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?

In T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the speaker, Prufrock, is very pessimistic and lacks confidence based on the beginning and the end of the poem. His negativity is evident when he describes the weather by saying, “When the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table” (2-3). This line was very unexpected and shocking because most speakers tend to be more romantic when they describe the weather whereas Prufrock compares the weather to someone or something being injected with anesthesia. Prufrock’s lack of confidence is more evident towards the end of the poem when he says, “I am no prophet—and here’s o great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker” (83-84), and “No! I am no Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will to swell a progress, start a scene or two” (111-112).  Both of these lines show that he feels that he is not good enough to be compared to Hamlet, and is content with being an attendant.

“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!’)

In these lines, Prufrock describes his appearance and is worried about other people judging him. Despite his bald spot and thin arms and legs, his outfit is “rich and modest”. However, his elegant clothes do not make him feel more confident about himself.

Questions:

1. Why did he bring up the lines “In the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo” twice? What is the significance?
2. Why is the fog yellow?
3. What does the mermaids singing represent?

1) In T.S. Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the speaker of the poem, Alfred Prufrock, is a balding, lean-armed, and insecure middle-aged man. As the poem progresses, the reader can almost categorize Prufrock as a coward. He lists some of the things that he knows well, such as living through mornings with coffee, women. However, his lack of self-esteem and confidence discourages him from approaching women and others in the society throughout his life. As a result, Prufrock has lived a life without ever trying to go outside of his comfort zone, and is isolated from the rest of the society.

2) “I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me” (line 124-125).

Lack of self-esteem and confidence is a big part of this poem, and I believe this quote here depicts clearly of how Prufrock is discouraged with his own thoughts. This quote depicts mermaids, mythical creatures that are known to seduction of men with their good appearances and amazing voices. But in Prufrock’s mind, he thinks that even the mermaids would not like to seduce him because he is not good enough and will even be rejected by the mermaids. As readers, we can get a glimpse of how Prufrock’s lack of confidence plays a role here, if mermaids, mythical creatures that are known for seducing men are not even interested in him, then why would humans even be consider him?

Three questions:

1) Why does T. S. Eliot say that life is measured in teaspoons?

2) Where is Prufrock?

3) In line 26-27, what does Prufrock mean when he says that there will be time “to prepare a face meet the faces that you meet?”

1. “There will be time to murder and create, And time for all the works and days of hands” “Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. ” — The Main character, Prufrock,  belongs to a group of young people who are very common in contemporary society (at that time). They are sensitive; they have their own ideals and aspirations; they are dissatisfied with the increasingly indifferent industrial cities, but they do not have power to change. Thus, He live in anger and pain at the same time, therefore, he can only choose to endure the reality of cowardice.
2. “There will be time to murder and create,
   And time for all the works and days of hands”（line 28-29）  My interpretation to these lines is: The poet put “Murder” and “Create” side by side, in order to bring readers a strong impact. The poet wants use such a strong contrast to connect the early twentieth century capitalist society is full of confusion and contradictions. On the one hand, people create modern industrial civilization, on the other hand, they  stifle the rich tradition of value. From these two words the reader can clearly feel the situation of capitalist society at that time.
3.  Question 1.  Whats the connection between the opening part and the rest of the poem?  Question 2. For what purpose does the poet compose this poem?  Question 3.  Why do the women talking of Michelangelo?

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is solemn in its use of diction. Prufrock talks about the night sky, deserted streets, fog and smoke, which highlight the negative connotation of the poem. With this analysis, Prufrock as a character is overwhelmed by the environment around him. The poem is a monologue, potentially inside Prufrock’s mind as he voices out inner conflicts and leads the readers along with him. At the beginning, he compares the evening sky to a “patient etherized upon a table”. My understanding of Prufrock is that he is entirely listless and unable to advance, thus requiring something to numb his mind and carry on his mundane lifestyle. He frequents the red-light district, goes to cheap hotels, goes through ominous half-deserted streets, drinks liquor, and eats oyster shells, which are actually aphrodisiacs. The women that Prufrock sees talks of Michelangelo – my understanding is that the women are ostentatious, which is a characteristic that drives Prufrock to behave in order to fit in. No matter how much he tries to impress by putting on expensive clothing, he is criticized by others’ opinion (or so he believes). In a sense, Prufrock is also superficial and materialistic (he cares a lot for his clothing and how others view him). His imperfections make him lonely, discontented, and vulnerable, and his high expectations stray him away from being satisfied in physical relationships. Prufrock serves as the epitome of frustration pent up inside the human mind, even inside a modern, complex environment with endless entertainment. Prufrock is a relatable, yet very unlikeable character because he does not opt for change, even though he dreads his current self.

“There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,

And time for all the works and days of hands

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

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.” (lines 26-34)

My interpretation of this section is that Prufrock is concealing his true personality and faking his disposition for social gatherings. He repeats “there will be time” to distract himself from doing the things that he desires. He insists that he can revise what he hasn’t done, because there is plenty of time to do it in the future. Because of this, his existence is meaningless. This pointlessness is reinforced by the footnote which alludes to the work of the Greek poet Hesiod – it states that it is a contrast to the productive labor emphasized in Works and Days. Prufrock, on the other hand, is entirely stagnant. I believe Prufrock wants some sort of change, but is unwilling to take the risks.

Questions:

The phrases ‘you and I’ and ‘you and me’ are often repeated in the poem. To whom is Prufrock addressing to by ‘you’?

Towards the end of the poem, Prufrock talks of mermaids singing to each other. He includes “I do not think that they will sing to me” (line 125). Why? What does this mean?

Why is this titled a ‘Love Song’ when Prufrock clearly does not have a proper grasp on love?

1. The central character of T.S. Elliot’s poem entitled “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a man that appears confused and dejected not only about his relationships with women, but also with society as a whole. Whether it stems from his lack of self-confidence or low self-esteem, this man seems resigned to his fate of living a life of isolation due to his inability to connect with other people in the surrounding world. Proof of this is seen when he describes how others view his physical appearance in a negative manner, specifically his short arms and baldness. Further evidence of his personal insecurities are on display when he remarks that at times he feels as if others view him as obtuse or foolish and that, “I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me (544).” The belief that others will judge him based upon his outward appearance and that even the mermaids will not give him the time of day highlights the lack of self-confidence this individual possesses, a development that has resulted in continued struggles with women and society.

2. The lines of the poem that I understood and felt were integral to the themes of Elliot’s piece highlight his glaring lack of self-confidence. As Elliot wrote, “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, politic, cautious and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous- Almost, at times, the Fool.” (Lines 111-119)

I believe these lines are critical because they truly demonstrate how little he thinks of his position in society. Rather than view himself as someone of significance or importance, he feels as if he belongs in the shadows as someone that fails to make a real difference in this world. Taking this a step further, there are times where he will be regarded as not only weird or obtuse, but also as the foolish one in the room. With these sorts of ideas about himself, it is no wonder that this character continuously struggles to overcome his challenges and become a fledging member of society.

3. (Three Questions)

a) What do you feel is the biggest character flaw that is standing in the way of this character finding success and happiness in life

b) Do you place more of the blame on the man for developing these feelings, or is the onus on society for how it has treated him throughout his troubled life?

c) Is there still time for the figure to turn his life around? Or is it too late to inflict meaningful change due to the lifelong anguish he has experienced?

1- The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is a poem about a man who feels very unconfident and uncertain about himself. He seems to have “the complex of inferiority”, which make him to be incapable to have relationships with women. This complex makes him to be worried and nervous with women, but he is also unsociable and detached from the society in general.  As a result he lives in solitude and pessimism. Throughout the poem we can see how he feels distant from the society, because of his low self-esteem for himself.

“I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (73-74).

He thinks that he is fool and ridiculous, but he does not want to believe this.

“Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous –

Almost, at times, the Fool” (117-119)

2- At the end of the poem, Prufrock looks like he identifies his self more with mermaids than with real people. We can see this in the use of the pronoun “we” when speak of the mermaids.

“We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown” (129-130).

These lines makes us think that Prufrock wishes to escape humanity and the isolation of modern life and live surrounded by the mythical or supernatural.

In the final line of the poem, his fantasy world is devastated by humanity and comes crashing down:

“Till human voices wake us, and we drown” (line 131).

He has impossible, exasperated, desire for women who reject him. He cannot have any of those girls and any sign of the social world “human voices” drowns him down, like Dante, in his “inferno”.

3- Every reader reads and interprets poetry differently. The ideas and interpretations of other people help us to understand better the poetry. For this reason, I am including the following questions:

a- Why does Prufrock have so much difficulty making decisions?

b- What is the narrator thinks: “It is impossible to say just what I mean!”

c- Do you think Prufrock suffers from a psychological disorders, like paranoia or depression?