The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock

Danilo Garcia

Professor Bostick

English 2

2 March, 2012

                                     The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock

      There are many poems in which many people feel lost or confused, and express their feelings within because they feel a need to share with everyone on how they feel. In this poem the love song by T.S Eliot we can see how it is about an elderly man with a life full of laments, and reminisces which takes him to his past failures. T.S Eliot puts it into context of how meaningless life is, so that we comprehend the reason for his loneliness. Eliot puts a lot of imagery and lots of poetic language, J. Alfred Prufrock tells us a brief explanation of his memories, experiences, and his feeling which are the most shown through out the poem. This poem is of a man searching for his identity, and the meaning of his existence.
     The title of the poem “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock opens up with a follow through of his own self. The Imagery of his invitation all starts with a simile, (in stanza 1, line 1-3) starts with let us go then you and I when the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table. This is an example of a simile that describes the day time sky, but it’s function are on another level. Prufrock’s line description in line 3 where he mentions the word “etherized” indicates an altering of perception and an altering of time, which is a dreamlike quality through out the poem. Thus this dreamlike quality is supported through out this poem. In (line 15) he mentions “the yellow fog” this contributes to a slow etherized feeling of this poem. I believe that time and perception are effectively etherized in this poem. This poem is as if there is a suspended moment of realization of one man’s life, Going back to (line 2) where he  mentions “spread out against the sky.” The imagery of the patient mentioned in (line 3) is basically Prufrock’s examination of himself. When he mentions the term “patient etherized” in line 3, it denotes a person waiting for treatment, and this treatment will be his examination of his experiences in life.

       J.Alfred prufrock tends to repeat his invitation to ask the reader to follow him through the cold and lonely setting that is definitely prufrock’s place of stay. The imagery of the journey through this is described as pointed to lead the reader, and prufrock to an overwhelming question. Prufrock    description of the urban city is very dreary in my opinion in (lines 4-9) it says “let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, the muttering retreats of restless nights in one night cheap hotels, and sawdust restaurants with oyster shells, streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent. This to me was exactly one of those scenes where it is clearly shown of  the lonely scene, and it shows that prufrock lives through his lacking existence. The city is suspended under the same anesthesia that spreads the evening  is like an etherized patient as mentioned in (line 3).               J.Alfred Prufrock then moves his attention from the city to the final destination; in (line 14) :in the room women come and go, talking of Michelangelo. In these lines we can clearly see the contrasts within the previous urban landscape and adds of anticipation to the tension surrounding the event, and this line is also about the importance of timing. The stanza in my opinion is indicating that prufrock is around to see these women “come and go” to me implies prufrock has been involved in high social environment for quite a while. This line 14 also implies how others have come and gone from social circles, and it is a part of a way of saying Prufrock has stayed stagnated. as the poem goes on J.Alfred Prufrock deliberates on whether he is capable to find value in the cold superficial environment, and does not hesitate to ask this question in (lines 40-45) “do I dare, disturb the universe?” I believe he feels the muster, and the courage to ask the question., he might be able to find value in his life in (lines 90-92) he says “would it have been worth while to have bitten off the    matter with a smile, to have squeezed the universe into a ball. Ultimately Prufrock fails at both the tasks.

     I believe this poems theme of time and age is an illustration of Prufrock’s unhappiness towards his life. We can see how Prufrock tells the measured out portions of life that he has lived through, when he says “I have measured out my life in coffee spoons”, I believe this line shows Prufrock’s inability to seize the day. He also mentions his thinning of hair and it resulting in a bald spot, as indicators of him aging and the importance of how he feels now that he is a mature older man. In (lines 39-41) it mentions “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 .” Prufrock here shows his side of fear, and being laughed at. Also, in (line 46) it shows prufrock’s desire to “disturb the universe.” I think he feels scoffed for not acting his proper age. It is seen that many times he mentions time it is in a trajectory fashion, and on the other side I get the feeling he feels a sense of urgency as he travels to the party, because he must decide when he will ask his question. Yet, he agonizes whether to attempt a change in his life, he tells us there is plenty of time, explaining in (lines 25-34) “there will be time for you and time for me, and time yet for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions, before the taking of a toast and tea.” This is Prufrock trying to escape his conviction of asking questions through rationalization.