T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
- The poem opens, “Let us go then, you and I….” Whom do you think the speaker is addressing here?
- What is Prufrock’s relationship to time? How can you tell?
- Look at the description of the yellow smoke in the second and third stanzas of the poem. What do you make of this description?
- “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?
- Describe the overall mood of the poem. What feelings does it leave you with?
- In the final lines of the poem, the speaker shifts from “I” to “We.” How do we explain this shift?
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Describe the overall mood of the poem. What feelings does it leave you with?
The mood I get from this poem is a little depressing. In the poem, the narrator is uncomfortable being in his own skin due to his aging physical appearance. He worries too much about what others view him as. He is also very indecisive about committing certain actions and believes there is time to complete what he intends to but procrastinates until the end.
Yes, this sounds accurate!
What is Prufrock’s relationship to time? How can you tell?
It seems that Prufrock is trying to convince himself that time is eternal, however he does not believe it. That is why he keeps repeating “there will be time, there will be time”. It gives him an excuse not to confront his fears today and put them off until later. The only problem with this is that he is already middle-aged and while he may still have time, he does not have that much of it left. Therefore, ho should not be putting off things to tomorrow.
“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?
The line signifies how Prufrock lived in a mundane and calculated way making sure to think through each step of the way. Throughout the play, we see Prufrock question aspects of his life, like what people think about him like when he discusses people noticing his balding. Furthermore, before he does any actions in life he questions the consequences of the action like when he was debating on eating the peach. Overall, we can infer from the play that Prufrock was a person who would overthink even the smallest of day-to-day actions, and this showed his underlying insecurity toward the world.
Right – I think “mundane” and “calculated” are both good descriptions here.
Describe the overall mood of the poem. What feelings does it leave you with?
The mood that I get from this poem is a little sad and depressing. Nothing positive is said throughout any point of this story, as the author is constantly looking down on himself and questioning every single thing. The author doesn’t show any signs of firmness or security in himself, which shows signs of a weak person. Only a weak person questions everything and not feel confident in himself. Since he isn’t as confident as other people around him, it makes him come across as insecure in himself, which brings the ultimate mood of the poem for a reader is sadness.
What is Prufrock’s relationship to time? How can you tell?
Prufrock seems to waste a large amount of his time overthinking, instead of taking any sort of action. He continuously asks the question “how should I presume?” at the end of certain stanzas, showing us that he has not yet started anything. He states, “And time yet for a hundred indecisions / And for a hundred visions and revisions, / Before the taking of a toast and tea.”(542). He is saying that there is always time in his routine for him to overthink. He also seems to be insecure about his age, as he brings up his bald spot on his head more than once.
Yes, the line you’ve quoted is a great illustration of his “overthinking”!
What is Prufrock’s relationship to time? How can you tell?
He seems to see time as “eternal” in which he feels like there is always time to do things and just take time for granted. He always postponing things as he said “there will be time” for things and uses those time like they mean nothing. It was why he never took any opportunity, achieve anything, or taking any risk in his life. It’s like he not aware with reality and that he has only limited amount of time left.
In the final lines of the poem, the speaker shifts from “I” to “We.” How do we explain this shift?
The speaker changes from “I” to “We” when stating, “We have lingered in the chambers of the sea.” This quote explains how we as a society constantly navigate through multiple types of barriers in life. The speaker ends the poem with a quote that connects to the change by stating, “Till human voices wake us, and we drown.” This is a connection to how we create our sea, yet humans or individuals can disrupt it and you can eventually drown. This makes sense because the speaker is depressed throughout the poem.
Describe the overall mood of the poem. What feelings does it leave you with?
The overall mood of the poem is quite depressing and miserable. The speaker is insecure with himself both physically and mentally. He is of old age which brings down his physical appearance. This leads him to have a low sense of confidence within himself as he repeatedly asks questions like “Do I Dare, Do I Dare”. I see this as a sense of self-doubt in everything he does making himself question himself and his resolve. The depressing and miserable mood is a reflection of the speakers own insecurity
-What is Prufrock’s relationship to time? How can you tell?
Prufrock has a mixed relationship with time. He is aware that time is not infinite as he expresses this when he speaks about growing old and becoming bald. But he also seeks to have timelessness as he postpones speaking to the women in the story as he believes he doesn’t have to talk to them now as he can do it later. He also believes that he has wasted his life away and has no time left to do anything. He has lost himself in his thoughts where he continues to give excuses and blame himself. Contemplating whether to do something or not Prufrock is still a middle aged man not a very old man so he still has time to turn his life around and change the way he views his life, but the only way he can bring change is by starting now instead of postponing for the future.
“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?
Prufrock gives insight to the reader in how he lives his life with this quote. He lives his life by routine and nothing exciting or memorable has happened. He is aware of the passage of time and how boring his life is. He has no notable memories to recall other than making coffee. Having coffee is the only memorable and enjoyable part of his day.
What is Prufrock’s relationship to time? How can you tell?
Prufrock offen reflect on his past actions and choices that he made. He wonders if he should have done things differently. This backtracking view of time adds a layer of complexity to his character as he trying to figure out with issues of the past and future.
“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?
I think this line conveys Prufrocks feeling of inadequacy and lack of accomplishments in his life. Comparing his life with tea spoons shows that he believed his life was so minuscule and useless that it had zero to no value. Especially in the broader aspect of things such as contribution to the world and what others were doing in the world. Prufrock was a man that constantly second guessed himself and had a fear of taking chances, but also hated himself for not taking them. With this much self doubt and feeling of worthlessness, it was difficult for him to reflect on himself and be proud of the man he was and became only fixated on his shortcomings.