The analysis of the love song of prufrock by T.S. eliot
Malek Kunbargi english 99
In his poem Eliot paints the picture of an insecure man looking for his place in society. Prufrock has fallen in with the times, and places a lot of burden on social status and class to determine his individuality. He is ashamed of his personal appearance and looks towards social advancement as a way to assure himself and those around him of his value and establish who he is. Through out the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", T.S. Eliot explores Prufrock's conflict with society, love and self.
The issue of Prufrock's place in society leads to an "overwhelming question..."(10), which is never identified, asked, or answered in the poem. This "question" is somehow associated with his social status, but both its ambiguity and Prufrock's denial to even ask, "What is it?"(11) gives some insight into his state of internal turmoil.
Prufrock is beginning to feel especially detached from society and burdened by his awareness of it. He thinks "I should have been a pair of ragged claws/ Scuttling across the floors of silent seas."(73-74) Prufrock wishes instead that he could be a mindless crab, scurrying around the bottom of the ocean; another example of Prufrock's impression of his position in society, rarely comparing himself to real people. In fact, in his dream sequence at the end when he imagines how his life might end up, he sees himself as an ocean creature, surrounded by mermaids "Till human voices wake us, and we drown."(131). Eliot not only uses imagery here to create a picture of a headless crab scuttling around at the bottom of the ocean, but he uses the form of the poem itself to help emphasize his point here. The head is detached from the crab, and the lines are detached from the poem in their own stanza, much like Prufrock wishes his self-consciousness would just detach itself. These images represent Prufrock's desire to be rid of his self-consciousness and possibly some suicidal tendencies which can be tied into just about
In his poem Eliot paints the picture of an insecure man looking for his place in society. Prufrock has fallen in with the times, and places a lot of burden on social status and class to determine his individuality. He is ashamed of his personal appearance and looks towards social advancement as a way to assure himself and those around him of his value and establish who he is. Through out the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", T.S. Eliot explores Prufrock's conflict with society, love and self.
The issue of Prufrock's place in society leads to an "overwhelming question..."(10), which is never identified, asked, or answered in the poem. This "question" is somehow associated with his social status, but both its ambiguity and Prufrock's denial to even ask, "What is it?"(11) gives some insight into his state of internal turmoil.
Prufrock is beginning to feel especially detached from society and burdened by his awareness of it. He thinks "I should have been a pair of ragged claws/ Scuttling across the floors of silent seas."(73-74) Prufrock wishes instead that he could be a mindless crab, scurrying around the bottom of the ocean; another example of Prufrock's impression of his position in society, rarely comparing himself to real people. In fact, in his dream sequence at the end when he imagines how his life might end up, he sees himself as an ocean creature, surrounded by mermaids "Till human voices wake us, and we drown."(131). Eliot not only uses imagery here to create a picture of a headless crab scuttling around at the bottom of the ocean, but he uses the form of the poem itself to help emphasize his point here. The head is detached from the crab, and the lines are detached from the poem in their own stanza, much like Prufrock wishes his self-consciousness would just detach itself. These images represent Prufrock's desire to be rid of his self-consciousness and possibly some suicidal tendencies which can be tied into just about