This poem was a bit more challenging to decipher so I did a little research on the Italian intro. The first 6 lines written in Italian is translated as, “If I thought that my reply would be to someone who would ever return to earth, this flame would remain without further movement; but as no one has ever returned alive from this gulf, if what I hear is true, I can answer you with no fear of infamy.” It came from Dante’s Inferno which is about a person who goes to hell, but escapes hell and comes back to earth. The quote is said by one of the characters named Guido da Montefeltro, and when Dante asks to hear his story, he reply’s with the quote.
The first half and a little onward talks about a lot of things that can give you the setting of the poem and the character of Prufrock but it is written to deceive you. The poem begins with, “Let us go then, you and I,” hinting that this may be a romantic relationship especially since the title includes, “Love song.” Instead he says, lets walk down through half deserted streets with one night cheap hotels and sawdust restaurants which aren’t romantic. The last two lines of the first stanza is extremely important to this poem, “To lead you to an overwhelming question.” The point of this poem is to answer the question but Prufrock spends the majority of the poem avoiding the question.
Through the poem, as he avoids the question Prufrock character emerges. Prufrock is shy and lives life very ordinary. He does not go out and mingle and talk to others but hides behind walls and listens to their conversations. Throughout the whole poem he contemplates wither he should do something or not but as always, he does not. On the third page, each stanza ends with a question, “So how should I presume?”, “And how should I begin.” He keeps us reading by explaining what he has done. He speaks of eating, having coffee and walking but is that all he has done? If we look at some of words he uses we can assume that he may be in London, since the streets are foggy and he is drinking tea.
On the fourth page I believe he brings up the question. He brings up the question in beginning of the stanza, “And would it have been worth it, after all.” and ends the stanza by completing the sentence, “Would it have been worth it, after all, if one, settling a pillow by her head, should say: ‘That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all.” Prufrock obviously thinks that it would not have been worth it. He does not agree with taking risk. Prufrock is imagining his worst-case scenario here, he has asked her his big question which we don’t know and she replies that she has been misunderstood. It is like when people are afraid to ask someone out because they don’t want to be rejected. By the end, we realize that the whole poem was about a question he could not ask this girl because he was afraid. We know that there is a girl because there are references to her body in the poem, when he talks about the arms that are braceleted and white and bare, and the perfume dress.
This poem was very confusing because he goes back and forth with past and present tense. He also says he knows a lot about something such as,”And I have known them already, known them all:” yet he does not know how to presume. Oddly enough I think that was the point of the poem. To seem as if he has no direction. He just does average things and does not associate with any one. Guido from Dante’s inferno is referenced in the quote as a flame. He is called a flame because he does not own a body in hell for all the sins he has committed. I think that Prufrock is suppose to exemplify Guido because they both are in a world in which they cannot do anything. They must just stay and go on doing the everyday norm. As a flame in hell, all you can do is move slightly, there’s no way out. In the same way, Prufrock is stuck always contemplating his actions but never takes action.
Racheal Ali
This poem was very challenging, but I think you did a very good job with your assessment. I too looked up the meaning of the first 6 lines @ wikipedia.org and here is the translation:
“If I but thought that my response were made to one perhaps returning to the world, this tongue of flame would cease to flicker. But since, up from these depths, no one has yet returned alive, if what I hear is true, I answer without fear of being shamed.”
It is the same as yours, but different wording and, of course, from the Inferno.
I totally agree with your 1st paragraph. I too upon 1st read assumed that this was going to be a love poem, then we are hit with anticipation….. “What is it?”
As I read on through the 3rd page, I feel as if Prufrock is more confused then anything else and I assume this because of that same questions he says that you bought up in your analysis.
I agree with your analysis of the 4th page. It seems to me that, while being confused, he also fears rejection which reflects society as a whole. Nobody wants to be rejected and tossed to the side like a out cast. This is why we always question ourselves and our actions.
Overall, your assessment was great. I think ultimately this poem is about a man who is going through a psychological crisis within a giving time and doesn’t know how to handle it.
Van Phillips ^^^^^^^^^^
I would like to say that you did a great job as you describe the poem .However this is a poem about an approach to the woman but as stanza progresses the meaning of the poem is becoming more vague. regarding the first six line I think is more about a person who remain in the hell and those words are spoken by a lost soul, damned to Hell for the attempt to buy absolution in advance of committing a crime.
In addition i agree with you the way you describe the Prufrock charachter as he is very shy and do not want to mingle with others and basically he is cofused regarding upon everything. He doesnot know how to presume which makes him clue less for every aspect of life.
At the last stage I am totally agree with you that he doesnot want to ask anyone because he has prior fear fear of rejection from them. overall it is a very confusing type of poem.
AVIJIT ROY…^^^^^
I totally agree with all of the above mentioned. Nonetheless, I feel like the author is fear of showing himself. I changed my way of thinking about this poem. At first, I thought the same thinking this is a poem about love. It actually includes lots of writers’ thinking and personalities. Prufrock is pessimistic, shy and full of loneliness throughout his minds. Therefore, he uses lots of repetitions, metaphor that compares and shows him in anxiety and confusion.
“There will be time” has repeated in the 4th stanza which shows us that Prufrock is a person who will consider every single detail before he actually takes the action, like approaching woman. In addition to thinking before actions, he also thinks he is in a lower class. In the 5th stanza, he says” the women come and go while talking about Michelangelo. It shows that he is fear of comparing himself with people which tells us again his personalities. He also uses metaphor in phasing “I have measured my life as coffee spoons” which puts the author’s life and coffee together.
Although it shows lots of confusion throughout the poem, it depicts his personalities in no doubt. He keeps setting up lots of “if” in all kinds of situation. However, he never takes the lead in making any effort to take actions. As such, there is no actual ending but it leaves lots of questions to the reader to find out their own way.
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