“I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.” (Line 124, 125)
Prufrock portrays himself as a middle-aged man by telling us that he has bald spots in his hair. Although he is not young, he still knows how to carry himself elegantly. It appears that he is attracted to a beautiful woman, but his insecurities that have gotten the better of him are holding him back from expressing his feelings to her. I feel like the ‘Mermaids’ are being used to depict a fantasy or imaginary world he has in which he can appreciate them from afar, but he fears that even if he gathers to get close to them, they will see him how he sees himself. The ‘Mermaids’ are like that woman, he fears that if he tells her how he feels about her, she will reject him, so he admires her from a distance.
https://youtu.be/gnLjdtreu1k (4:18-4:40)
You do a clear job of recording the interpretation of these lines found in the video you watched. Now that you have watched the video, can you return to the video and figure out for yourself what you think is going on with these mermaids. We discussed these lines during our call on Wednesday.