Modern poets worked with precision and clarity. They compressed their lyrics and attempted to use language in new, shocking ways. Rising from the symbolists’ usage of striking imagery, modernists aimed to create complex visuals in their readers’ minds that would require active interpretation.

T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” fits right in with the modernist movement. An extremely carefully constructed poem, “Prufrock” is simultaneously complex and simple. Littered throughout the poem are allusions to other literary works. In his introductory stanza, Eliot quotes Dante’s “Inferno.” A couple of stanzas later, he references Michelangelo. Shortly after, Eliot references a love poem by Andrew Marvell, then he alludes to Hesiod. Further on, there are multiple Biblical and Shakespearean references. All of these allusions are very important, because Eliot is making assumptions that his readers are educated, critical thinkers. If one didn’t understand the importance of Eliot’s literary allusions, they would interpret his work on a lower level than others. This is representative of modernist poetry in that it addresses the alienation experienced by the members of modern Western civilization due to a dying sense of culture specific to Western society. Perhaps Eliot is working ironically, speaking in a lofty tone, commenting on what it feels like to lack a sense of societal belonging.

As a whole, I found this poem very interesting and almost excruciatingly thought-provoking. Every image Eliot provides us with is packed with various layers of interpretation. The first three lines of the poem, for example, leave the reader with a few questions. “Let us go then, you and I, / When the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table; (Eliot 541: 1-3). Who is this person that wants me to go with him? Is the speaker Eliot or is it Prufrock? Who is J. Alfred Prufrock? Is the speaker comparing twilight to an etherized patient because the night is just about to wake up? Or is he comparing twilight to an etherized patient because he wants us to feel nervous about nightfall in the way that we would feel nervous watching a person who is undergoing surgery? The reader must then pause, think, recollect, and continue reading. Thus the poem takes a very long time to digest. In fact, it is hard to say if the poem ever can be fully digested by means of reaching a sense of completion.

Overall, I think “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is about a man who is at odds with himself as well as with the society he is a part of. He wants to make all of the right decisions, to plan his life, to organize it, and to feel like he’s in control. “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” (Eliot 542: 56-59). These lines express discomfort and regret after having engaged in a well-thought out sentence.

I believe it is important to notice the speaker’s half-veiled remarks to having been sexually manipulated by women in his life. “And I have known the arms already, known them all — / Arms that are braceleted and white and bare” (Eliot 543: 62-63). Here we learn that the speaker has dated all kinds of women. Three stanzas later… “Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in / upon a platter,” (Eliot 543: 82-83). The speaker is referencing the Biblical betrayal of Salome unto John the Baptist. Salome infamously used her sexuality and feminine mystique in order to have John the Baptist murdered.

In a confusing juxtaposition, referring to the mermaid-like sirens in “The Odyssey,” at line 125, Eliot says, “I do not think that they will sing to me.” After learning earlier in the poem that the speaker had been betrayed by a woman or women, it is very surprising that he doesn’t believe the sirens would attempt to lure him to his death by their beautiful voices.

While I still have many questions regarding this poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” seems to be primarily about the constant confusion a man in Western society faces when reaching the point of settling down into a career and possibly pursuing marriage.