describe, how song of j. Alfred prufrock could be a modernist poem? As with many other works of the Modern period in English literature, T. S. Eliot utilizes fragmentation, allusion, and symbolism to show J. Alfred Prufrock’s inability to act towards the outside world. Prufrock appears, in the poem, to be a middle-aged balding man who has a very pressing question to ask someone (presumably a woman); however, he finds it hard to vocalize his feelings to other people. Instead, he spends his time dwelling upon it. It appears as if Prufrock sees all women as unattainable; possibly due to the fact that he seems to pity himself so much.
The fact that Eliot repeats the couplet “In the room when women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo,” twice in the poem (lines 13-14 and 35-36) suggests that this scene has significance to Prufrock. It appears as if he wants to speak to the women, however, he cannot bring himself to do this. Taking into account the depressing nature of the imagery that takes place between the two sets of couplets, one could assume that Prufrock cannot speak to the women based on the fact that he sees himself as just as unattainable to the women as they are to him.
In other words, he does not think they would even speak to him, much less have a romantic interest in him. It could be assumed that Prufrock thinks this way of himself due to his physical appearance. Twice in the poem Eliot references Prufrock’s balding head and distasteful, appearance. Prufrock’s inability to act is a major theme that runs throughout the poem. In the first stanza Eliot writes, “Like a patient etherized upon a table;” (3). The use of this simile in the poem represents Prufrock’s figurative inability to act upon his emotions (Cuda, 1).
He is afraid of the outside world around him, and thus he is afraid to take action in it. In addition, he is afraid he will, “Disturb the universe” (46). He then continues talking to himself regarding his decisions, but decides that he will not act upon them. In addition to feeling paralyzed, Prufrock also seems to have a distorted sense of time. The order in which Eliot lists, “evenings, mornings, afternoons,” (50) shows how Prufrock seems to be very confused regarding the order and structure of his life. As does his use of the word “presume” in lines 54 and 61. Typically, the word “presume” means to anticipate something.
However, it also can mean to understand something without being able to clearly justify it (Presume). This ability to “presume” is a character trait that Prufrock clearly lacks in this poem. The overall landscape of “Prufrock” is that of symbolism. In fact, symbolism is so prevalent in this poem that it is sometimes hard to differentiate between the symbolic images and the literal ones. The meaning of the poem is taken from this labyrinth of intertwining images that react and interact with one another. Take, for example, his collection of outdoor imagery throughout the first half of the poem.
He speaks of fog, smoke, night, and streets. In the literal terms, this can be seen as Prufrock traveling somewhere; perhaps to tea, as stated in the poem as “Before the taking of toast and tea” (35). Also, when he says “yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes” (15); the smoke could represent the smoke emitted from the factories of St. Louis, as Eliot was born in St. Louis and often referred to it in his works (Shaw). However, on a more symbolic level, the outdoor imagery could represent things that Prufrock longs to have, but cannot attain.
The smoke, in particular, would be an excellent example of this symbolic meaning. Smoke cannot be contained or captured by a person alone. It travels through the air; we can move it and influence it, but cannot capture it for ourselves. Eliot often shows images and ideas from past authors such as Dante and Shakespeare in this poem. “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do,” (111-112) is a prime example of how Eliot mirrors Shakespeare’s greatest dramatic hero in his poem.
Hamlet spent most of the play attempting to decide whether to kill his uncle or not; however, whereas Hamlet follows through with his indecisiveness at the end, Prufrock does not. Possibly showing how Prufrock is not even as decisive as Hamlet. Prufrock wants to act, however, he spends most of his time debating his actions rather than taking them (McCormick, 45). The epigraph of the poem mirrors Dante in several ways. The quote itself comes from Dante’s Inferno, where Guido da Montefeltro is speaking to Dante about the sins he has committed in his life.
The only reason he is telling Dante this is because he feels Dante will not re-tell the story. In the context of Eliot’s poem, this could be used to show the similarities between Dante’s Hell and the modern world that Prufrock is forced to live in (The Love Song). It also could show how Prufrock does not think (or care) that the reader will re-tell his story. Towards the end of the poem Prufrock says “And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, / And in short, I was afraid” (85-86).
The fact that “Footman” is capitalized suggests that Eliot is referring to a physical person or being (similarly to how God is often referred to as “He”). This could refer back to the Dante epigraph, suggesting that Prufrock is awaiting death and/or his trip to Hell. Thus the “Footman” would represent Satin or the Devil. In the end of the poem, when Prufrock states “We have lingered in the chambers of the sea / By sea-girls wreathed which seaweed red and brown / Till human voices wake us, and we drown,” (129, 131) he could be referring back to the Dante epigraph in an attempt to bring the poem full circle.
By having “and we drown” as the last three words in the poem, Eliot is showing us an end to Prufrock’s dilemma. He has given up, much like Montefeltro in the Dante epigraph. Another way that Eliot shows the depressing nature of Prufrock’s world is through his use of fragmentation in the poem. Like many other Modernist’s, Eliot shows how one could derive meaning from the fragmented state of a poem. The fragmentation shows how the world is disordered and chaotic. The reader must draw meaning and emotion from this chaos in order to understand the meaning behind the poem (Fragmentation).
This fragmentation is also seen in the rhyme scheme which Eliot has chosen. The rhyme scheme itself seems fragmented. Eliot goes for long stretches of time where he rhymes his lines; lines four through twelve for example. He will then switch to a series of lines which appear to have no discernable rhyme scheme at all; or the lines will have a fragmented rhyme scheme. The rhyming in the poem is constantly changing and evolving as the reader progresses through the piece.
Another notable example of fragmentation in the poem is towards the end of the piece when Eliot goes from describing a realistic scene of tea and cakes to a fantastical scene of mermaids with white hair riding waves. This could suggest a disconnection between where Prufrock is in reality compared to where he wants to be. Eliot also makes the reader understand the meaning behind the poem through his use of dramatic dialogue. Throughout the poem Prufrock appears to be speaking to someone.
It is unclear as to if the person he is speaking to is himself, the reader, or an unnamed person in the poem. However, the use of dramatic dialogue allows the reader to become a silent observer to the actions and thoughts that are occurring within Prufrock’s mind. This shows the reader Prufrock’s inner most thoughts in a manner which would be unavailable in other perspectives of writing. Even though he is a Modernist poet, there is also a hint of Romanticism in Eliot’s poem as well. His use of natural images to portray Prufrock’s feelings is an excellent example of this.
At one point in the poem Prufrock suggests he’d be better off as a crab scuttling across the empty sea when he says “I should have been a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. ” This is a very Romanic way of showing Prufrock’s loneliness and inability to act. The imagery of fog and empty streets also suggest a very Romantic way of viewing the world. Although the Romantics didn’t see nature as depressingly as Prufrock and the Modernists do, they still utilized it in the same fashion in order to show their feelings towards the world around them.
Eliot’s use of allusion, symbolism, and fragmentation allow “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to be one of the most eloquently written poems of the Modernist period. Eliot brings the reader through a series of fragmented natural images to show Prufrock’s inability to act, and his fear of society. The use of the Dante epigraph in the beginning of the piece also shows how Prufrock feels he is living in his own personal Hell here on Earth. The way Eliot infuses so many different literary techniques to show the mental state of Prufrock is what makes his poem a piece of Modernistic art.
