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Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church and The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock
The span of time from the Victorian age of Literature to the Modernism of the 20th century wrought many changes in poetry style and literary thinking. While both eras contained elements of self-scrutiny, the various forms and reasoning behind such thinking were vastly different. The Victorian age, with it's new industrialization of society, brought to poetry and literature the fictional character, seeing the world from another's eyes. It was also a time in which "Victorian authors and intellectuals found a way to reassert religious ideas" (Longman, p. 1790). Society was questioning the ideals of religion, yet people wanted to believe.
In contrast, the 20th century found no such religious fervor in its literature. "They [writers] saw their times as marked by accelerating social and technological change" (Longman, p. 2165). Modern writers were skeptics, questioning every aspect of social unity, politics, and religion. "In the modern period the quest for certainty associated with the Victorian exploration of values has vanished" (Longman, p. 2167).
Yet many elements of literature remained throughout the changes in historical literature. Dramatic monologue were still used, as evidenced in Browning's "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church" and Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Both contained this style of dramatic monologue, seeing a worldview through the eyes of a fictitious character. Browning's poem lies in the voice of a Bishop, giving instructions for the burial and tomb construction as he lays dieing. Eliot's poem, sees the world through Alfred J. Pr...
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...yric in expression" (Longman, p. 1958) while Eliot's poem is "chaotic, irregular and fragmentary" (Longman. p. 2416). Both poems deal with loneliness, isolation and internal alienation, yet Browning's Bishop seems to be isolated from without, from the world, and Eliot's Prufrock is isolated from within, creating his own alienation from the world. These concepts, while not new, were carried over time, expressed in both the Victorian era and in the new Modernism, yet this theme, from these two poems, takes on a completely different viewpoint relative to the differing ideologies of the era's in which they represent.
Longman citations refer to page numbers of Eng 103 course text, Spring 2001:
Damrosch, David, et al., ed. The Longman Anthology of British Literature:
Vol. B. Compact ed. New York: Longman - Addison Wesley Longman, 2000.
...he Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock." International Journal Of Religion & Spirituality In Society 2.2 (2013): 35-41. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Ironically, Medea’s actions are similar to a man when she takes charge of her marriage, living situation, and family life when she devices a plan to engulf her husband with grief. With this in mind, Medea had accepts her place in a man’s world unti...
Eliot, Thomas Stearns. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Chicago: Poetry: A Magazine of
The editors of anthologies containing T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" invariably footnote the reference to Lazarus as John 11:1-44; rarely is the reference footnoted as Luke 16:19-31. Also, the reference to John the Baptist is invariably footnoted as Matthew 14:3-11; never have I seen the reference footnoted as an allusion to Oscar Wilde's Salome. The sources that one cites can profoundly affect interpretations of the poem. I believe that a correct reading of Eliot's "Prufrock" requires that one cite Wilde, in addition to Matthew, and Luke, in addition to John, as the sources for the John the Baptist and Lazarus being referenced. Furthermore, the citation of these sources can help explain Eliot's allusion to Dante's Guido da Montefeltro.
The poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S Eliot is a wonderful piece of modernist writing filled with dramatic monologue where the rhyming scheme of this poem is not random, however a bit irregular coupled with some free verse style. This poem speaks out about loneliness and isolation. It begins with the readers not knowing if the Prufrock is taking along a companion on his journey or is he taking along his readers, to support this claim, “Let us go then, you and I.” (Eliot 368)
T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is an ironic depiction of a man’s inability to take decisive action in a modern society that is void of meaningful human connection. The poem reinforces its central idea through the techniques of fragmentation, and through the use of Eliot’s commentary about Prufrock’s social world. Using a series of natural images, Eliot uses fragmentation to show Prufrock’s inability to act, as well as his fear of society. Eliot’s commentary about Prufrock’s social world is also evident throughout. At no point in the poem did Prufrock confess his love, even though it is called “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, but through this poem, T.S. Eliot voices his social commentary about the world that Prufrock lives in.
One attribute of Modernist writing is Experimentation. This called for using new techniques and disregarding the old. Previous writing was often even considered "stereotyped and inadequate" (Holcombe and Torres). Modern writers thrived on originality and honesty to themselves and their tenets. They wrote of things that had never been advanced before and their subjects were far from those of the past eras. It could be observed that the Modernist writing completely contradicted its predecessors. The past was rejected with vigor and...
The tragic play Medea is a struggle between reason and violence. Medea is deliberately portrayed as not a ‘normal woman’, but excessive in her passions. Medea is a torment to herself and to others; that is why Euripides shows her blazing her way through life leaving wreckage behind her. Euripides has presented Medea as a figure previously thought of exclusively as a male- hero. Her balance of character is a combination of the outstanding qualities of Achilles and Odysseus.
Both Browning and Eliot seek to improve upon the nature of the dramatic monologue. Browning emphasizes structure and a separation between the poet and the character which is reiterated by Eliot’s poem. Browning’s influence on Eliot can be seen by the form and structure of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” adding working intrinsically with the theme and subject of the work. However, Eliot deviates slightly from Browning by the portrayal of his characters, and the amount of information that he is willing to share with the reader. The intended message of Browning’s poem is much more apparent than Eliot’s who creates an open ended poem that can be interpreted differently by each reader.
Eliot, Thomas Stearns. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." 1915. The Twentieth Century and Beyond. Ed. Joseph Black. Vol. 6A. Toronto: Broadview, 2008. 444-47. Print. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature.
Among such finest literary artists, the name of T.S Eliot tops the list. His work illustrates a clear view of modernism. Being a spectator of the critical conditions of the twentieth century, his demonstrations in poetry and essays confirms a supreme blend of thoughts towards religion and belief (William). Eliot’s another distinction in poetry The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock was taken as an upper hand with appreciation. He mentioned the thesis of simplicity and silence in human nature. Turning towards the religious side even in his practical life as well, Eliot expressed a variety of such themes. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, he symbolized how men try to decipher the feelings of women as after the World War I they came out to be working on their new function of bread earner. The measures of women exhibit the def...
In Medea, by Euripides, conflicts play a major role in the creation of the play. Some examples of these conflicts are with Medea and Jason, Medea and herself, and Medea and Creon. Medea is shown to be a strong, independent woman who does what she wants as well as doesn’t let anything stand in her way. She shares qualities of a traditional male at the time, and the qualities of a traditional female. Euripides makes this clear in the play by creating conflicts to prove women can be a powerful character and that the play in general challenges the idea of misogyny.
In the 19th century, influenced by the unceasing global warfare, the fragile peace and prosperity enjoyed by the western society were on the verge of collapse. Furthermore, conventional moral ideals and spiritual values faced severe scrutiny, and the public felt extremely pessimistic about the future. Under this circumstance, T. S. Eliot had created the poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, to reflect the sickness of the society and the weakness of the humanity . In this poem, he describes an internal conflict of the narrator in the poem who eventually wavered his offer of marriage in determination. While in the poem, Something Whispered in the Shakuhachi, created by Garrett Hongo, the narrator told the secret of making a flute to convey
With time poems may have lost their voice, but not their importance. Up to this day, poetry is still one of the greatest forms of artistic expression; Poems speak to emotions and capture feelings. There is no right format of a poem, but yet a world of possibilities. Instead being unchangeable poems are innately open to interpretation; they should be spoken out loud in order to be “heard”, convey truth and cause impact. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is an extremely meaningful poem; it is one of Elliot’s best-known works and without a doubt a masterpiece (Hillis). T.S. Eliot introduces the poem with a quote from Dante's Inferno (XXVII.61-66), and with that sparks our curiosity. He then makes statements and questions that perhaps everyone has done, or will do at some point in life (Li-Cheng, pp. 10-17). The poem is a legitimate work of the modernist movement, the language used is contemporary; the verses are free and the rhythm flows naturally.
...rno. That particular part of Dante's inferno is the recollection of a man who kept this secret that he wanted to tell and when he told Dante the secret was out and embarrassed the man greatly. This turns the table to realize that Prufrock might relate to the story of this man. He has all these great stories to tell, but he keeps them a secret out of fear of retribution and judgment. This tells a lot about Prufrock’s inability to distinguish what he should say versus what he wants to say, so instead he says nothing at all.