T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is an important‚ multi-layered poem that has numerous interpretations. The 2 essays by Leon Waldoff and John Halverson respectively‚ are illustrations of how the poem can be dissected and interpreted completely differently‚ with both interpretations having their own unique insights into the psyche of Prufrock. Waldoff takes the stance that poem is “a dramatic monologue that presents an inner conflict between the need to be loved and the failure to
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phrase‚ that when translated into English means "seize the day." Themes of "carpe diem" were predominant in seventeenth century poetry‚ and this can be seen in the two poems‚ "To the Virgins‚ to Make Much of Time‚" by Robert Herrick and "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell. Robert Herrick’s‚ "To the Virgins‚ to Make Much of Time" is a popular poem in British literature‚ that professes a common universal moral. The first two lines read‚ "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may‚ Old time is still a-flying
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TS Eliot’s Prufrock The ironic character of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock‚" an early poem by T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) in the form of a dramatic monologue‚ is introduced in its title. Eliot is talking‚ through his speaker‚ about the absence of love‚ and the poem‚ so far from being a "song‚" is a meditation on the failure of romance. The opening image of evening (traditionally the time of love making) is disquieting‚ rather than consoling or seductive‚ and the evening "becomes a patient" (Spender
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persistent; while on the other hand‚ Eliot’s Prufrock is self conscious‚ insecure‚ and indecisive. While the two characters are complete polar opposites‚ they also share a devastating similarity: they are paranoid and in fear of their own fate. Oedipus’ personality is clearly conveyed as having excessive pride and determination throughout the play. He first travels far from Corinth to prevent an oracle’s prediction that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He arrives in Thebes where the people
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"To His Coy Mistress" is primarily the author‚ Andrew Marvell‚ trying to convince and seduce "his coy mistress"‚ into having intimate relations with him. The poem has three stanzas; each with a different purpose: the first stanza gently and subtly flatters his mistress‚ using positive diction and images to show‚ how Marvell wishes he could love her for all of eternity; the second stanza‚ however‚ uses imagery to show how time is moving fast and also‚ strongly negative diction and images to show how
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Shawn Ware Prufrock: A Homosexual in Hiding T.S Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a dramatic monologue in which the speaker of the poem‚ Prufrock‚ takes the reader on a journey into his inner psyche. Many literary and poetic experts have studied and dissected the persona that is Prufrock to help show the complexities that compose him. But how does one begin to shed light on this mysterious man? Before actually delving into the words spoken by Prufrock‚ it is beneficial to take
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epiphany. The protagonist gains the utmost knowledge about the rigorous journey. For example‚ Prufrock fears women because they can have his head “brought upon a platter” (Eliot 82). The quote alludes to the beheading of St. John the Baptist‚ an oil painting by Caravaggio in 1608. The biblical allusion tells the story of Herod‚ the tetrarch‚ imprisoning John the Baptist for divorcing his wife and uptaking his brother’s wife‚ Herodia. Furthermore‚ Herodia’s daughter Salome requests for John’s head on
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The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock T. S. ELIOT Questions for Discussion 1. How does the epigraph from Dante’s Inferno help Eliot comment on the modern world in“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”? What does it tell us about the setting of this poem? How is Montefeltro’s miscalculation related to the poem? Prufrock laments that the mermaids will not sing to him. Prufrock’s dilemma represents the inability to live a meaningful existence in the modern world.[24] McCoy and Harlan wrote "For many
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use of shifting temporal frames allows us to review the persona’s past whilst retaining the present‚ demonstrating the impact of his childhood experiences on his identity. Jesse Duggan was an influential figure in protagonist’s
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Quest and Prufrock The Holy Grail is the central device in Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval‚ the Story of the Grail. T.S. Eliot takes this medieval romance and modernizes aspects of it in his poem‚ “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. The poem exhibits the features of a grail quest‚ albeit in an inverted form. Eliot uses Prufrock as a kind of Perceval; Prufrock is a character in search of a grail of sorts‚ but Prufrock’s grail takes the form of a woman. However‚ unlike Perceval‚ Prufrock is a more
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