Alfred Prufrock

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is not a love song at all—but an insight into the mind of an extremely self-conscious, middle-aged man. Prufrock struggles in coping with the world he is living in—a world where his differences make him feel lonely and alienated. Eliot uses allusions and imagery, characterization, and the society Prufrock lives in to present how Prufrock partly contributes to his own alienation. Our ability of self-awareness separates us from other species, making humans more intelligent and giving people the upper hand in social settings, but, like Prufrock, it can sometimes cause us to feel alienated.

When reading the title of T.S Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” it is believed we are in store for a poem of romance and hope. A song that will inspire embrace and warmth of the heart, regretfully this is could not be further from the truth. This poem takes us into the depths of J. Alfred Prufrock, someone who holds faltering doubt and as a result may never come to understand real love. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” takes us through Prufrock’s mindset and his self-doubting and self-defeating thoughts. With desolate imagery, a tone that is known through the ages and delicate diction we see a man who is insecure, tentative and completely fearful.

Unlike other forms of literature, poetry can be so complex that everyone who reads it may see something different. Two poets who are world renowned for their ability to transform reader’s perceptions with the mere use of words, are TS Eliot and Walt Whitman. “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” by TS Eliot, tells the story of a man who is in love and contemplating confessing his emotions, but his debilitating fear of rejection stops him from going through with it. This poem skews the reader’s expectations of a love song and takes a critical perspective of love while showing all the damaging emotions that come with it. “Song of myself”, by Walt Whitman provokes a different emotion, one of joy and self-discovery. This poem focuses more on the soul and how it relates to the body. “Song of myself” and “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” both explore the common theme of how the different perceptions of the soul and body can affect the way the speaker views themselves, others, and the world around them.

Throughout the entirety of the poem, Prufrock struggles with paralyzing inaction stemming from his self-doubt. This holds a large portion of Prufrock’s inability to gain clarity. An example of this self doubt is expressed when he stated, “[They will say; ‘how his hair is growing thin!’]... [They will say: ‘But

The monologue style of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” is interesting because it doesn’t clearly identify whether or not the speaker is talking to another person or his inner self. A monologue is like a conversation, but uses the language of poetry. This particular dramatic monologue tells the story of J. Alfred Prufrock, a man who is so wracked with insecurity and worried about how others perceive him that he is afraid to live his life.

Prufrock is a character who is stuck inside his own mind and feels as if he is unable to get anyone. He appears to hang in shady areas, shown in the opening stanza, “Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,/ The muttering retreats/ Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels” (4-6) as he watch artsy women mingle that area. He is in this battle of desire and the lack of confidence. The lack of confidence is all in his mind as he is worried women will view him as unattractive based on physical appearance. As he watch women he says,“(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”) (41), which is entirely in his head. He beats himself up because he is blind to the reality. He has no courage to pursue anything and anyone, therefore, he rather stay stuck single and lonely. He continues to be hard on himself, “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be” (111). This type of treatment toward himself continues throughout the poem. He is in this world that is pure fantasy. He refuses to leave and pursue any sort of truth. Eliot is a dreamer because there is no cling to truth, but the only truth that this poem shows is the fact that there are major

A fear of rejection by society remains a prevalent idea conveyed in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Throughout the poem, the disillusioned speaker, J. Alfred Prufrock, expresses his fixation upon appearances. He expresses concern over other people sneering at “how his hair is growing thin” (“The Love Song” 41) or “how his arms and legs are thin” (44). Prufrock shows apprehension of receiving poor judgement from “eyes that fix [one] in a formulated phrase” (56). This fear of rejection, however, is also seen in the allusions.

He feels if he were to challenge the universe, he would disturb its equilibrium. Prufrock says that he is terrified of “The eyes that fix him in a formulated phrase” (Elliot 56), suggesting that he is filled with insecurity and fears judgment and criticism from others. He feels like he is inferior to those around him and will never be able to live up to their expectations. Prufrock accepts the fact that he will always be rejected and brushed off by women.

“Let us go then, you and I,…through certain half deserted streets,…streets that follow like a tedious argument...To lead you to an overwhelming question . . . Oh, do not ask, ‘What is it?’” (Line 1-11) He has to ask an overwhelming question, a question of utmost importance. Although we are never told what this overwhelming question is but we can guess that it has to be a proposal to a lady. What is the basis for jumping to such a conclusion? Although the “Love Song” in the very title of the poem is actually used as an irony but I feel that it can also be read as an indicator of the overwhelming question that is mentioned in the very first stanza. What is this over emphasised question? A romantic proposal! As the very title says “The Love Song of…” and all the questions that follow in the poem, we see Prufrock contemplating his worth with his receding hairline and ageing body, also contemplating the worth of the question he so desperately wants to ask, and the possible answer to the question. His hesitation in approaching women or the woman is apparent in all the questions in the

As time goes on, many people grow and learn better ways to handle problems in their lives. Some people are unable to grasp these skills and find time is moving on without them. Many people, except J. Alfred Prufrock, may find this to be an incentive to improve their life in various ways. Those who do not feel motivated to improve could experience changes in his or her goals and aspirations that will negatively affect his or her life. A lack of social skills, especially with women described J. Alfred Prufrock, a man suffering from a mid-life crisis in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” written by T.S. Eliot. The poem started off with Prufrock taking the reader on a journey, but it turned into a monologue of his inner thoughts pertaining to

Eliot shows Alfred Purfrock as a titular character a few different ways through out the poem. I believe for hims to be an award sort of fellow due to the irregular rhyme of the poem. He also appears to be nervous and over thinks situations this is shown in his analogy of measuring the meaning of his life with spoons. He lives in the shadows of ignorant women who speak of Michelangelo. He speaks of Prince Hamelt towards the end of the poem, “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be” (Eliot p. 654). Prince Hamlet was the titular character in “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, a man who was also indecisive and hesitant, though could be impulsive at times. Alfred shown to have low self-esteem by the quote, “When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall” (Eliot p. 652) he overthinks situations, especially social situation, fearing what people will think of him. Throughout the majority of the poem he exhibits social anxiety and the thought he would "disturb the universe.” Prufrock compares his need to express his feelings as if he was Lazarus who came back from the dead…a little dramatic if you ask me (Eliot line 94-95). Yet, we see him assume the worse sinario and the girl response to him is one of confusion.

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Elliot is a poem that tells a character’s story with the use of emotions and imagery. The character J. Alfred Prufrock is first introduced as taking a walk and describing the surroundings such as vacant streets and dreary sights. Women are also introduced as talking about Michelangelo. The setting is covered in a yellow fog that stretches over every detail of the town. Prufrock’s emotions at first seems to be confident with the ladies. As the poem progresses, Prufrock is seen more as an average middle-aged man, but also a sad honest man. He seems to stick to a routine and does not stray from it much. His bland personality is not much of an appeal to the women, thus making him pathetic. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, T.S.

Prufrock’s love story is less of a love story and more of a confession. He is confessing that his idea of love is a very brittle concept of the actual thing. Prufrock goes on and on in the song listing his imperfections. His confessions as he listed them seemed as if he was having an anxiety attack he just kept on spilling more and more distasteful information about himself. Prufrock “in a state of distress or crisis—reveals more about himself than he appears to intend” (Johnson), He seemed to get more and more anxious as his song went on. Prufrock was being a tad bit over dramatic, “He worries about losing his hair and losing the youthful muscle in his arms and legs, which drives him forward to do what he set out to do, and yet he hesitates because of the suspicion that the situation is not entirely drastic” (Napierkowski). Prufrock love story represents what misery a lot of men go through “He is an antihero confronting the sterility and threat of the modern world, unable to act and frustrated by pseudo intellectuality and impotence—both his own and that of the women who "come and go / Talking of Michelangelo." (Johnson). Prufrock understands not everyone is perfect and people do come and go, but the fact that it happens hurts

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" which was written by T.S. Elliot, is a very calm and relaxing poem. Using its docile tone, the poem helps speak to the reader about many things, whatever it may mean for the reader. The poem is all about how one man searches to find his meaning in life as well as his existence in this world. Throughout the poem the author uses literary devices such as imagery and tone which help convey the lonely theme of this peaceful poem. This poem starts out by inviting the audience to go with the speaker of this poem. He begins by taking them on a journey of self-examination and starting this journey is the phrase “Let us go then you and I”. It then is followed by “When the evening is spread out against the sky” and

The Story of Prufrock starts out with him deciphering with himself if he should make this “change” in his life; he has always been a loner who only observes the world, instead of joining it, but