Prufrock Essay, Research Paper

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock & # 8211 ; Characteristic Downfall

In T.S. Eliot & # 8217 ; s & # 8220 ; The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, & # 8221 ; the writer is set uping the problem the storyteller is holding covering with in-between age. Prufrock ( the storyteller ) believes that age is a load and is profoundly troubled by it.. His love of some adult females can non be because he feels the prime of his life is over. His preoccupation with the passing of clip characterizes the fright of aging he has. The poemdeals with the ripening and frights associated with it of the storyteller.

Prufrock is non confident with himself mentally or his visual aspect. He is terrified of what will happen when people see his balding caput or his slim and aging organic structure. He believes everyone will believe he is old and useless. They will speak about him behind his dorsum. ( They will state & # 8221 ; How is hair is turning thin! & # 8221 ; ) My forenoon coat, my collar mounting steadfastly to the mentum, My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin & # 8211 ; [ They will state: “ But how his weaponries and legs are thin! ” ]

This insecurity is decidedly a hinderance for him. It holds him back from making the things he wishes to make. This is the kind of characteristic that makes Alfred into a tragic, doomed character. He will non happen felicity until he finds confidence within himself. The repeat of words like vision and alteration, demo his feelings of insufficiency in pass oning with the people around him.

J. Alfred Prufrock & # 8217 ; s self esteem affects his love life greatly. The adult female he is in love with is younger than he is and this distresses him. He does non believe that some younger adult females could perchance accept him or happen him attractive. Expressing any sort of fondness to her is awkward and hard. Prufrock knows what he must state but can non convey himself to state it. & # 8220 ; Should I, after tea and bars and ices, Have the strength to coerce the minute to it & # 8217 ; s crisis? & # 8221 ; ( 79-80 ) His apprehension in his love life, is really troublesome for him so. He wishes greatly to show his fondness but it becomes suppressed within him. He compares himself to Lazarus who was an elderly adult male restored to life by Jesus. He feels that it will take a miracle to do him experience immature once more. Prufrock sees his age as the terminal of his romantic ardor. He assumes the response to his love will be snappish and heartless. Prufrock believes that adult females do non happen older work forces attractive or see a possibility of love affair in them.

The rhyme strategy Elliot uses in this verse form depicts the disenchanted and baffled head of the storyteller. The verse form is written utilizing a non-uniform metre and rime. Assorted stanzas are non of unvarying length. This method is used to stand for the temper and feelings in the poetry. Prufrock is experiencing confused and overwhelmed by the hardships of life so it is logical that his idea will hold the same types of features. His ideas lead to ambiguity such as at the start of the verse form. & # 8220 ; There you go so, you and I & # 8221 ; ( 1 ) This could be mentioning to Prufrock and himself, or Prufrock and his lover.

Elliot wrote this verse form in a clip when societal imposts were still considered an issue. Everyone had their topographic point and did non vary from that. Stereotypes of groups were lived up to and cipher tried to alter it. Elliot uses blazing images of different categories in order to demo these unsimilarities. The lower category lived a meager, dull and predictable life. They spend & # 8220 ; ungratified darks in one-night inexpensive hotels. & # 8221 ; ( 6 ) The rich on the other manus are educated and enjoy life every twenty-four hours. They are busy and bustle around gleefully in order to acquire things done. In the room the adult females come and travel Talking of Michelangelo. ( 13-14 ) Unfortunat

ely, because of his age Prufrock feels that he does non belong to any of these categories. He has similarities refering to each of them but as a whole feels that he merely exists in his ain categorization.

The argument in Prufrock & # 8217 ; s mind eventually comes to a stopping point when he compares himself to Prince Hamlet from William Shakespear & # 8217 ; s masterpiece Hamlet. Hamlet was able to show his love and J. Alfred was covetous of that. & # 8220 ; No! I am non Prince Hamlet, nor was it meant to be & # 8221 ; ( 111 ) He feels he is more like Polonius an old, attendant to Lord Hamlet who is intelligent, wise, and tidal bore to delight. Prufrock decides he is diplomatic, painstaking, and strives for flawlessness. However at the same clip he tends to miss some kind of mental power, frights he is looking like a sap. This is the decision he comes to in order to make up one’s mind to accept his topographic point in society and unrecorded life the manner he should.

Eliot uses the mention of clip frequently in order to demo the province of head of the storyteller. The contrasts used demo the entire indecision of Prufrock. For the most portion the illustrations are used to exemplify the stereotype of an old individual. It is was accepted that aging people did non work and therefor had clip for sing life and other facets of their being. And Indeed there will be clip To inquire, & # 8220 ; Do I make bold? & # 8221 ; and, & # 8220 ; Do I Dare? & # 8221 ;

His ageless quandary is characterized by his belief that there will be clip to see everything. The clip allusions are to demo that Prufrock is acquiring progressively older. He says & # 8220 ; I have measured out my life with java spoons. & # 8221 ; ( 51 ) This once more shows his compulsion with the passing of clip.

Feeling like that of an foreigner, Prufrock discovers he can non be with the type of people he one time did. He can associate to them but he feels they will non accept him because of his age and visual aspect. His being is lone and tiring while their province is merriment and exciting. & # 8220 ; I know the voices deceasing with a deceasing fall/Beneath the music from a farther room. & # 8221 ; ( 52-53 ) He can hear the voices of his neighbours but he can non travel to them. He is bothered by the thought of the younger coevals analyzing him. He wishes he could suit in but believes that is non a world.

Fantasying of a universe where these jobs do non be is a pleasant reverie for Prufrock. He imagines the peaceable universe under the sea where societal categories do non be. This shows the internal struggle still happening within him. Even though he has overcome his job with his love life, he still has many other concerns to postulate with. The mermaids are singing attractively, but in his sentiment, they can non perchance be singing for him. His insecurity is still present and seems incurable. His fantasy universe is brought to a crashing arrest easy. & # 8220 ; Till human voices wake us, and we drown. & # 8221 ; ( 131 ) His lone felicity can be found in reveries and can be destroyed easy as such. Although giving him impermanent alleviation from the force per unit areas of his life, this dreamlike province is destructing his bosom and merely returning to the existent universe will salvage him.

In Elliot & # 8217 ; s masterpiece & # 8220 ; The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock, & # 8221 ; as clip base on ballss so does the human spirit of the storyteller. His bosom decays by the minute. Even within his phantasies he is tortured by the ever-present jobs which plague him throughout his life. He can & # 8217 ; t even see the point in showing his love because of the fright of being rejected. Elliot & # 8217 ; s word picture of the concerns of aging is a major facet incorporated into the verse form. Although Prufrock is a adult male of cognition and society he is still a misfit because of a small characteristic he can make nil about. Age kills us all, but for Prufrock it has already killed him.