T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is considered a modern poem for many reasons. Characteristics of modern poetry–specifically poetry from the early 20th century–include classical allusions, use of foreign language, open verse, juxtaposition, intertextuality, and often times the theme of disillusionment. This poem is open verse and contains all of these features, beginning with the opening quotation from Dante’s Inferno in Italian. The poem also juxtaposes images throughout and incorporates intertextual elements like the references to Hamlet. The theme of disillusionment is evident in the narrator’s frustration with his inability to make a bold move or even make a decision because he is unhappy with himself–an aging man who is balding and has skinny legs. He is so disillusioned, he cannot even bring himself to talk to women who are speaking of the great Michelangelo. Like most modern poems, Eliot’s is high-brow and challenging to read–there are many references and allusions to explore.
At first glance, this poem appears to be simple and straightforward. This poem fundamentally centers around the situation of women and men in society, submission and love. Brodsky communicates his affection in intense and cherish tones in the meantime. The profound, exasperating sentiments are apparent in the initial two lines in every stanza ‘If you were drowning, I would come to the rescue, enclose you by my cover and pour hot tea: lf you were a feathered bird, I’d cut a record and listen throughout the night to your sharp trill: ‘If you were Chinese, I’d take in the dialects, consume a considerable measure of incense, wear interesting clothess! ‘If you adored volcanoes, I’d be magma determinedly ejecting from my shrouded source.’ This in a roundabout way communicates love, and furthermore demonstrates the thankfulness that is apparent in all parts of life.
Taking a gander at it nearly, be that as it may, this ballad is a “what if” arrangement, where the artist’s affection for the young woman is appeared in different events. It appears to be about lost love, or all the more exactly, the odds the artist lost to contact his sweetheart. There is a particular tone of irrevocability about misfortune all through the ballad. In the initial two lines of the third stanza, for example, he says that if this lady were of Chinese starting point, he would “take in the dialect, consume a great deal of incense, wear interesting garments.” In so doing, the sonnet feels that he would change his conduct and culture to suit hers, be much the same as she is, to coordinate her way of life, because of the adoration he feels for her.
