Comparing The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock And Preludes

T.S. Eliot presents modernist concerns of the early twentieth century by portraying the constraints of society and as a result reveals his critical view on human conditions. In both poems, ‘The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’ and ‘Preludes’, Eliot explores humanity’s uncertainty of self and the degeneration of society into one that lacks meaningful communication, and to a significant extent has been reinforced by Winterson and the other perspectives. In order to portray the thoroughly modern world and changing perspectives of the early twentieth century, many writers moved away from the traditional literary styles and adopted experimental conventions in literature. Throughout Eliot’s poetry, there is a major focus on damaged humanity, which
Prufrock reflects on a troubled society, distorted and fractured from the changes accompanied with Modernism. As an immediate sense of distress, the dark and ominous imagery within the simile, “Like a patient etherized upon a table”, suffering mankind. Such outrageous imagery, such as “etherized”, is a portrayal of the tormented lifeless tone and as a result degenerations of modern society. Winterson's perspective of Eliot’s poetry reinforces that, “He was not in any way a non-conscious thinker or an impulsive thinker; everything is very measured”. Here, it is made evident that Eliot isn’t an impetuous thinker, and that his work has been deliberately portrayed in the sense to create portray his view. There is a sense of meaningless within the poem, which links to isolation and the decay of modernism. The isolation present is reflected by the fragmentation and can be seen within the alliteration and rhetorical questioning, “Do I Dare disturb the universe?”. The repetition of rhetorical questioning mimics the unasked question, highlighting that the modernised world has lingered too long. Eliot’s use of the literary allusion has been portrayed through, “And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions”. The protagonist is seemed to be consumed by anxieties and questions in response to an existential questioning of an individual's place in life and the order of society. Overall, to a significant extent, by reinforcing Winterson’s perspective, Eliot has been portrayed as a poet with work that is intentional and deliberate, which has aided in his view of the degenerations of modern