Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot

By King Meera -
influenced by Dante's Divine Comedy - Purgatorio
Guidido - in 8th circle of hell
written in 1910-11

Laurence Peril
apparently random thoughts linked psychologically, not logically
seems to be a dialogue between "you" and "I" where "you" defines the "I" and vice-versa
dialectical conflict
interior monologue
introspection, talking to oneself

in telling his story, Prufrock finds redemption
he may be considered to be an 'abject' - a recluse because never considered to be a part of society

social responsibility and moral vision - Dante gave a voice to Guido, the utterly damned

A drama of literary anguish - stream of consciousness

Why Prufrock? because name of furniture store near Elliot's place but also, 'prufstein' in German means touchstone and a touchstone is used to identify precious metals

LINE 1: 'you and I' - either <narrator and reader>, <speaker and implied auditor> or <the divided selves of Prufrock since it is considered an internal monologue>
LINE 3: 'patient etherized upon a table;' - unconventional comparison of he beautiful evening sky to a comatose, nearly lifeless, still body - not Romantic at all
a sense of hollowness of the soul and weakness is seen in the next few lines
LINES 8 & 9: 'Streets that ... tedious argument' - tired with the kind of conversations he's having, the kind of people that he thinks exist in the world - none true, none honest of selfless

REFRAIN: 'In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.'
- brings out stark contrast between two classes
- women belong to a higher league - he has tried to approach them and is fascinated by them but they are beyond his reach
- metaphor for an elite class of artists, thinkers, writers - high art - out of Prufrock's reach
- Michelangelo hallmark of Italian Renaissance - striving for perfection
- Michelangelo striving for a symmetry and perfection he finds lacking in the human condition

STANZA 2: Weary October evening in the West - changing landscape (from Autumn to Winter) - but dreary, decaying yellow

STANZA 3: in saying that we have all the time in the world, he's actually saying that we don't
Line 6: 'murder and create' - juxtaposition of the wondrous and the profane

STANZA 4:
- This minute you arrived at a decision and already, you must change it.
- For a man like Prufrock, unimaginative, not entirely intellectual, it is a necessity to take life as it comes.
- we have no control
Line 7: Pinned down by self image (the pin is a metaphor)

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