Examination of the Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock

The “eyes” (55) and “arms” (62) that Prufrock claims to “have known” are synecdoches for women; since he does not say he is familiar with their hearts, which would metaphorically imply experience with their love, Prufrock only knows women physically. He gives one explanation for this by noting the “perfume” and “dress” (65) that make him “digress” (66) from presumably his goal: instead of fostering relationships, Prufrock focuses on sexual/sensual aspects. In spite of this, Eliot provides insight to Prufrock desiring more than physical intimacy through the repeated mention of meals: “toast and tea” (34), “tea and cakes and ices” (79), “marmalade” (88), “tea cups” (102); these references indicate a wish to no longer dine alone, and Prufrock saying, “Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me” exemplifies his aspiration for domestic life.

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.

Eliot begins “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by using an epigram from Dante’s Inferno to set the theme of the poem. By alluding to a story about a journey through Hell, readers can infer that Prufrock will also take readers on a journey through Hell, only this time it is a living hell. Upon examining the first couple of stanzas, it is clear that Prufrock is afraid of living his life, so much so, that time has become illusory to him. Eliot writes, “Time for you and me, and time for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions, before the taking of a toast and tea” (369). The poetic device of repetition to portray never-ending time proves Prufrock fools himself into believing he has all the time in the

The reader can find the speaker relatable; Prufrock shows multiple sides to his character. In one way, Prufrock is trying to seem cool, calm, and collected; he wants the reader to think that he knows everything; however, the reader can tell that Prufrock is trying to be somebody he is not. Prufrock later lets his walls drop and he says that he has let “the moment of greatness flicker…” He is talking about his greatness; Prufrock wants his life to be stagnant, and with very little struggle. This means that his life will be complete boredom. I believe that people should take Prufrock’s life as a lesson of how not to live; his emotional distance reveals that he is a sad man and that life should not be motionless and focused on maintaining the status quo.

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.

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

Images and allusions aren’t Prufrock’s only fragmented features though; Eliot also uses the rhythm, and the rhyme is irregular throughout this poem. Throughout the poem, the rhyming schemes differ and constantly changed and evolved. There are instances when it is an unrhymed free verse, and instances where it would go for a longer period of time, then to shorter periods. The rhyme scheme creates a chaotic feeling, as well as feelings of disorganization and confusion, just as the world Prufrock resides in, and it does a good job portraying the anxiety that is rooted in the social world. He is afraid to confront those talking pointlessly about Michelangelo as well as he is intimidated by the thought of engaging in a gathering, believing that “there will be time” (23), and that he has "time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions", indicating that his life and his social life is a bore, with repetitive routines that remains the same. Prufrock’s constant worrying is also shown in not merely the

The first flag that is raised to our attention of prufrock being gay is the fact that not once do we hear the name of his so called lover or even him calling her a lady. Therefore we might be able to conclude that this lady is in fact a guy. This would in turn bring up many situations in the story that are not brought to light if this story was read in different text.

Prufrock assures himself that he has enough time to do what he wants, “and time for all the works and days of hands” (Eliot 27-28). In this text, Prufrock alludes to Hesiod’s Works and Days, a poem that emphasizes the importance of making life meaningful and worthwhile, by having nothing held back in life, and living with no regrets. Contrast to the theme of Works and Days, Prufrock lives his life constantly regretting everything and has a meaningless life. Prufrock’s pressure to talk to women stems from wanting to seize the day and make his life fruitful and happy, but is more comfortable not trying than having a chance of failure. Prufrock explains how he can change his impression with a few minor changes, “For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse” (Eliot 34). In this text, Prufrock talks about how he can reverse time in terms of his feelings, how he can be unhappy, happy, and unhappy in seconds because of his decisions, and the revisions of those decisions. Prufrock explains what goes through his head when he talks about women, and how systematically he analyzes himself. Prufrock is a man who enjoys leisure, and his approach to women is very uptight and systematic, which is polar to his true self. Even if Prufrock makes the right decisions and revisions in talking with women, he will not be fulfilled with that women until he is his true, relaxed self. The narrator sets the tone of the poem To His Coy Mistress, “Had we but world enough and time” (Marvell 1). Throughout the entire poem, Prufrock consistently talks about his fading youth, and how he says that there will be time. This talk of time and a carpe diem theme alludes to Andrew Marvell’s poem, To His Coy Mistress. Similar to the narrator,

'I have measured out my life with coffee spoons'; (line 51), shows how Prufrock thinks of his own life, unexciting and unheroic. In his mind he has nothing to offer these women. He returns to wrestling with his thoughts that allow him to desire the love the women have to offer but talk himself out of the task by gentile reminders of the risk. He tells the reader that he knows these women and even begins to rehearse an opening remark, 'Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets / And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes'; (lines 70-71). This thought is quickly lost however as Prufrock imagines how easy it would be to be a creature that had no need for love, 'I should have been a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas'; (lines 73-74).

The characters within each literary work and film exhibit diverse responses to their summoning. For instance, Prufrock refuses the call to undertake a future with his compelling woman. His cowardly personality causes him to avoid telling the lady his true infatuation for her. Also, Eliot compares Prufrock to Hamlet, “[a]t times… almost ridiculous…. At times, the Fool” (Eliot 118-119). The inability to make a choice characterizes Hamlet, similar to how Prufrock cannot decide if his words are worth the risk of losing his lover because of his bad reputation. Furthermore, Plath explains how the woman accepts her call by allowing herself to enter her subconscious. The author writes “Now I am a lake” (Plath 10). Water represents an archetype for

In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, Alfred Prufrock is a man who is trying to prove, to the reader and to himself, what a man he is by trying to “sweet talk” us. He has three personalities: elusive, boastful, and truthful. Throughout the poem, the speaker intentionally switches between the elusive and the boastful, but occasionally the truthful man shines through the shed light on the deception. In the beginning, Prufrock is walking us around and telling us about the scenery. He keeps alluding to a big question he wants to discuss, but never actually asks the question. He continues to talk about the London fog and happenings of life. He then tries to convince us he is an intelligent, worldly man. He reminds me of a politician filibustering

To begin with, Prufrock is the main character in the lovesong. After reading the poem, we learn that Prufrock would be described as the ideal prototype of a modern man. His character seems to be a middle-aged, timid, lonesome, insecure man. In this poem, we are also able to clearly get a direct insight into his mind and the way he thinks about certain things. His mind seems as if it is very confused and questions a lot of what is going on around

Prufrock’s inability to show and portray love is shown through the refrains and rhetorical questions,” there will be time” and “how should I presume?” which structurally reveal his inability to make progress in life as they recur regularly. Imagery of crab-like features such as, “a pair of ragged claws,” symbolizing his inability to move forward as crabs scuttle sideways while the synechoche stresses him as incomplete and broken. As a modernist poet, Eliot was contextually influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis with the portrayal of the character’s subconscious, enhancing my ability understand Prufrock’s inertia. His hyperbolic statement, “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” metaphorically signifies his fear of being into mundane social situations and routines if he joins his lady’s world, while the metaphor of being “pinned and wriggling on the wall” reveals his paralysis. This leads Prufrock to exist in a very imptent state which Cleanth Brooks argues is Eliot’s judgement on the whole culture”. Hence the context, language and perspectives of other on ‘Prufrock shape my personal view of the human experience of paralysis givng the peom an enduring

This lack of willpower is displayed in line 111 where Prufrock states: "I am not Prince Hamlet." He will not, like Shakespeare's famous character, shake off his doubts and "force the moment to its crisis" (80). Prufrock feels more like the character Polonius from the same Shakespearian work. He feels that he is only able to dream of romance, and never truly experience it for himself. Instead he will have his trousers rolled at the bottom as a statement of fashion and "walk upon the beach" (123). He follows up with a romantic vision of mermaids singing to him from the sea, but deep down he knows they will not sing to him. Prufrock is caught in a sort of paralysis where no matter how much he wishes to, he finds himself unable to act on his own impulses and desires. Because of this affliction, Prufrock will continue living in a world with daydreams of romance until he finds himself awakened by the human voices of real life in which, as very grimly states in the final line of the poem, he will drown.