J Alfred Prufrock

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The Analysis of J. Alfred Prufrock
The poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is very insightful. The poem is about the speaker, Prufrock, going on a walk and as he does, he describes various experiences and his mind. It does not take long for it to become clear that he has very low self-esteem and could possibly be depressed. Through analysis we can find that this could be the effect of his sense of self being negatively formed by those around him through Charles Cooley’s looking-glass self theory.
The poem begins with Prufrock inviting the reader for a walk through the city streets. He a simile to compare the evening sky to a patient under anesthesia imagery to describe the “half-deserted streets”(I. 4). He also uses a combination of a metaphor and imagery to describe the fog, “The yellow fog that rubs its back on the window panes”(I. 15). In this metaphor, Prufrock is comparing the fog to an animal. “Lingering upon the pools that stand in drains, Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from …show more content…
73-74). In these lines, Prufrock compares himself to a sea creature that dwells at the ocean floor, probably a crab. This also displays his low self-esteem by him thinking of himself as a bottom-feeder roaming the seas in solitude.
This is also present in the lines “I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me”(II. 125-126). In these lines the looking-glass theory also reappears. In this situation the social looking-glass is represented by the mermaids and he thinks that when they see him they will not like him, so they will not sing to him. The imagery continues in the lines “I have seen them riding seaward on the waves Combing the white hair of the waves blown back When the wind blows the water white and black”(III.

Lovesong Of J Alfred Prufrock Analysis

Song of J Alfred Prufrock, written in 1917, deals with social limitations relating to the motives of the speaker. Coincidentally, The Death of Ivan Ilyich also reveals a similar message throughout its story that there perhaps may be an invisible boundary between social classes. While comparing the two texts, overlapping similarities among social boundaries and limitations are prevalent, but there are also some differences that can be explored as well. The first moment in The Love Song of J Alfred…

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The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock

The “Fake’’ Song of a “Small Person’’ A poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by Thomas Eliot depicts a sad story of a lonely, dejected, joyless life of a man by the name Prufrock. To underline the sarcastically dull tone of the whole piece the author even vests the tiresome name in protagonist. Being influenced by the post World War I environment, Eliot manages to reproduce the mood of a “modern’’ society in the face of a scared, doubting, repellent, and paltry character. The image of a “small…

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The Lovesong Of J Alfred Prufrock Analysis

The Connection between Inferno and ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” “If I thought that my answer were to none who might ever return to this world, this flame would shake no more; but since from this depth none ever returned alive, if what I hear is true, I answer you without fear of infamy” (Alighieri XXVII. 58-63). This quote was from Dante’s Inferno and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” which shows one of the many similarities in each piece. This quote was said by Guido…

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The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock

In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T. S. Eliot reveals the thoughts and feelings of the poem’s subject, Prufrock, in a way that Prufrock could not have articulated himself, since it is the poem’s objective to illustrate Prufrock’s insecurity. By not commenting directly and allowing the reader to draw conclusions from clues given in dramatic monologue, personification and he uses imagery. The poem is set as a monologue, since the speaker refers to a listener in the opening line as "you:" "Let…

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Decision Making and J. Alfred Prufrock Essay

There Is No Love Without Risk: The Story of Prufrock Life is full of opportunities, whether they're a simple choice or a big risk. It's completely up to us to make these decisions, which will determine the outcome of our future. While reading “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock”, we see a prime example of a man, or what's left of one, stuck in a stalemate due to his indecisiveness. Prufrock has many problems with him, which all lead him into a standstill in his life. His obsessive, indecisive,…

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The Lovesong Of J Alfred Prufrock Mood Analysis

This is still true for the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” which is was written in 1915 by T. S. Eliot. Eliot uses the settings in which Prufrock finds himself to set the mood that the readers will begin to feel. The settings in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” convey senses such as loneliness and isolation. These ultimately change how the audience will read and process the poem. The narrator of the poem is J. Alfred Prufrock himself. In the beginning of the poem it reads “Let…

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The Lovesong Of J Alfred Prufrock Hero's Journey

protagonist from the successful end of the path defines temptation. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, Eliot reveals how the memories of Prufrock’s past lovers tempts him not to expose his feelings to his current lover. The information his memories hold will ruin the relationship he strives to pursue. In addition, he falls into the temptation and does not express his words when the woman wakes up. Prufrock drowns in purgatory and becomes vulnerable to the threatening past, exemplifying the failure…

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Essay on The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

May 12, 2013 Carlyle Warren "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" proves that insecurities get in the way of actions. If someone feels in danger, they will not live but merely exist. If one is scared, then one will not act, which means one will not move. If one is not moving, one is not living, but simply existing. Altough we will look into why Prufrock is afraid. In the beginning, we are introduced to the yellow fog. It behaves…

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J Alfred Prufrock Love Song Essay

and the complexity of existence. Love song by J Alfred Prufrock concerns a middle aged man and his inability to connect within his modern world due to his struggle to find a sense of identity within his ever changing world. T.S Eliot uses love song to showcase the contextual shift from victorian era towards a period of social change in the form of industrialisation, technological advancement as well as societal class changes known as modernism Prufrock showcases uncertainty within the nature of relationships…

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Explication of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay

Explication of "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" In T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," the author is establishing the trouble the narrator is having dealing with middle age. Prufrock(the narrator) believes that age is a burden and is deeply troubled by it.. His love of some women cannot be because he feels the prime of his life is over. His preoccupation with the passing of time characterizes the fear of aging he has. The poem deals with the aging and fears associated with it of…

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