2. We can assume that the speaker of the poem is Prufrock, a character Eliot creates through the use of dramatic monologue—a technique in which a speaker addresses a silent listener, often revealing qualities he or she might wish to keep hidden. What kind of person is Prufrock? What does he unknowingly reveal?…
The poem by T.S. Eliot “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a dramatic monologue written in 1915. Close to the end of the poem Mr. Prufrock stated “It is impossible to say just what I mean” (104). This statement will be analyzed to discover the hidden connotation of this phrase and convey the speaker’s ultimate goal. The questions that will be answered are: What does Prufrock mean when stating “It is impossible to say just what I mean” (104)? Is this statement stated due to a lack of vocabulary, words cannot convey his actual emotions, or is he just unable to express his own emotions to the listener? Are there other underlying circumstances to cause Prufrock not to speak his mind? By the end these questions will be understood along with the true…
TS Eliot’s 20th Century poem ‘The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’ is widely seen as a modernist work that Eliot employs to make the reader of the poem actually create their own opinion of what is actually meant by the poem. The modernist movement happened mainly in the late 19th to early 20th Century and started with the French poet, Jules Laforgue. It is easy to draw similarities between Eliot’s Lovesong and all of Laforgue’s works as they both employ symbolist and modernist aspects in the way they describe everything through metaphor. Throughout the poem, Eliot uses many metaphors to describe what Prufrock is seeing, ‘through [those] certain half-deserted streets.’ What Prufrock is seeing is often shown through his fragile mindset. The use of metaphor is an interesting one as, despite promoting a great sense of uncertainty with the actual events that Prufrock is experiencing, it gives the reader a very clear idea of Prufrock’s character. It is undeniable that Prufrock is presented as ‘awkward and emasculated’ as his social and sexual insecurities are portrayed by Eliot throughout.…
Alfred Prufrock is lonely. There is a difference between being lonely and alone, Mallard is a good examples of being alone because even though her husband “died” she still had a family. Unlike Mallard, J. Alfred Prufrock is an example of loneliness because it states in the poem how he stands in a room full of people, nobody is talking to him and no one even recognizes him. In the poem, Alfred Prufrock doesn’t want to be lonely anymore and instead be recognized. The author puts in repetition as a way to catch the reader’s attention, for example “In the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo” (Eliot 13-14). This portrays how everybody is talking about all of the previous accomplishments Michelangelo made, this puts “pressure” over Prufrock to so something or make something so that people can start to recognize him and he can feel that there is a reason for his life. Prufrock is more dramatic than Mallard because Prufrock states that time is running out and that he wants to have a purpose for his life before he dies, unlike Mallard that only felt some freedom until they found that Mallard’s husband is still alive. Under those circumstances, a conclusion can be made that Mallard and Prufrock are similar due to the emotional feelings they have and how they want to change and be different, but not everything can go their…
In "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock," by T.S. Elliot, the speaker is Prufrock himself. He is debating with the two conflicting sides of his personality. One wants him to propose love, the other wants him to hold back. The setting is most likely in the early 1920s or so, taking into consideration the afternoon tea, the shawls the ladies wear, and "the skirts that trail along the floor"(102). The situation is fairly straightforward in some respects. Alfred Prufrock is on his way to a tea in the mid-afternoon and is indecisive as to whether he should declare his love or not.…
Another important element in this poem is In the very beginning of the poem, Eliot use a part of Dante's Inferno. Prufrock says these lines because he…
In T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," the author is establishing the trouble the narrator is having dealing with middle age. Prufrock(the narrator) believes that age is a burden and is deeply troubled by it.. His love of some women cannot be because he feels the prime of his life is over. His preoccupation with the passing of time characterizes the fear of aging he has. The poem deals with the aging and fears associated with it of the narrator. The themes of insecurity and time are concentrated on. This insecurity is definitely a hindrance for him. It holds him back from doing the things he wishes to do. This is the sort of characteristic that makes Alfred into a tragic, doomed character. He will not find happiness until he finds self-assurance within himself. The repetition of words like vision and revision, show his feelings of inadequacy in communicating with the people around him.…
The isolation of individuals within society was a key feature of Modernism, and was suggested by man’s uncertainty and lack of direction, therefore leading to the inability to take initiative. Prufrock in Eliot’s piece Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock is portrayed as being a self-conscious, indecisive individual in an Upper class setting. In the beginning of the piece Eliot had included an extract from Dante’s Inferno. Eliot used this piece in Prufrock’s “love song” as if he is taking the audience on a journey through his own living hell, which is his Reality. Prufrock’s trapped state is further reinforced by the image of “a patient, etherized upon a table”, suggesting his alive yet unconscious state. The description of the sky contrasted harshly with the traditional romantic image of an immobilized patient that has no control on their movements. In the poem Prufrock asks both trivial and significant questions, however none of these are answered, and Prufrock himself states that he is “no prophet”, showing the audience his uncertainty. His inability to act on his thoughts is conveyed as he constantly reassures the audience (and himself) that “there will be time”, however the repetition of this sentence instead implies the opposite; he has run out of time instead. The extended metaphor that calls Prufrock an insect, “pinned and wriggling”, suggests his vulnerability and the feeling of being trapped.…
3. McCormick, Frank J. "Eliot 's THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK And Shakespeare 's HAMLET." Explicator 63.1 (2004): 43-47. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2012…
“The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is a story about a man that has a question to ask and wants to tell you about it while wandering the streets of a city that has yellow smoke in the streets (16, 24). The places that Prufrock chooses are not prestigious such as “half-deserted streets” (4), “one-night cheap motels” (6), and “sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells” (7). Prufrock has a question to ask, but he will get to that later. This walk takes place in October during the evening when all is calm and quiet “[l]ike a patient etherized upon a table” (3). Prufrock is delaying asking his question, insisting that there is plenty of time, even though he is now second guessing whether he should ask or not. Even though…
In T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” Eliot develops the character, J. Alfred Prufrock using allusions to other works of literature such as, Dante’s Inferno, Marvel’s “His Coy Mistress,”. In this way, Eliot sets forth a psychological comparison to assist the reader in understanding of Prufrock’s psyche and existentialist attitude toward life.…
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T(homas) S(tearns) Eliot." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter, Deborah A. Schmitt, and Timothy J. White. Vol. 113. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. 181-227. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. LINCC, Library Information Network for Community Colleges.…
Is love worth the heartbreak? This is a question that every person has asked at least once in their life. If you could go back and forget every moment you had with someone so that you wouldn’t feel the pain of losing them, would you? The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot explores this question through Prufrock who is on a journey through life and whose anxieties separate him from the rest of society. Prufrock’s fear of judgment debilitates him, rendering him unable to create human connections. He is in complete denial of his incompetency and by not facing his fears, he robs himself of the life he desperately wants leading to a heart full of regret.…
Prufrock, throughout lines 26-30, not only delineates his insecurity but also his indecisiveness and fear of rejection. These few lines give readers a snapshot of what the poem consists of: Prufrock’s constant self-doubt, ambivalence and passivity. Furthermore, it reveals that he overanalyzes situations to the point where it is unhealthy. As a result of his negativity and lack of initiative, Prufrock sends the message that he is an unhappy and lonely man who yearns for love but cannot even bring himself to open up to a woman, let alone ask her this “overwhelming question”.…
In the poem " The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock" the narrator is J.Alfred Prukrock. T.S Elliot writes this poem and in this poem he uses a combination of human sympathy and ironic wit. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is not a poem about love, but about the thoughts of a man with a low self-esteem. The poem talk about one man's inability to love and who does not believe good things will ever happen to him, or that the world has anything to offer him. Prufrock does not love any body or does he believe that any one could ever love him. In this poem Prufrock thinks about two things, insecurities and the view that his life is useless because he is old.…