Analysis of "The Love Song" Essay

Prufrock's fear to live never allowed him to accomplish anything. The issue of death emerged again in lines 26-27. In these lines Eliot said, "There will be time, there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet."(ll. 26-27 Eliot) This statement showed that Prufrock spent the majority of his time preparing for death. In lines 37-39 Eliot said, "And indeed there will be time to wonder, 'Do I dare?' and 'Do I dare?' time to turn back and descend the stair."(ll. 37-39 Eliot) This line showed that Prufrock felt that he was bound to Hell. Prufrock constantly lived in fear of death. This fear caused him to not be able to live. In the second section Prufrock realized the error of his ways. He came to the understanding that being afraid to live was no way to live his life. Eliot summed up the entire reasoning of Prufrock in the following line, "And in short, I was afraid."(l 86 Eliot) Prufrock spent his entire life in a wasteland, because he did not have the courage to live. At this point he knew that there was no opportunity to regain the years that he lost. In lines 92-98 Eliot said, "To have squeezed the universe into a ball To roll it towards some overwhelming question, To say: 'I am Lazarus, come from the dead, Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all'- If one, settling pillow by her head, Should say: 'That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all.'"(ll. 92-98 Eliot) These lines showed how

The poem “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson is the exact opposite “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. It is a brief poem that uses very simple vocabulary. The poem is a description of the man Richard Cory. Plenty of imagery is used to describe just what type of man Richard Cory was. The speaker of the poem seems to be a collective we. The speaker is all the people who saw and knew Richard Cory.

Detail 2: As can be deduced from the poem, Prufrock spends all of his time pondering how to behave, and to act in society, as he wants to become a man of action. Prufrock imagines himself achieving great things for himself and having everything he desires. Nonetheless, he cannot find a way to realize his wishes. Prufrock is well aware of his tragedy, and he makes sure the audience understands that he is a flawed man full of fears, whims and self-fancies. Again, just as we find in Hamlet’s character, Prufrock’s personality makes him cautious of acting towards any goal he might have, and his over-analytic persona makes him incapable of taking control of any situation. Prufrock explains his problems through a simple example from one of his failures. He recounts that he was incapable of asking a girl to date him, and despite his loving for her, he did nothing to make his love count.

He is terrified of being caught as a homosexual. Stated in stanza 9, “And I have known the eyes already,known them all~/The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase…” Prufrock is that species being pinned,being classified. He feels as if he is being observed,as if every piece of him is formulated. Prufrock knows for certain that people will treat him as if another new species. He will not be treated as a human being. The ones with homophobia will be the collectors.Again,Prufrock is afraid of what the rest of the world thinks of a homosexual.

In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” the main character of the poem, Prufrock, expresses the theme of isolation and introduces the reader to his sense of feeling isolated because of how he thinks he is perceived by others. Prufrock’s search to end his isolation is shown by the conversational monologue that he carries out as he searches for a way to connect with other people. Prufrock’s isolation is shown through both an epigraph from Dante and multiple types of imagery spread throughout the poem such as music, sex, and nature.

While having an perception on life and a wise priority set, Prufrock is unable to push himself to obtaining happiness. A change would be rough, but it would afford him the opportunity to live his life in a way that exemplifies his wisdom, not societies demands of him. Yet, due to his fear, he continues to give in to society and avoid his chance at happiness. Later on in his monologue, he is afforded a second chance to attain happiness. Now it is within the limitations of society – a relationship with a woman – but because of his fears of rejection, he ponders having the strength to force the moment to its crisis? and watches as happiness passes him by. Happiness can be attained, through self-government or a relationship, his fear hinders his action on both occasions. Furthermore, he incorrectly assumes that there will not be another chance to attain happiness. Prufrock’s failure is caused by his fear, which shatters his proven rationality and wisdom and renders him

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.

A life without friends or communicating with other people is just depressing to think about. All of the amazing experiences we have in life, we should share with other people. Life is so much more interesting and satisfying when we share it with people, especially the ones we love. It is possible that Prufrock has never really experienced any love. What is love anyway? Everyone has their own idea of love and what it means to them. Some people have never known what it is like to be truly loved or to truly love someone. It is not discussed in the poem, but maybe Prufrock doesn’t have any family. He speaks a lot about being alone and it sounds like he doesn’t really have anyone in his life. In the poem, he states, “Do I dare disturb the universe? In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” (T S Eliot, The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock 45-48) It sounds like he is very fearful of whatever could happen if he makes a certain decision. He is a taking a risk and it sounds like he doesn’t want to. He is used to keeping to himself and not “disturbing the universe.” He should go out and take this risk he is too scared to take. By being alone, he is only making himself more depressed and sad. Prufrock needs to try and make a friend or create a relationship with another person.

Throughout the poem Prufrock reveals more and more about his self. How he is getting old, his negligence towards himself, how inferior he is compared to the woman he was talking about but never discloses the overwhelming question, rather leaving certain hints lets the reader figure out what it may have been. This leaves the readers anxious to know about the question and compliments the narrative perfectly. Another interesting narrative style is present in “The cheaters guide to love” by Junot Diaz where the story is written in the second person and in the past tense. These narrative choices serve the function of the narrative in counterintuitive ways for example how the writer addresses himself while recounting his own story.

This indicates that Prufrock lives through other individuals rather than living for himself. Which helps readers to understand why he despises society as much as he does.

In “Prufrock”, the thoughts are of Prufrock himself, not of the author, T. S. Eliot. The use of stream of consciousness in “Prufrock” opens the mind of the character, allowing the thoughts and feelings of the character to be exposed. This exposure makes the character more relatable because it shows the strengths, and more primarily, the insecurities of the character. Prufrock’s insecurities are on full display during the entire poem, and are apparent in the fifth stanza, line 39, as he thinks “Time to turn back and descend the stair, / With a bald spot in the middle of my hair- / (They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin!’)” (39-41). The parenthesis indicates a break in his original thought. As he notices the bald spot in his hair, he seems to immediately think to himself what “they” will say. He adds, “My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, / My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin- / (They will say: ‘But how his arms and legs are thin!’) (42-44). Again, his thought is broken by a worry. He realizes that his clothes do not fit him as well as they used to, and

In the third stanza, Prufrock switches from the present tense in which he says “Let us go” (Eliot, ln. 1) to saying “there will be time” (Eliot, ln. 23) which shows how the question he doesn’t want to answer is causing him “to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” (Eliot, ln. 27). Every decision he tries to make leads to “a hundred indecisions, and time yet for a hundred visions and revisions before the taking of a toast and tea” (Eliot, ln. 31-34). This indecisiveness to a lack in self-confidence beginning with “’Do I dare?’…With a bald spot in the middle of my hair” (Eliot, ln. 38-40). He asks “Do I dare disturb the universe? …for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse” (Eliot, ln. 45-49), he is now beginning to feel like he is very insignificant in the universe and that he has

When looking at the poem ‘Prufrock’ we must first notice that the full title is ‘The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock.’ This title seems almost ironic as, after reading the poem, we realise that the poem

Prufrock is a man with many contradictive and fragmental characteristics. While one part of him would like to shake startle these characteristics out of his life, he would have to risk disturbing his peaceful universe in order to do so. The latter part of the poem

this “love song”, as it is entirely about Prufrock’s feelings about himself in regards to his lover. If