Tuesday, June 30, 2009
T.S. Eliot: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
This poem is about a man who struggles with his self image. It deals with loneliness, alienation, and isolation (1192). This character is very self conscience and worries that people will talk about his bald spot or the skinniness in his legs and arms. He continuously compares himself to important figures and says "I am no prophet"(line 83) and yet again "No! I am not prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;" (line 111). By comparing himself to big figures I feel that he was putting himself down. In lieu of the title, this is hardly a love song. Love nor a its substitutes exist in this poem. Instead this character has a difficult time appreciating himself and fitting in with the world around him. I believe that T.S.Eliot wants us to understand that the way we alienate ourselves from those around us is the same way we alienate from ourselves, hence being self-conscience. Self confidence is something that some people have a very hard time being comfortable with. Have self-confidence can make or break a person.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Tisha,
ReplyDeleteWell, you certainly chose a challenging and puzzling poem for your final blog! You do provide a few interesting observations about Prufrock and Eliot's poem, but this post is really too brief and unfocused.
I liked your observation about how Prufrock compares himself to certain important figures like Hamlet and prophets. I never really looked at it that way. You bit about alienation is insightful as well, though I think some more textual evidence would work in your favor. Still, I really liked your analysis!
ReplyDeleteTisha,
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to been given more insight to the meaning of this poem for it was hard for me to comprehend. From what you gave me , I feel that Eliot was concern about what was being said about him, but it worried him more that he did not have the nerve to stand up for himself. I think that he was ok with his behavior and the people close to him, but like courage to fight for his right to be him. I saw this in lines 37&38 "And indeed there will be time to wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?".
Although brief, you make some very good observations and interpretations. I also agree on your commentary that this poem shows the low self esteem of Prufrock and his high regards to what others think of him. I think the main cause was not that he was conscience of what other’s though, although there is much support of this, but rather the fear of rejection and what his love thought of him. He is concerned with how she reacts based on her friends and people around him and what they think of him. This is evident as he is uncertain throughout the entire poem as to how “There will be a time, there will be a time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” (1195). In the end, he submits to his own fear and never confesses (“And in short, I was afraid” (1196)).
ReplyDelete