Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by Term Paper

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliott

The opening epigraph from Dante's Inferno in T.S. Eliott's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Pruforck" suggests that Prufrock, like Count Guido da Montefeltro, is giving a visitor a tour of his own personal hell. Also, at the beginning and end of the first stanza, Prufrock invites the reader to go with him to find the answer that he is trying to find. However, it's not yet quite certain what the question really is in the very beginning. Only later does it become clear that Prufrock is seeking to understand the meaning of life and love.

In the first stanza, the references to "half-deserted," "muttering," "restless," "cheap," "tedious," "insidious" suggest Prufrock's isolation and inner turmoil. "Like a patient etherized upon a table" (3) serves two purposes. First, it conveys a patient, someone who is need of help. Secondly, it represents paralysis, the inability to take action.

Lines 12-14 relate a planned visit by Prufrock to ladies "Talking of Michelangelo." One can infer by the subject of their conversation that the ladies are of a high social status and well educated. This is the first indication of Prufrock's vast insecurity regarding his ability to interact with the women.This simple rhyming couplet is repeated later in the poem to reemphasize Prufrock's insecurity.

The second verse begins with a metaphor comparing the evening fog and a cat is followed by imagery to describe the actions of a cat such as "rubs its back upon the window-panes," "rubs its muzzle," "licked its tongue," "made a sudden leap," and "curled once about the house, and fell asleep." Note that the cat never actually enters the house, symbolic of Prufrock's fear to participate in life. Also, the feline is an animal frequently associated with

The next verse reveals Prufrock constantly reassuring himself that he has plenty of time to achieve what he wants, but also shows that time being wasted with fear and indecision. For example, "To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet" (27) is a metaphor for a mask that is needed because Prufrock is terrified of other people. "Murder" and "create" are opposites that indirectly testify to Prufrock's indecision. More direct statements such as "And time yet for a hundred indecisions" (33) and "And for a hundred visions and revisions" (34) indicate the Prufrock isn't sure about anything. His preoccupation with the passing of time also characterizes his fear of growing….....