19 thoughts on “T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock””

1. What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

   J. Alfred Prufrock’s relationship to time is a depressing one because he is aware of the fact that he is getting older but believes that he still has enough time in the world to explore his connection with women. One of the signs of his age is his baldness. However, he is in denial of how much time he has in life. He is procrastinating connecting with a woman because in his words, he believes that there will always be another time to do it. J. Alfred Prufrock is also aware of Death coming for him soon and this frightens him because he is not secure enough to know exactly how his life will end and he is procrastinating his time to do anything with his life due to his denial with his relationship with time.

2. Prufrock claims to have measured his life with coffee spoons because he is basing his age on the amount of coffee he has consumed in his life. I think he is trying to relate to his readers, because most humans are avid caffeine drinkers. I think he uses coffee spoons instead of just coffee because he is trying to paint a descriptive picture. When Prufrock mentioned the coffee spoon I can imagine him stirring his coffee, which is more realistic and specific. Adding the spoon was a personal touch that every coffee drinker can relate to.

3. What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

   Prufrock is comforting himself that he still has the time while the time is actually fleeting. I think Prufrock tries to self-comfort even though he realizes the reality. He knows he is getting old, but he still talks to himself that it’s not the time yet. As a man, he lacks of courages. He dares not to overcome his internal conflicts, yet finding a way to help himself to escape from the reality. He is separated from other people by living in a isolated world because he aware of his appearance would not be accepted by other women. He also recognizes he cannot control his time since time is fleeting and he is losing his chances. While he is hesitating, he starts to realize that he is not the one who dares to disturb the universe, but rather a coward who even dares not to eat a peach.

4. Describe the overall mood of the poem. What feelings does it leave you with?

   The mood of this poem is obviously very melancholy. It is also anxious and is very sketchy which means is constantly giving off the feeling that something just is not right. Prufrock was a very insecure man with a timid personality and a lot of self doubt. His personality set the mood for this poem and made me, as a reader, slightly uncomfortable and frustrated. His continuous negativity and self doubt became redundant and led to my frustration. I think that his self doubt is what also added the “sketchy” mood to the poem. The back and forth he has with himself was not appealing to me as a reader.

5. “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?

   I think this line means that Prufrock’s life is so boring. He is comparing his life to very common thing, coffee spoon, in our real life. Coffee spoon is very small and common thing in reality. Thus, the meaning which Prufrock’s life can be measured out with coffee spoon, his life is light like small and lightweight spoon. I think it means that his life is so boring, insignificancy, and nothing special.

6. What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

   Prufrock’s relationship to time is a sad and extensive one; he is fully aware of the passing of it and his aging, and yet, he has the mentality that he has all the time in the world to speak to people and put himself out there.

7. “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?
   Prufrock measure his existence to how much coffee he has drank. Even he realizes how little his life amounts to ,that it could be measured in tiny coffee spoons habitually used in everyday life. he is aware of how to be happy, but he does not pursue it for fear of change and rejection. I believe it is a feeling we can all identify with at some point in our lives.

8. What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

   Prufrock’s relationship with time is actually pretty funny in a way. Prufrock always says he has enough time to do things later on but yet he never does it. One example that was used in the story is Prufrock taking the time and talking to females. Prufrock always says that there’s always another time for him to talk to women but he never does because he’s very self conscious about himself. One thing that he talked about was how his hair was thinning and that he knew women wouldn’t want to talk to a man with thinning hair. Because of his self consciousness, he always makes the excuse that there’s always another time for him to talk to females.

9. –“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?

   I think this line is a line that we can all relate to. I think it means that life is very little and its measured in coffee spoons. I think he is referring to his life as a dark boring life that there is not much to it.

10. –“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?

    This line refers to Prufrock’s hesitation in life. He lived his entire life calculating every move which ultimately led to him never making any moves. By measuring every decision with coffee spoons, he shows how hard it was for him to make decisions. He doubted himself at every turn and hesitated so much that he was never able to do anything. He could never talk to women because of how much he doubted his looks and confidence.

11. “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?
    By saying this, Prufrock means that his life is simple and boring. He’s timid and couldn’t tell the woman that he loves her. His life could be measured by coffee spoon. He restrains himself from doing somthing he needs to do and this upsets him and make him feel the life is boring and nothing could be done.

12. What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

    Prufrock’s relationship to time is quite interesting. It’s a bit depressing because of how he is aging and balding as well. I believe he is also in denial when it comes to time and doing things. For example, when it comes to females, he always seems to procrastinate and thinks “maybe next time” because he thinks he has enough of it to make a move. Throughout the poem, Prufrock seems to be a procrastinator with not only women, but with everything else he wishes to do. He is aware that death is approaching that it’s only a matter of time and is scared to move forward or handle his situation.

13. “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?

    Coffee spoons are the common thing in life. Laments Prufrock compares his life to coffee spoons, which mean his life has nothing special. He life is tiny and it is not essential. Nothing is going to change without him.

14. “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?

    Coffee is something most individuals can relate to. It is usually something people drink in the morning. By comparing his life to mere coffee spoons, Prufrock is expressing how repetitive his days have been. The only thing he can compare it are coffee spoon which is a common thing. I imagine him waking up in the morning and making his coffee as being the only activity he goes through. His life must have been quite boring.

15. The poem mood is very weird it takes turns all over. It talks about him not getting the courage to talk to a girl. Then it starts with crabs and light that symbolizes strange things. That something can get the reference by just reading and not digging deep. I also feel that it is supposed to be like that because it is part of modernism that things are not what they are. Objects have more meaning to them in modernism.

16. What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

    Prufrock is a person that likes to procrastinate. He likes to think that he will have enough time to do everything he wants like talk to a women in life. But he never gets around to doing anything that will make him happy the poem has a sad mood and Prufrock isn’t happy with what he has accomplished in life and seems depressive by how he describes him self “bald head”

17. –What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

    As a procrastinator, Prufrock can’t accomplish anything. Although he is aware that time is limit, not infinite, he always thinks he has time later to do what he wants to do. As time is passing, his body is aging. Prufrock always worries about his appearance and ages, he has self consciousness and he knows women don’t want to talk to balding men. However, he is not a man of action. He has insecurity and he scares to talk to women, in fact his personality is unchangeable no matter how time flies.

18. 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 took this immediately as some sort of sulfurous fumes. Sulfur has a strong and unpleasant odor that smells a lot like eggs. It is associated with hell and the devil, as it is foul smelling and sometimes leaks from the Earth is certain areas with high geological activity like Yellowstone. This is Prufrock acknowledging the coming of death, but then says it is behind a windowpane, separated by this solid while still in full view and then he says “And indeed there will be time” (22). He is simultaneously acknowledging the inevitability of death but is deluding himself into thinking it is a long far-off thing.

19. –What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?

    Prufrock believes that time is eternal. He thinks that he will always have time to do the things he afraid of doing. In my opinion, Prufrock lives in the future. He is always postponing things, taking for granted the time that he has today. This is significant because it seems as if he does not want to accept the fact that we are all going to die someday. Time is not eternal and it is ideal that we make the best of it while we have it; meaning, live today as it is.

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