterrupted flow of thoughts and feelings, which quickly pass through his mind.
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Prufrock simply cannot appreciate the romance of the evening sky, due to his innate restrictions with women. The symbolic imagery of a patient being etherised on a table suggests Prufrock’s complacency and impotence. Alternatively, the potent anaesthetic indicates Prufrock’s state in life as he is aware that he is growing older yet fails to comprehend how short-lived life is. He also neglects any potential opportunities with women. Therefore, it can be argued that Prufrock is actually rendered unconscious in life. The symbolism within the opening lines do not obscure the message of Eliot’s poetry as it encourages people to live their life to the fullest and “dare to eat a
Prufrocks next thoughts tell of his old age and his lack of will to say what is on his mind. He mentions his bald spot in his hair and his thin arms and legs. This suggests that he knows he is growing old, and therefore contradicts what he had mentioned earlier in the poem about having plenty of time. Throughout the poem he is indecisive and somewhat aloof from the self-involved group of women. One part of him would like to startle them out of their frustratingly polite conversations and express his love for her, but to accomplish this he would have to risk disturbing their ?universe? and being rejected. He also mentions ?sprawling on a pin?, as though he pictures himself being pinned in place and viciously analyzed like that of an insect being literally pinned in place. The latter part of the poem captures his sense of overwhelming lack of willpower for failing to act daringly, not only at that tea party, but throughout his life.
As one can see, Prufrock was a relatively pathetic man. Eliot demonstrated this fact numerous times but could best be summed up by line 51, "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;" showing there is no excitement going on in his life. Prufrock never progressed in this poem and lead a pitiful life until his death.
Prufrock's paralysis follows naturally from this subjectivizing of everything. If each consciousness is an opaque sphere, then Prufrock has no hope of being understood by others. "No experience," says Bradley in a phrase Eliot quotes, "can lie open to inspection from outside" (KE, 203). Prufrock's vision is incommunicable, and whatever he says to the lady will be answered by, "That is not what I meant at all./That is not it, at all" (CP, 6). The lady is also imprisoned in her own sphere, and the two spheres can never, like soap bubbles, become one. Each is impenetrable to the other.
In the poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” T.S. Eliot uses many metaphors to grab our attention from how Prufrock feels from his peers. In the first stanza, it is safe to say that Prufrock feels that no woman loves him, but maybe the real issue is that he doesn’t love himself. Prufrock lives more on the opinions of others making the chance of him gaining self-confidence very unlikely. Many times Prufrock begins to think, “Do I dare?” when someone begins to speak with him.
WITH REFERENCE TO THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK AND PREDULES. DISCUSS HOW T.S. ELIOT CONVEYS MOOD AND THEMES. Both Prufrock and Preludes are based in the same rootless world of sordid tedium. In Prufrock Eliot is conveying a theme a strong theme and is based heavily in the Persona of Prufrock himself. Preludes is a poem of changing moods, some subtle, some profound but this time conveyed primarily through diction and repetition. One theme of Eliot's, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, is the exposure of the modern individual's inability and refusal to address inadequacies that he sees in both him and his society. Two ways Eliot conveys his theme is through the persona of Prufrock and repetition . One method used by Eliot to expose this theme is his use of the persona of J Alfred Prufrock. Prufrock is in part a shallow conformist, 41 ....My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, 42 My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin- 43 (They will say: 'But how his arms and legs are thin!')...... However, almost tragically, Eliot has Prufrock aware of the shallowness of the society to which he conforms. 26 There will be time, there will be time 27 To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet. Prufrock observes his society's ability to totally disregard any question of substance, that is, the 'overwhelming'; questions. Yet despite his observations Prufrock is not prepared to confront his society, more importantly, himself.
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot is one of most widely anthologized poems of the twentieth century. Upon reading the poem, this fact does not at all seem surprising. At first glance, the poem is extremely cryptic in its meaning and message. However, by analyzing the literary techniques that Eliot employs, such as diction, repetition, and allusion reveals the poems central message declaring that social rejection and a lack of initiative yields a life devoid of meaning and results in a lethargic and paranoid mental state, a mental hell. Another of Eliot's techniques is the use of repetition of certain motifs, which serves emphasize the ideas discussed previously.
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.
The importance of women to Prufrock was that they seemed to be crucial issue for Prufrock to connect to . Eliot used women as a very relatable relationship that not all of us are able to make in our lives. Evidence for Prufrock not fitting in are used by Eliot by him suggesting that women will judge him “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair /[They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”]. This is important to the author’s idea of Prufrock not fitting into the world around him because he uses women as a bench mark for this with the judgment he feels in the next line; My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin/ [They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”]. This is a reference by Eliot to how women will judge Prufrock therefore not giving him the acceptance he desires. Eliot makes Prufrock wait to talk to women. Prufrock makes excuses as to why he cannot connect to those around him. This is evident in the text with Prufrock expressing his displeasure with his predicament by not wanting to “disturb the universe.” This important because Prufrock sees himself as a disturbance feeling as though he cannot connect to the women around him. He sees visions of his own self image which is supported by: “For I have known them all already, known them all.” This is important to Prufrock not connecting to his world because he sees others around him and thinks that he will disturb the woman’s peace with his presence. Prufrock feels very uncomfortable making connections with women much as if he is “ sprawling on a
He has a scope of pretty much cloud emotions that he can not impart because of his restraints and shyness. He at that point converses with himself and he endures. Prufrock is a veil, a man through whom the tribulations of the cutting edge city life are talked. Consequently one of the subjects this ballad creates is the dreariness and dryness of present day life. It is an outflow of the uselessness of life.
The sky is an important part of the setting. The poem quotes, “When the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table” (2-3). The setting is an illustration of the speaker’s inability to come close to woman and say what he wants to say without panicking of what the consequences may be. A similar idea is also seen when the speaker talks about his own self image. The sense of inability is described by Prufrock when he describes himself as being in a trap.
It seems that Eliot believes that the overwhelming question is just a question that is perplexing modern human’s. The phase “There will be time” appears four times in the fourth stanza. “time” is quoted form Old Testment. The original sentence is “To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
J. Alfred Prufrock constantly lived in fear, in fear of life and death. T. S. Eliot divided his classic poem into three equally important sections. Each division provided the reader with insight into the mental structure of J. Alfred Prufrock. In actuality, Prufrock maintained a good heart and a worthy instinct, but he never seemed to truly exist. A false shadow hung over his existence. Prufrock never allowed himself to actually live. He had no ambitions that would drive him to succeed. The poem is a silent cry for help from Prufrock. In each section, T. S. Eliot provided his audience with vague attempts to understand J. Alfred Prufrock. Each individual reader can only interpret these attempts by Eliot, allowing numerous views of the life of Prufrock. The first section of the poem dealt with the ever-prevalent issue of death. In the beginning Eliot said, "Let us go then, you and I."(l, 1 Eliot) The poem started off with this illusion to the Inferno as a way to symbolize Prufrock's journey, and his fear of death. Prufrock could be looked upon as Virgil. In the poem he guided the reader through his tangled world of existentialism. When Eliot said, "Like a patient etherised upon a table; Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets…"(ll 3-4 Eliot) it showed that Prufrock was numb. He had no feeling for anyone or his surroundings. J. Alfred Prufrock only felt one thing. He felt the fear of life and death. In some ways, he spent his entire life preparing for his death. Prufrock knew that his life had not provided the world with anything of great significance. Eliot pointed this out by juxtaposing Prufrock with Michelangelo. In lines 13-14 Eliot said, "In the room the wom...
T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” illustrates the desire of a man’s need to escape from his world. This idea is represented throughout the poem on how Prufrock, the man who wants to escape, views the world around him as this harsh and hostile place where no one pays any attention to him. Eliot sets up this lack of acknowledgment to show how being ignored can stir up a desire to escape. This is portrayed through Prufrock’s desire throughout the poem. However, Eliot shows that the desire to escape can indeed cause more harm than good, as Prufrock finds out. One cannot escape from reality, and living in a dream state can cause someone to experience more pain since he or she, Prufrock in this case, has to relive this process all
Eliot, T.S. "The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock ." The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume Two. Ed. M.H.Abrams, 6th Edition. New York: Norton, 1993. 2140-2143.
The poem begins by suggesting that Mr. Prufrock is mentally disassociated with society. Mr. Prufrock, addressing the audience or some imaginary confidante, proposes the mental journey commence "When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised [sic] upon a table" (ll. 2-3). The lines evoke images of drug induced, altered realities. He follows by recommending visits to "one-night cheap hotels" (l. 6) and "sawdust restaurants" (l. 7). The references infer that the locations are not the speaker's normal environments and are part of fantasy environments. In lines 15 through 22, the speaker credits the smog with feline characteristics. He further states "Though I have seen my head [...] brought in upon a platter..." (l. 81). Although it is a biblical reference to the decapitation of John the Baptist, the statement is indicative of an active fantasy life. He admits to having heard mermaids sing and speaks of life on a beach. He creates the fanta...