The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock

There is a line that is used quite a bit in this poem which reads “In the room, women come and go, talking of Michelangelo. (Eliot 13-14) This is interrupted as Prufrock being at a social gathering, such as a tea party. The use of the word Michelangelo is used to describe how the event is most likely one of scholarly presence where the guests are discussing famous artists. Prufrock does not fit in with this crowd, as read in these lines “And indeed there will be time, to wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?” 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!”)” (Eliot 37-40) These lines reveal a man who is fearful and insecure about his situation, he wonders if he should

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 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

J. Alfred Prufrock has internalized all comments others have made about him – regarding his appearance and age – which in turn influence his thoughts throughout the poem. J. Alfred Prufrock describes his dislike in himself, in his appearance, such that he feels he looks too old. J. Alfred Prufrock repeatedly returns to his appearance such as, while lamenting over his decision, when he describes “a bald spot in the middle of [his] hair” (Eliot 7. 40), demonstrative of his feelings that he looks too old. He then goes on to say “(They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin’)” (Eliot 7. 41), in reference to others who have made comments about him. J. Alfred

4. One of the most demanding aspects of this poem is its allusions, as Eliot expected his readers to be as well educated as he was. Some allusions are fairly accessible. The allusions to Michelangelo—an artist most people are familiar with—in line 14 and again in line 36 help us imagine the women Prufrock is talking about. The function of the less accessible allusions—such as “works and days of hands” (l. 29)—may serve a different purpose. Why might Eliot have included such esoteric allusions? How do they affect your reading of the poem?

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).

I don’t think Prufrock is paying the gossip any attention. The gossip just “rubs its back upon the window panes.” (15). The gossip doesn’t seem to affect him, he walks through it and it tries to tempt him, but is unsuccessful, and as the evening wares on the people at the party shake off the gossip. “Let fall upon it’s back the soot that falls from chimneys.” (19). Just when you think that the coast is clear, the gossip is gone, it shows up again and decides to stay for the night. This only adds to Prufrock’s feeling of isolation and hopelessness. His unwillingness to take part in the gossip surrounding him has made him an oddity.

“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.

Despite his regret, Prufrock fears that his “moment of greatness” is passing, as he has seen the “eternal Footman”. Just like an eternal and loyal servant, Death is always at Prufrock’s service, since he can technically pass away at any moment without Death ever failing him. Since he has “a bald spot in the middle of [his] hair” (40) and sees the servant “holding [his] coat”, Prufrock is likely of old age and will die sooner than later. On the last line, the source of Prufrock’s worry is left intentionally unclear: though Prufrock fears death, he is being mocked by servant figure. Prufrock’s thought that he will be scoffed at after death for not seizing his “moment of greatness” indicates his current insecurity about how other people might judge him as lacking accomplishments and living an unfulfilling

Prufrock explains throughout the whole poem that he has a question to ask a woman and Prufrock behaves and assumes that the question is going to negatively affect the rest of his life. Prufrock questions, “Would it have been worth while / If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl, / And turning toward the window, should say: / ‘That is not it at all, / That is not what I meant, at all.’” Due to Prufrock’s pessimistic attitude, he is afraid that his question will be due to his misunderstanding and perversion of another's actions and, as a consequence, sour his life even more. This leaves Prufrock in his own self-made dilemma of continuing to live “... a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.”

Eliot uses the poetic devices of symbols and apostrophe to demonstrate the indecisiveness of the speaker in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The speaker expresses his concern about “a bald spot in the middle of [his] hair” (46) and what people might say about him. This symbol represents everything he feels nervous about when he goes to a party, such as his appearance, the manner in which he acts, and what others may dislike about him. He also has his “morning coat, [his] collar mounting firmly to the chin” (48), which represent his wealth and potential in society. The symbol of the morning coat displays wealth, and the collar shows stiffness, while his chin held high means he could obtain a high social position. His inability to come to a conclusion prevents him from reaching this, as he always asks “do I dare / Disturb the universe?” (51-2) to an unknown person. The poet’s use of apostrophe reveals that the speaker feels that even mundane actions have great repercussions and refuses to make a decision and act upon his desires. He believes that if he takes a risk, he will interrupt the flow of the universe. Ultimately, Prufrock’s hesitation hinders him and he cannot advance in society, and he should try to improve his self-esteem. People should make an effort to feel confident but not overly

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” published in 1915, was written by a man named T.S. Eliot. The speaker of the poem begins to describe an evening that appears to be somewhat romantic and a little mysterious. As the reader progresses into the poem, the mood soon fades and the reader starts to figure out that this evening is not what they pictured. “Acquainted with the Night” is a poem written by Robert Frost. The poem was first published in 1927. The speaker of the poem has a similar mood as Eliot’s poem. One character can not seem to fit in at a tea party and the other character has drifted into the streets at night. Both of the characters are in situations that are not pleasing to the majority of people. The characters are both placed in a position that implies a distasteful and gloomy mood for the readers to experience. Both the imagery and tone of these two poems presents the reader with the conclusion that both poems can represent loneliness as their leading theme.

The dramatic monologue, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, is a short poem written by the Nobel Prize winner, and scholar T.S. Eliot. He wrote this poem and published it in the Poetry Magazine in 1915, while he was still in college at Washington University in St. Louis. Eliot is one of the most important English- language writers of the 20th century, and he lived in St Louis at an early age being raised by his mother. His mother was both loving and manipulative, and from that a lonely and strict adolescence, came a man with an immense desire to be independent (Gladstein). Eliot’s poem is about a man by the name J. Alfred Prufrock, who is a very awkward man, telling us the story of him trying to open himself up to his lover. Prufrock is

The first theme shared throughout Eliot’s works is the inability to love and the powerlessness which comes from it. This is depicted in the lines “Trembling with tenderness/Lips that would kiss/Form prayers to broken stone” (Eliot, Hollow Men). These people desire to kiss and be intimate with each other but despite their passion, they are unable to do so, able only to repeat useless prayers. This idea is present in another one of Eliot’s poems: “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” In this poem, an ageing man named Prufrock wishes to ask a girl an “overwhelming question”, but is incapable of doing so due to his fear and anxiety. Prufrock eventually resigns himself to a lonely existence, viewing himself as repulsive and worthless as a crab “Scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (Eliot, Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 73-74). Just as the desert people are unable to connect with each other; Prufrock is unable to ask his question. This view is likewise reiterated in “The Wasteland”. During a romantic moment with a girl in a garden, the narrator suddenly has a crisis,