Analysis of The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock.
. Alfred Prufrock constantly lived in fear, in fear of life and death. T. S. Eliot divided his classic poem into three equally important sections. Each division provided the reader with insight into the mental structure of J. Alfred Prufrock. In actuality, Prufrock maintained a good heart and a worthy instinct, but he never seemed to truly exist. A false shadow hung over his existence. Prufrock never allowed himself to actually live. He had no ambitions that would drive him to succeed. The poem is a silent cry for help from Prufrock. In each section, T. S. Eliot provided his audience with vague attempts to understand J. Alfred Prufrock. Each individual reader can only interpret these attempts by Eliot, allowing numerous views of the life of Prufrock. The first section of the poem dealt with the ever-prevalent issue of death. In the beginning Eliot said, "Let us go then, you and I."(l, 1 Eliot) The poem started off with this illusion to the Inferno as a way to symbolize Prufrock's journey, and his fear of death. Prufrock could be looked upon as Virgil. In the poem he guided the reader through his tangled world of existentialism. When Eliot said, "Like a patient etherised upon a table; Let us go, through certain
"Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? To roll it towards some overwhelming question, I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."(ll. 122-124 Eliot) The final section of the poem J. Alfred Prufrock begins to actually live. He now understood that taking some chances are worth the possible risks. He now wanted to grow old and enjoy his final years. The following lines revealed his new outlook on life, That is not it, at all.'"(ll. 92-98 Eliot) Should say: 'That is not what I meant at all. To say: 'I am Lazarus, come from the dead, In the second section Prufrock realized the error of his ways. He came to the understanding that being afraid to live was no way to live his life. Eliot summed up the entire reasoning of Prufrock in the following line, "And in short, I was afraid."(l 86 Eliot) Prufrock spent his entire life in a wasteland, because he did not have the courage to live. At this point he knew that there was no opportunity to regain the years that he lost. In lines 92-98 Eliot said,
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Approximate Word count = 1123
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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