Theme Of Allusion In The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock

Allusion in Prufrock Literary Allusion (as opposed to historical and other types of allusion) is a form of intertextuality, “the textual exploit of another text,” but, in order to understand how to spot it within a literary passage, we must first distinguish it from other forms of intertextuality. Allusion is one of three broad types of intertextuality; the other two types are imitation and opposition. “In imitation, the author fits his text into a tradition and willingly attempts to use its means – whether styles, forms, lexicon, or devices – and its values to echo previous success.” This means that the text values what the external text values and “attempts to equal the significance of the original, without copying it.” Oppositions (such as irony, satire, and parody) differ in that “the signified images resist integration and emphasize disparateness.” In opposition “the [text] constantly [holds] the [external text] up to ridicule and judgment, constantly saying, ‘I am not that other absurd thing.’ Metaphoric integration is violently resisted.” This metaphoric integration is however present in
Alfred Prufrock,” we must briefly analyze the narration and point of view of the poem. From the first line of the poem, we can see that the narration is a Speaker that uses first-person pronouns. This means that the narration is either the author or a character in the poem. We know that the Speaker is not the author because the title tells us that this is the love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, so it is not a stretch to assume that the protagonist, Prufrock, is the first person speaker here. The use of second person pronouns also suggests that the Speaker is talking to another character. The phrase “Let us go,” suggests that, though we are uninformed of the specifics, the characters are set in a particular place and time. This tells the readers that we are dealing with a dramatic