The Long Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot - 822 Words

T.S. Eliot characterizes his speaker in â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† based on his own personal experiences. In 1915, Eliot wrote one of his most famous poems as a skeptic (Schneider 1103). He constantly questioned the meaning of human life and the reasons why human beings were created at all. In the same way, Prufrock also has a difficult time in finding the purpose of his long life. The speaker of this poem takes the reader on a journey so that maybe the listener can aid him in finding meaning to his life. Throughout T.S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,† the narrator is overwhelmed by the nothingness in his life through the characterization of himself, the wandering to many different settings, and the feeling of death approaching him. First, Prufrock does not think too highly of himself. He states that he is â€Å"not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be† (Eliot 111). Prufrock considers himself an ordinary person and does not want to be treated as exceptional. According to Margaret Morton Blum, T.S. Eliot may have developed his main character by studying William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Blum points out that Prufrock has a similar mindset as Yorick, a foolish character in Shakespeare’s play (Blum 424). Both Prufrock and Yorick believe that the world and everything in it is worthless. Constantly throughout the poem, the main character is becoming aware of his balding head. He cannot find confidence in himself because he is losing hair and is worried that he isShow MoreRelatedA Competitive Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1014 Words   |  4 Pageswere T.S. Eliot who wrote his very well-known poem, â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfr ed Prufrock† (1915), and F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote his famous novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). Both Eliot and Fitzgerald criticized the spiritual emptiness in their society by revealing their characters inability to communicate, to love, and to see the truth about their own lives. Eliot and Fitzgeralds characters are unable to communicate because of their spiritual emptiness. In T.S. Eliots â€Å"The Love Song of J. AlfredRead More Human Insecurity in T.S Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock1135 Words   |  5 PagesInsecurity in T.S Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock T.S Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is an examination of human insecurity and folly, embodied in the titles J. Alfred Prufrock. Eliots story of a mans overwhelming question, his inability to ask it, and consequently, his mental rejection plays off the poems 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. TheRead MoreThe Id, Ego, and Super-Ego in T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock1544 Words   |  7 PagesT.S. Eliot’s poem â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† is inhabited by both a richly developed world and character and one is able to categorize the spaces in â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† to correspond to Prufrock’s mind. Eliot uses the architecture of the three locations described in the text to explore parts of Prufrocks mind in the Freudian categories of id, ego, and super-ego; the city that is described becomes the Ego, the room where he encounters women his Id and the imagined oceanRead MoreThe Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay990 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† by T.S. Elliot is in part a satire. It was written in the form of a dramatic monologue delivered by the poem’s speaker, J. Alfred Prufrock. It begins with him asking an unknown â€Å"you† to acc ompany him on a walk. The two walk through town and stumbles upon women talking about Michelangelo at a social event. The women’s bare arms and long dresses show off their knowledge of art. Prufrock wishes to talk to the women and is attracted to them sexually but he is afraidRead MoreImagery And Symbolism Buried Deep Within `` The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock904 Words   |  4 PagesLove Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† In The Love Song by T.S. Eliot, the imagery and symbolism that are shown have a deeper meaning than one may realize. At the beginning of the poem, Eliot uses an epigraph from Dante’s Inferno, which ultimately can be taken as Prufrock referring to how his self-doubt and 1over thinking are a living hell for him. Throughout the poem, Prufrock is in a daydream state of mind, until the very end when someone brings him back to reality and he drowns. In The Love Song of JRead MoreThomas Stearns Eliot, Or T.S. Eliot, Was Born In 1888 On1021 Words   |  5 Pages Thomas Stearns Eliot, or T.S. Eliot, was born in 1888 on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. Throughout his life, Eliot wrote and published several pieces of writing that are highly regarded and still studied in the world of literature today. Eliot was an American-British author, critic, playwright, and poet. After attending Smith Academy, and Milton Academy, he went on to graduate in just 3 years at Harvard University. He also got his masters and did doctoral work. He attended OxfordRead MoreThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay1266 Words   |  6 PagesT.S. Eliot’s â€Å"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 fr agmentation to show Prufrock’s inability to act, as well as his fear of society. Eliot’s commentary about Prufrock’s socialRead MoreFrustration and Disillusionment in T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock739 Words   |  3 PagesFrustration and Disillusionment in T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 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 Dantes Inferno, an allusion to DantesRead MoreThe Connection Between Fantasy And Insecurity By J. Alfred Prufrock1215 Words   |  5 Pagesoptimistically. Through the â€Å"Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,† T.S. Eliot demonstrates how people justify their insecurities by their perception of the world. Personal insecurity is common in people who long for unattainable fantasy. It is popular among those who are not satisfied with the world they reside in, to muse for something contrasting. Through the idealized world of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot explores the connections between fantasy and insecurity. Prufrock is thought of to be the illustrativeRead MorePinned to the Wall: J. Alfred Prufrock and the Inability to Change1285 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Wall: J. Alfred Prufrock and the Inability to Change If people are disappointed with themselves and what they have become, then there are naturally two options for remedy. One is to do whatever possible to change themselves and pave a brighter future. The second, perhaps less desirable, is to realize that change is useless or near-impossible, which leads to either finding peace in the way things are or recognizing the hopelessness in the absence of the way things could be. T.S. Eliot’s â€Å"The