The Romantically Impaired Prufrock
T.S. Eliot's "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" depicts the complexity of the modern age. Eliot, himself justified the complexity by arguing that the poet, who is to serve as the interpreter and critic of a complex age, must write complex poetry. And certainly we would all agree that the 20th century was a complex age(Martin 423). J. Alfred Prufrock is no Hamlet. He is a hopeless romantic at best, T.S. Eliot's poster child for 20th century aristocratic society. Prufrock lives in a world where art and music have become the idle conversation of dilettante women who are spiritually, sexually, and intellectually dead, but for whom the meaning and life of art have long since been drained in the endless cycle of their teacups(Fryxell 112). The women, "taking of Michelangelo" seem to feel no real passions and they have no real thoughts; they are machines without the gas or oil that keeps a machine going. Prufrock himself is something of an exception, but not much of one(Fryxell 110). Eliot's dramatic monologue is built around three major themes. The first of these is the time theme. Drenched with anxiety, Prufrock says: "And indeed there will be time." Prufrock uses time as an excu
Eliot, Thomas Stearns. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," The Complete Poems and Plays. New York: Harcourt, 1952. The second theme of Prufrock is the "Do I dare" theme, in which Prufrock questions his ability to disturb his universe. The "Do I dare" theme reveals Prufrock's dread of being no good, second-rate, a loser, victim of unemployable gifts(Donoghue 2). Deliberately, Eliot has Prufrock begin this theme with a philosophical question; Prufrock asks: "Do I dare disturb the universe?" But before the end of the poem, the question degenerates into: "Do I dare eat a peach?" This degeneration not only demonstrates Prufrock's cowardice, but reveals the same shallowness as the dilettante women "talking of Michelangelo." Ultimately, Prufrock's paradigm shifts from his "universe" to his "digestion." Donoghue, Dennis. Beginning. The Southern Review. Summer 1998. v34. p32-40. Alexander, James D.. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.' The Explicator. Fall 1994. Vol. 53. p53. Martin, Mildred. A Half-Century of Eliot Criticism. 1972. The third theme is one of world weariness, which is begun in the line: "For I have known them all already, known them all." This theme underscores his depression from the life he leads. This is
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Approximate Word count = 855
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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