Born in America, T.S. Eliot's relocation to Britain was the first sign of his identity crisis. Eliot was obsessed with anything British, and he also had an internal religious conflict. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is Eliot's way to express his self through a different character. Eliot uses stream of consciousness to put the reader in Prufrock's position. The fragmented thoughts are used to follow Prufrock in his own thought process so they can feel like they are inside his mind. Prufrock is in love with a woman but she is unfortunately of a different class. He uses the poem to analyze his thoughts to see how much he cares for her. In the end, Prufrock decides that it would be best not to tell her how he feels and just lets her go. Eliot uses J. Alfred Prufrock to express his own isolation, loneliness, and sexual repression.

Eliot sometimes felt the need to be a part of the upper class. Prufrock realizes that he doesn't truly belong and that the whole affair is meaningless and superficial, but he still wants to be a part of it. He describes the women, "In the room women come and go talking of Michelangelo," (lines 13-14 and 35-36). He says this at least twice throughout

Prufrock has absolutely no confidence in himself or his abilities to win a love. He is worried that he is not good enough for her. The whole poem is about his doubts and his questions of whether he is enough of a man for another woman. Prufrock feels that he is not a great man, not truly worthy of such a woman as she, (lines 84 and 111-112). He is very fond of this woman, he makes that clear, but he just isn't sure how much. Is it really love or is it the longing for something he is not supposed to have? Prufrock mentions how self-conscious he is when he tells how it is "impossible to say just what I mean!" (line 104). And he wishes for a "magic lantern" to "throw nerves on a screen," so that she will understand what it is he is trying to say (line 105). He does not want her to misunderstand him and say, "That is not it at all, that is not what I meant at all" (line 108-110). He wants to make sure that whatever he does end up saying, it is what he wants to say and it is clear. He has no self-esteem and he is frustrated because he can't figure out how to express himself. Prufrock speaks of how they would have to sneak around to see each other by describing the "yellow fog" on "the windowpanes" (lines 15-16) and by describing the night as a sneaky cat. " Licked its tongue...slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap...curled once about the house, and fell asleep" (lines 17, 20, and 22). He is not confident enough of his love for her to not sneak around. He paints the scenario as a mystery to make it seem more desirable, when it is just really his own insecurities that are keeping him from her.

Prufrock also is afraid that his age is a barrier in the likelihood of this relationship working out. He mentions that he hopes there will be enough time. He says how he would like for their lives to be if they are together, but he knows he cannot predict the future. He knows that people would talk and she would not be very happy. He points out that he is getting older when he refers to his thinning hair. "Time to turn back and descend the stair with a bald spot in the middle of my hair," (line 39-40). He doesn't want her to be embarrassed when people talk about how he may be too old to start a relationship. "(They will say: 'How his hair is growing thin!')" (line 42). And the reader also must think, "Is there maybe something else wrong with Prufrock that he may be rushing into this relationship because he may not be around for long. Does Prufrock think he is close to his own death?

T.S. Eliot wrote, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" as

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1735
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)