In the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, it shows many elements or characteristics of the Modern/Post Modern Period. The poem actually shows how the belief that man is nothing except what he makes of himself. As in that every action a person takes in its life. It was their decision regarding any situation. Their responsibility in what occurs from the decision or how it could affect their lives or anyone else’s lives. Everyone makes countless of choices during their life that probably is affected by their past or their morals and beliefs in life. Regardless it is the person’s choice and only they’re to choose; their decision may be influenced by others or by their emotions. Even when someone is facing to take a choice …show more content…
That they end up missing out mostly on what life is all about and missing the chance to have someone by their side to love. To enjoy the little things in life that actually mean something in life and is the basic meaning of living life. The authors states in the poem that; “and indeed there will be time to wonder, “Do I dare?” and “Do I dare?” Time to turn back and descend the stair,” as in saying that there would be plenty of time to do everything that is important to someone but everyone even Prufrock second guesses himself. Just like in love life your life turns out the way it ends just by taking the decisions you make and Prufrock questions himself to ask the big question to his lover, if he dares himself to ask or to turn around and walk away from his lover. Descending the stairs as in walking away from it just like many people question themselves over many things in life and wonder if they should or they should walk away from an amazing life changing opportunity or grand chances in a profession they are trying to succeed in. It all has an affect on what they make their lives be. The belief that man is nothing except what he makes of himself is true and the poem choices cause this affects a person’s love life, professional life, well their entire life in how it turns out to be in the
The entire poem encompasses the idea that the woman’s life is never ending and has its rough patches. Although it “had tacks in it” that may have tripped her up, she did not let those stand in the way of where she wanted to go in life (3). The relationship between the staircase and a person’s life can be incredibly similar to one another. A staircase may have many different twists and turns, broken boards, and run down patches that relate to a various events that happen throughout life. Just because there is a hole in the stairs, or a death in a person’s life, does not mean that one should quit living or give up on everything that they have accomplished. There may be setbacks that require time and love to heal, but there will always be hope to move on to a better life. The mother insists that her son does not turn back and give up just because his life has hit a hard spot. She never gave up hope, and she insists that he does the same. The metaphor of the staircase to one’s life, can easily relate to anyone in the world. There will always be rough patches and hard times, but everyone gets through them, and they are usually stronger in the end because of it. Life may not be an easy task, but we must learn how to survive and thrive whatever may be thrown our
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
T.S. Eliot, a notable twentieth century poet, wrote often about the modern man and his incapacity to make decisive movements. In his work entitled, 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'; he continues this theme allowing the reader to view the world as he sees it, a world of isolation and fear strangling the will of the modern man. The poem opens with a quoted passage from Dante's Inferno, an allusion to Dante's character who speaks from Hell only because he believes that the listener can not return to earth and thereby is impotent to act on the knowledge of his conversation. In his work, Eliot uses this quotation to foreshadow the idea that his
Prufrock knew all of these people well, and he struggled with the thought that if he did advance past polite conversation that he would disrupt his circle of friends. This can be seen in lines 44 and 45, when he states, "Do I dare/Disturb the universe." This internal conflict continues into line 70, where he starts to prepare a love speech for a particular woman and then basically says he should have been born a crab instead of a human who has to ask for love instead of taking it. The verse states "Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock is a long and challenging poem that seems rather disjointed and confusing upon first reading. It seems as though us readers will never understand the deeper meaning of the poem without getting inside Eliot's head and seeing his thought process for ourselves. However, through digging deeper and examining the piece closer we can find that this is meant to be an ironic and tragic tale of a man who feels isolated and incapable of decisive action. It is ironically called a "love song" because Prufrock longs to profess love and affection to a woman, but is too afraid to do it.
Near the end of the poem the father seems to realize that he can't guide his son through everything in life, and inorder for him to strive he has to experience things on his own accord. This is seen on lines 42 through 44 which states, “He will be lonely enough/To have time to work/ He knows as his own.” The father realizes that he can't hold his son’s hand through everything, and him being able to find his own way and craft will
The tone of this poem is what makes it so openly interpreted. It can be used as motivation for almost any path one decides to take in life. The verse “Yet knowing how way leads on to way/ I doubted if I should ever come back” can be related to by anyone who has ever experienced having to make crucial decisions in life. Life is not easy, and it is not worth our precious time to be whimsical in our decision making. Nobody wants to have to backtrack, and this poem portrays that rigorous ‘keep your head forward, shoulders back and your eye on the prize’ mentality that has been part of our culture as Americans for so long. These two very salient lines of the poem also do well to instill an element of mystery and air in the mind of the reader. It is human nature to think what could have been ‘if only I’d done this’ or ‘If that never
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
The poem in Up-Hill means to me that someone is struggling. I believe this because they are asking if there will be a place to rest when it later on becomes dark and the hours began to slow down. This person is worried about meeting other wayfarers at night and does not want to be stood up longer in the night than he already has. The person in the story does not want to be weak but yet they need help finding a place to stay. We all want to be strong in life and not want to have to rely on other people for help, especially people who do not have a good relationship. The last time I felt like this person in Up-Hill was when I was starting basketball for the first time in high school. I did no know how hard it was going to be, but at the same
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.
T.S Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is an examination of human insecurity and folly, embodied in the title's J. Alfred Prufrock. Eliot's story of a man's "overwhelming question", his inability to ask it, and consequently, his mental rejection plays off the poem's many ambiguities, both structural and literal. Eliot uses these uncertainties to develop both the plot of the poem and the character of J. Alfred Prufrock.
While looking back at the title, the reader realizes that the poem was definitely not over love or relationship, but the lack of love and relationship. This man Prufrock was a lonesome and depressed man with nothing to live for, and what the author is trying to get across to the reader is to not live his or her life like this man. Live life by making choices and changes every day to become the person his or her were made to be; don’t live in whole and just watch from the outside, get out and
“And indeed there will be time” (23). Prufrock is musing about all the time there will be for gossip later. Again the yellow smoke slides down the street, tempting Prufrock to give in. With the gossip goes the gossipers and as they arrive back at their homes you see the yellow smoke of gossip “Rubbing its back upon the window-panes” (25). Now, Prufrock has time to think about what he has to do. In the poem he seems to be in a dream-like state. He is wondering, the rhythm in lines 26-34 gives me the impression that he is pacing the floor. He is preparing to meet someone, a woman, and he is conflicted about how to tell her what he must tell her. Prufrock feels overwhelmed by what he must do, and yet he is trying his best to focus on the task at hand. Just as
Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is written as though Mr. Prufrock is playing a game of tennis through Eliot’s back and forth style. It may be hard to follow, but this unevenness of thought shows how the “Modern Male” thinks. His inability to be decisive illustrates that it is now considered masculine for men to think and feel, rather than just act out before thinking. This belief is a major change from Week 1’s Romanticism era, where men were more focused on action, rather than thoughts and feelings.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a uniquely styled piece of literature. In this poem Eliot employs a literary method of writing called "stream of consciousness." This is a difficult method to grasp outside of the literary genre to attempt to understand it within the context of the higher language of poetry can further confuse readers.