After reading “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. From reader’s point of view, we sensed that he is well-educated by choosing of the word and the style of modernism and romanticism he adapted in the poem.

“Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table.”(3)
”Street that follow like a tedious argument or insidious intent”(9)

In the excerpt from the poem, he uses the metaphor as “like a patient etherized upon a table”, from the syntax and choosing of the word. We can tell he is a scientific person who adapt provocative and logical thinking between his sentences. However, he is not happy with his life. He is not confidence with physical appearance from hair to body figure. And the self-consciousness of his appearance has made him feel awkward that carried on in the end of every paragraph in the poem.

“Do I dare Disturb the universe?”(46)
”Is it perfume from a dress that makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?”(69)

In the other hand, under his sophisticated and well-manner suit. He has delicate and sensitive heart by telling reader the environment with an ironic pessimism. He constantly asked himself questions and that reveals the anxious when it comes to topic of relationship.

What is Alfred Prufrock trying to say about social constructs and how he feels about them?

How does Alfred Prufrock use vivid imagery to convey his ironic views (Lazarus rising, … like a patient etherized upon a table)?

What do the striking images that Alfred Prufrock use indicate about Alfred Prufrock or the writer?

I hope you all manage to have a restful and restorative Thanksgiving Break and spend quality time with your friends and families! That said – we do have some ongoing work that you will need to take care of….

1. Remember to go back to the blog, read the questions your classmates posted about T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and respond to two questions by noon on Monday, Nov. 28th. You may not respond to a question that someone else has already answered.

2. I have posted the assignment for your final essay. You can access it via the “essays” tab above. The first step of this assignment is submitting a paper topic to me. Your topic should be emailed to me at [email protected] no later than midnight on Monday, Nov. 28th. The sooner you submit a topic, the sooner you will hear back from me. Your email should include the two texts you want to write about and the analytical question you are asking about them.  At this point, we are NOT looking for a thesis statement.  We may have to email back and forth a few times in order to refine and adjust your topic. If your topic is ready to go, you will receive an email from me approving it.

3. We will be discussing Kafka, “The Metamorphosis” in class on November 30th. It is a long text, so allow yourself plenty of time to get the reading done before the 30th. Do not come to class without having finished the reading!

Looking forward to seeing you all on November 30th, but in the meantime, feel free to contact me by email if you have questions about any of this!

After combing through T. S. Eliot’s quite confusing poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufroct”, I believe that I can describe Prufroct. The character of J. Alfred Prufroct is cynical, believes that others are cynical, and appears to be reflecting on his experiences while giving advice to the reader. He seems to resent people who try hard to fit in, as shown by the lines where between the mentions of “women talking of Michelangelo”. He appears to believe that there is a right and a wrong time for everything. His cynicism comes out in the part of the poem that I believe that I understand best,

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!”) My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin – (They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”) Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

Here is where I believe Prufroct is explaining his belief that everything has a time and his resentment of those who try to fit in. He explicitly says multiple times thoroughout the piece “there will be a time”, which to me is the signal that he is a proponent of the belief that everything happens for a reason and is planned out by a higher being. The lines in parenthesis signal both his believe that people are cynical and that he resents those cynics. In the lines around this block, women discussing popular culture are mentioned. I believe that they are the ones who he is saying will say the cynical things. These analyses are reinforced by the line “Do I dare disturb the universe?” because Prufroct, being a cynic himself would rather question if he should challenge his surroundings rather and assert his own beliefs and opinions.

Questions:

1. What does the first paragraph translate to in English?
2. Is there a significance to the fog being yellow?
3. Why would a human voice drown “us”? (544)

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a poem written by T.S. Elliot. After reading several times and digesting each line, I was finally able to grasp some of the poem’s meaning. This speaker of this poem is the character Prufrock, who throughout the poem is addressing a woman. Prufrock is in love with the woman he speaks about, and his words suggest that he is being held back from approaching her and telling her how he feels. Prufrock says “Do I dare / disturb the universe?” (45-46). This is one line that tied together most of the poem for me, and allowed me to understand Prufrock and his current struggle. I read these lines as Prufrock expressing that the people he is surrounded by are judgmental, which seems to be what is holding him back from telling this woman he loves how he feels. T.S. Elliot presents Prufrock as a character that is facing some kind of battle involving his internal psych and a lack of confidence. Prufrock is a confused character and is constantly searching for an answer and some kind of guidance. Prufrock later says, “And should I then presume? / And how should I begin?” (68-69). These lines relate back to lines 45-46, in that Prufrock continues to express his frustration which stems from this inability to tell the woman how he feels because of the people he is surrounded by and their influence on his mind. Prufrock is a character that is lost in his thoughts and emotions. He is afraid to come forward with what he feels for this woman, and is unsure of how he would even begin the process.

Three questions about the poem:

1. Is there any significance in the form of Elliot’s writing and his use of fragmentation?
2. Why reference religious figures?
3. Do you think Prufrock thinks interaction with this woman is at all possible?

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a poem that shows the consciousness of a man. He knows he is not the ideal man, who all the women will swoon over. He knows he has flaws and is aware of all these aspects. He feels as if everyone is judging him based on how he appears, such as his balding head and how his arms and legs are thin. No one has said anything to him about his appearances, but he mentally thinks about what people will say about him and how he looks, because he does not have that perfect male physique that women desire. He does not seem happy with how he looks and is very conscious about his life, especially since he does not seem to live it to the potential that he would want.

“Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to each a peach?

I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.”

This quote shows one of the instances where Prufrock is once again worried about his appearances, such as his hair and what pants he should wear on a trip to the beach. He then talks about mermaids, which in reality are mythical, so he speaks of women who do not even exist but they are still ignoring him because he is not the best looking.

“No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was that meant to be;

Am an attendant lord, one that will do

To swell a progress, start a scene or two,

Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,

Deferential, glad to be of use,

Politic, cautious, and meticulous;

Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—

Almost, at times, the Fool.”

Another quote about his appearance and how he is feels about himself is shown here. He compares himself to Prince Hamlet, but then to a fool. He believes he can never be someone as great as Hamlet, but instead only look like a fool or a jester. He looks at himself as a simple, ordinary man, who is nothing above that, but maybe below.

1. Who are the women and what room are they in?
2. Where is Prufrock in the poem?
3. How is this a love song?

The poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is about a man that does not have confidence in himself. He has doubts about approaching women because of appearance  as it can be seen in “They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin?'” (41) in which he assumes how they will immediately talk about his thinning hair. He is a character with low self esteem and many doubts.

In the poem the line that capture his doubts more are ” To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;  There will be time to murder and create/ A time yet for a hundred indecision, And for a hundred visions and revisions” (27-28, 32-33) in which demonstrate how he envisions having to portray this made up face that he could “murder” and  recreate, imagining many scenarios in his mind and revising them time after time. These quotes capture the doubt that Prufrock has about himself and how his low self esteem are what drive his indecisiveness . Another line that very much shows how low Prufrock  self esteem is when he states ” I have heard the mermaids singing each to each, I do not think they will sing to me” this is important because according to greek mythology mermaid sang to handsome men, this capture how he believes that he is not attractive enough to be sung to by the mermaids.

This is a difficult poem to read  and the drastic changes make it harder to understand that why I have these questions.

1. Why does Prufrock choose to focus on the yellow cat?
2. Why does he focus so much on his physical appearance?
3. Why the reference to Michael Angelo?

1. T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” tells the story of a man who is in love but cannot reveal it. Prufrock has thought about all the factors that have influenced and will influence his decision in confessing his love; however, he does not know how to continue on. He is a well educated man as he makes references the works of other famous poets, the Bible, and other literary works to help describe his thoughts. This poem shows his thoughts and emotions, which range from frustration to regret to longing, showing that he is a regular human that struggles with mundane troubles, in this case love. His awareness of the surrounding world and his feelings create the dilemma that he faces.
2. In the room women come and go
   Talking of Michelangelo
   (13-14, 35-36)

   This stanza is repeated twice within the poem. Its repetition serves to show that Michelangelo is the only topic that the women would converse of at their gatherings. Their education on the arts is limited to only one artist, becoming the norm for the women to speak of this topic. In the second repetition of this, Prufrock considers if he should or should not “Disturb the universe” (46), becoming paranoid that the women will focus their topic onto him if he were to speak.

3. Explain the significance the 3 dots serve? How does this alter the tone/mood of the poem?
   Who do the mermaids represent in the last four stanzas of the poem?
   Do you think Prufrock will ever muster up the courage to confess his love?

Prufrock, the speaker in the poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” by T.S Eliot, is extremely self conscious and emotionally distant from those around him. As made obvious by the poem, Prufrock must have been scrutinized for his appearance. He speaks of the bald spot he has on his head and describes his arms and legs to be small and thin. The scrutiny he receives due to his appearance is what I think caused him to have this strong need to escape from humanity. Throughout the poem, he feels distant from other people, and by the ending, even feels as though he belongs more with mermaids. He suggests this by using the pronoun, “We,” when talking about the mermaids. Prufrocks sensitivity and desire for distance is what led me to believe he is self conscious and emotionally distant from other humans.

“For I have known them all already, known them all-

The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,

And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,

When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,

Then how should I begin

To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?

And how should I presume? (Lines 55-61)

When first reading this quote, it was difficult for me to comprehend. However, after thinking about the main idea of the poem and the character, Prufrock, I realized what he was talking about and the quote became easy to understand.

In this quote, Prufrock is describing the scrutiny that he faces for his physical appearance. Throughout the story, the discouragement he derives from his appearances makes it difficult for him to have relationships with people, specifically women. When he says, “The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,” the eyes he is referring to are those of the women or people that view him. When he says,” He feels as though they are dissecting him and judging all the details of him.” Furthermore, when he says, ”And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, Then how should I begin To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?” He feels as though he is forced to say the truth about himself because he is exposed and cannot do anything about it.

Questions

– How does Prufrock fulfill or rebut stereotypes of the modern intellectual?

– How does Eliot use the relationships between men and women to comment on society and culture?

– Identify the linguistic devices Eliot uses in his poems and give evidence showing how he used those devices.

1. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, T.S. Eliot succeeds in describing the characters of a man who lets his inhibition and doubtfulness determine his own destiny. He cares greatly about in what way he is perceived by the “universe”, which demonstrates his lack of confidence in his appearance – “(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”); “(They will say: But how his arms and legs are thin!)”. Besides being unconfident about his look, as the poem progresses, he also criticizes his knowledge and ability, telling himself “I’m no prophet” or “I am not Prince Hamlet. To this point, the man comes across as a pessimist who dares not to venture out into the battleground to find the love of his life.
2.
“No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince, no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politics, cautious, and meticulous:
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous-
Almost, at times, the Fool.”
The above stanza reveals the protagonist’s struggle in defining his social standing as an individual within the society. Denying that he is “Prince Hamlet”, the man accepts to be the “attendant lord”. The contradiction between the two characters in this analogy speaks to the man’s submission to his destiny. Clearly he claims that he’s merely “an easy tool” for the prince – “no doubt”. This strong yet negative assumption ridiculously turns him into a coward. The ridiculousness increases towards the end of the stanza as readers realize that he is totally aware of his cowardice. In fact, he admits to be “the Fool”. By placing adjacently words of contrasting meanings such as “at times” and “almost”, T.S Eliot unravels a mental and constant struggle that the protagonist is facing – the struggle between taking control of his life or being the victim of his own pessimism.
3. The three questions:
– Why does he bring up the character “Lazarus” mentioned in line 94?
– Who does he allude to in “you” and “me” and what’s their relationship?
– Who is “we” in the last stanza?

1.The main character in T.S Elliot’s poem titled “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a man who overall seems perplexed about his life and society as a whole. This man appears to have serious confidence issues attributed to himself growing older in age.

I grow old … I grow old …

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind?   Do I dare to eat a peach?

I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

We see an old man who in growing older struggles to decide what to do with his life. His certainty about walking on the beach in flannel trousers makes the reader think that he is at peace, but shortly after we see how his self consciousness and lack of confidence affects him. He talks about “mermaids singing” and how they won’t sing to him, this is clearly a figment of his imagination that relates to how he feels in real life situations and the problems that he faces internally.

2. Is it perfume from a dress

That makes me so digress?

Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.

And should I then presume?

And how should I begin?

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets

And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? …

I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

In this stanza I believe the man is talking about his issues with women and how the smell of perfume on a dress affects him. His lack of self-belief is compounded when he is unsure of what to say when approaching a woman. He concludes this stanza saying “I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas.” This quote is meant to tell us he should’ve been a crab, which makes sense since a crab is viewed as a creature that keeps to itself.

3. a.Why is “Prufrock” a “love song”?

b.What do you think Elliot means by “I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.”?

c.What  kinds of physical settings does Eliot use?