Compare the way in which Yeats and Eliot write about relationships between men and women

T. S. Eliot is showing us just how pathetic J. Alfred Prufrock actually is. It seems that Prufrock’s insecurities stem from his aging appearance. An aging reader may find that they identify will J. Alfred Prufrock and, understandably, not be too pleased about that fact.

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.

American born poet, T.S. Eliot reflects modernistic ideas of isolation, individual perception and human consciousness in his many poems. His poems express the disillusionment of the post–World War I generation with both literary and social values and traditions. In one of Eliot’s most famous poems, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” which was published in 1915, a speaker who is very unhappy with his life takes readers on a journey through the hell he is living in. In this journey, Prufrock criticizes the well-dressed, upstanding citizens who love their material pleasures more than they love other people, while explaining he feels ostracized from the society of women. Eliot’s use of isolation, human consciousness and individual perception is quite evident in his dramatic monologue within the story of J. Alfred Prufrock. Prufrock wants to be seen as a normal citizen who can find friends or a lover, but his anxiety-driven isolation forces him to live a life that relates more to Hell than paradise. In over examining every fine detail of his life, Prufrock perceives himself as useless and even a waste of life. By using many poetic devices including repetition, personification, and imagery Eliot drives readers to feel the painful reality of Prufrock’s life. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” T.S Eliot uses modernistic ideas and poetic devices to portray how Prufrock’s life relates to Hell while simultaneously criticizing social aspects of the younger post–World War I generation.

T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” illustrates the fear of the fragmentation of society today. In the poem, Eliot creates the persona of Prufrock. Prufrock is speaking to an unknown listener. The persona of Prufrock is Eliot’s interpretation of Western society and its impotency. His views on society is seen as a modernistic point of view, which idolizes the ideas to regress back to a classicist era. Eliot illustrates his contempt for the modern society by illustrating fragmentation with synecdoche, characterization of Prufrock, and allusions to literary traditions throughout the narrative. In his poem, Eliot clings to the idea of a classical society in which he is witnessing fall apart.

T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is an ironic depiction of a man’s inability to take decisive action in a modern society that is void of meaningful human connection. The poem reinforces its central idea through the techniques of fragmentation, and through the use of Eliot’s commentary about Prufrock’s social world. Using a series of natural images, Eliot uses fragmentation to show Prufrock’s inability to act, as well as his fear of society. Eliot’s commentary about Prufrock’s social world is also evident throughout. At no point in the poem did Prufrock confess his love, even though it is called “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, but through this poem, T.S. Eliot voices his social commentary about the world that

Eliot’s, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, he describes the internal war in the mind of his protagonist, one of loneliness, lust, and social awkwardness. Prufrock’s fear of judgement stops him in his tracks when he considers an attempt to make conversation, especially with women, who he seems impossibly unlucky with. While his peers focus on superficial matters, “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” (Eliot 13-14), Prufrock longs for something more profound and meaningful, but holds his tongue, knowing it would be detrimental to his already low social standing. He asks, “Do I dare / Disturb the universe? / In a minute there is time / For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse” (Eliot 45-46). Eliot begs the question; Is being one's true self worth the risk of not fitting

In an allusion to Shakespeare´s Hamlet, Eliot compares Prufrock to ¨an attendant lord… glad to be of use¨ (112, 115). He is never the lead, rather the unnecessary support simply grateful to be thought of. He thinks even ¨at times, the fool¨ (119). Why Prufrock thinks of himself this way is a marvel only discoverable through much therapy, but any layman can understand that he suffers from extremely low self-esteem. Prufrock sees himself as insignificant, insignificant and old. He fears to become feeble, fading into obscurity. He comes to this realization stating in a moment of prolonged disbelief ¨I grow old… I grow old...¨(120). Eliot´s repetition of both the phase of realization, as well as the ellipses characterizes the emotions felt by Prufrock in this moment. He imagines himself old, weak. He asks himself innocently ¨shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?¨(122). As he imagines himself walking down a beach, old and alone, he hears the singing of mermaids, only ¨[he does] not think that they will sing to [him]¨(125). Eliot solidifies Prufrock´s assuredness of his insignificance with a very blunt claim. Prufrock now includes himself in a group of peoples stating ¨[they] have lingered in the chambers of the sea… till human voices wake [them], and [they] drown¨(129, 131). Eliot´s ambiguity in the very last line of the poem resonates in one's mind. Leaving to wonder who drowns

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Eliot depicts Prufrock as an older man reflecting back on his life, metaphorically, going through a midlife crisis. “I grow old… I grow old.../I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled,” by this Eliot is getting the reader to visualize as a person grows older, they grow shorter (120-121). Along with growing shorter Eliot also describes the significant balding of an old man “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-/ (they will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin!’)” (40-41). These two lines alone are showing that Prufrock is very insecure and self-conscious with how he looks. Prufrock even goes as far as asking himself, “Shall I part my hair behind?” (122) Eliot is trying to show the reader that Prufrock wants to look his best for the intelligent ladies by wearing “My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,/My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin--” and combing what hair he does have over his balding scalp (42-43). He is dressing to impress the women that “come and go/Talking of Michelangelo,” the intelligent ladies that he believes will judge him harshly, not the prostitutes that love his company (35-36).

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” Paper Assignment – Close Reading In T.S. Eliot’s 1915 modernist poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, the overall mood and tone in the poem reflect the speaker’s opinions of the time it was written in. An interesting way to look at this poem is to assume that the author used the character of Alfred Prufrock to explore his own attempt of trying to make sense of the rapidly changing, confusing, and gloomy world in which he lived. So, we can safely assume that trying to make sense of the outside world is a recurring motif in this poem. This can be seen by looking at both the poem as a whole, as well as the quote chosen for analysis.

The poem “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” by T.S Eliot is one extended metaphor depicting the trials the character must go through in his attempt to achieve his quest for the ideal. In this case, the ideal is the world inhabited by the ladies he wants to talk to. The perils the character, Prufrock, has to contend with are low self-esteem and his fear of rejection. The poet illustrates his character’s low self-esteem with the image that Prufrock paints of himself as a man “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair” (39). Prufrock’s poor self-image is also evident in his

T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” draws attention to the idea that time is of the essence. On the surface, Prufrock is portrayed as a man who is incapable of making decisions and lacks self-confidence. This is evident through his passive nature, where he continuously delays having to talk to women because he believes there is enough time. Written in the era of modernism, the reader is capable of unraveling that the poem’s true purpose was not only to show Prufrock’s inability to make decisions when it comes to love, but to show the desolation that one faces in times of a modernistic transition. Eliot depicts Prufrock’s transition phase through a gloomy and solemn tone, incorporating imagery, metaphor and synecdoche to

Eliot uses figurative imagery in the description of the journey Prufrock and the reader are undergoing. As the reader steps into Prufrock’s world Prufrock uses creative descriptions to entice the reader :

“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.

T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is inhabited by both a richly developed world and character and one is able to categorize the spaces in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to correspond to Prufrock’s mind. Eliot uses the architecture of the three locations described in the text to explore parts of Prufrock's mind in the Freudian categories of id, ego, and super-ego; the city that is described becomes the Ego, the room where he encounters women his Id and the imagined ocean spaces his Super Ego.