It has been debated through the years whether true love exists on Earth or if it is merely a false creation of the human mind. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” poet T.S. Eliot explores the concept of love through the perspective of a self-deprecating man seeking companionship wherever he can find it. Eliot examines Prufrock’s self-loathing psyche, questioning fate and the existence of true love through a stream of consciousness, metaphorical comparisons, and the use of an anticlimax as an ending. The entirety of Eliot’s poem is written from the perspective of Prufrock and outlines all of his thoughts through a constant stream of consciousness. This allows the reader to view his thoughts as they come from his mind rather than only hearing what he decides to say through dialogue. The things …show more content…
The entirety of the poem acts as build up to when Prufrock can finally overcome his romantic awkwardness and his self-doubt, but Eliot ends it with Prufrock once again withdrawing from what he desires so greatly. “I do not think that they will sing to me… / We have lingered in the chambers of the sea / By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown / Till human voices wake us, and we drown” (Lines 125, 129-131). Prufrock compares the women in his life to mermaids or “sea-girls” that will not ever sing back to him, meaning they will never reciprocate his love. Once again Prufrock allows his self-doubt to overcome his being and deter him from grasping what he truly wants. The final line depicts Prufrock drowning, perhaps in his sorrow of the realization that he will forever be held back from love by his crippling anxiety. This ending rejects the idea of true love and romance in general, replacing it with the disparity of eternal loneliness and emotional isolation, stating the idea that a love between two people can never truly
This allows the scenario to come to life for the reader and it helps make sense. As Bykofsy gives more detail descriptions, a clearer mind emerges in the reader’s mind as they read the
The two poems contrast with each other in their character and in meaning. While Prufrock remains strongly self conscious and questions his own existence, the man in Marvell’s poem is portrayed as a confident bachelor ready to make the most of the time he has. This contrast makes allusions
We know that Prufrock is very passive and does do anything risky or extraordinary. He lives a very average life with little excitement. I also think that Prufrock would not want a girl that is too positive or peppy because he seems like the kind of guy that that enjoys a peaceful and sedentary lifestyle. Being as boring of a man as Prufrock is, his liking the beach is the one thing that is actually unique about him.
The love is categorized as a deeming and damning affection therefore mastering the hardship of what love is or is perceived to be. Looking at the first stanza, one is able to notice that it starts off very romantically. In line 1 the poet, Cynthia Zarin, refers to her man as ‘My heart’ and ‘my dove’. ‘My heart’ indicates how much the poet’s lover means to her as a heart is sustenance for life. The poet also makes it clear that the love is pure in line 1 by referring to her lover as
They help the reader understand the thoughts and feelings of the
Peyton Williamson Professor Tanya Boler English 223301 March 23, 2015 Analysis of the Modern Connections Present in “The Love Story of J. Alfred Prufrock” T.S. Elliot was one of the most well-read literary composers and seemed to be his own endless book of literary references. His mind could simply make literary connections in a work without his actual conscious consent. There were times when his own literary works were made up almost entirely of allusions to other works of literature.
How to Live According to Irving Singer Throughout Irving Singer acclaimed trilogy, The Nature of Love, the viewer can observe how he unveils rich insight into fundamental aspects of human relationships through literature, the complexities of our being, and the history of ideas. In his sequel, The Pursuit of Love, Singer approaches love from a distinct standpoint; he reveals his collection of extended essays where he presents psychological and philosophical theories of his own. The audience can examine how he displays love as he systematically maps the facets of religion, sexual desire, love from a parent, family member, child or friend. Irving explores the distinction between wanting to be loved and wanting to love another, which ultimately originates from the moment an individual is born.
True love endures the greatest tragedies. A classic message presented by many poems, two of which are “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. Both start like fairy tales: an adorable, loving couple who seem inseparable. Then, by some insane cause, whether by the angels themselves or royal soldiers, the woman dies. The man is left to continue their love in one way or another.
When a love story is told in a first-person perspective, it makes sense for the readers to expect an overly dramatic and emotional narrative. James Joyce’s “Araby” and T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” are both love experiences written in first-person perspectives. However, in “Araby”, the boy occasionally assumes a somewhat detached attitude in his narration and in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, Prufrock sings his love song in a dry, passive manner. When the boy in “Araby” explains about the name of the girl he fell in love with, he says “her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood” (2169). Although this statement might sound passionate, identifying his love-evoked reaction as foolishness and not providing the readers with the girl’s name expresses the boy’s current state of
“Love’s Deceit,” by Big Rube, is a famous poem that is commonly connected with the American film “ATL.” In this poem, Big Rube discusses the deceitful ways of love. Rube also expresses his personal opinion of what love is and its irresistible lures. Big Rube uses several examples of figurative language to describe his feelings and thoughts love has brought upon him. He uses examples of similes, metaphors, and personification to explain the addiction of love in his life.
In T.S. Eliot’s work “The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock”, he uses diction to give an underlying meaning and tone to his poem in order to express the downfall of a man. The author uses his diction to give this poem Its tone as if he regrets what he did in life. He also shows great tone changes in this work, giving this poem a dramatic, almost tragic outlook. Many of his word choices also give his work an underlying meaning and adds to his theme and messages. A large part of his poem is also using metaphors to add to this underlying meaning and give more force to this tone he is trying to create.
Throughout the text, the speaker uses a diverse array of literary techniques to demonstrate the multidimensional nature of their love towards a lover. First, passionate love is conveyed in the spatial metaphor of loving with “the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.” Here, love is a substance that fills up and infatuates the speaker, creating a powerful drive that forces her to express it. This spatial love is overwhelming and grand, which establishes the passionate and fervent tone of the poem.
The poem 's content points not to just a single memory, but an entire sexual affair from the speaker’s youth—chronicling the erotic encounters that would eventually lead to his lover’s “footfall light” and both of them “silent as a stone”. Thus the memory is also clouded by the nature of erotic
This self-denial gives him further resolve at the end of the poem to still refuse to propose. Eliot’s allusion to Shakespeare’s Hamlet is clever in this way because in the play Hamlet is also indecisive; so much so that he needs a reminder from his father’s ghost to kill his uncle, Claudius, who killed his father, took the throne, and married his mother (Shmoop). In this same portion of the poem as the Hamlet allusion, Prufrock admits that he thinks he’s too old to marry, that he is so old fashioned he still “wear[s] the bottoms of [his] trousers rolled” (Greenblatt 1304, line 121). This shows the reader that Prufrock still is adamant that he is not going to propose to the
Prufrock invites readers to visit his involuntarily boring life and take a look at how the people around him live. In this