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Alfred Prufrock Allusions

707 Words3 Pages

What a shame it would be to never do certain things, but have all the time in the world to. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot, that’s just the case. This poem was written about a man looking back on his life. This man, J. Alfred Prufrock, seemingly regrets not doing things, such as finding love, while he still had the chance. Throughout the poem, Prufrock is hesitant about love because he wants something meaningful for himself. T.S. Eliot uses literary devices like allusion and imagery to not only express the meaning, but to build the plot vividly. It is mentioned several places throughout this poem that Prufrock will have time to do things. “Time for you and time for me and time yet for a hundred visions and revisions,” …show more content…

Alfred Prufrock has chosen not to do things, and to put things off, finding love is not something that he purposely avoids. It’s not because he doesn’t necessarily want it to happen, it was because it just didn’t happen. “But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) and brought upon a platter…” (line 81-83). This biblical allusion shows that he has hoped and prayed that he receives something more than just any general relationship. He wants something meaningful and special. To me, this is why he is so hesitant of finding love, because he is afraid that he will settle for something less than what a real relationship is supposed to be worth.

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot is indeed a poem written with great intelligence. Using literary devices such as allusion and imagery helps express the true meaning with much detail and depth. From my understanding, J. Alfred Prufrock is a man that is full of regret, wishing that he would have actually done certain things while he had time, and wishing that he could have found love. What I have taken from this poem is definitely this, do things while there is still time, or look back and regret not doing

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