J. Alfred Prufrock Analysis Essay

In T.S Eliot’s The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Eliot composes a melancholy poem of a man middle-aged man named Prufrock- an overeducated, neurotic, and hypersensitive man- who fails at finding a female lover at a party he is attending all while trying to find the meaning of his existence. Eliot’s dramatic monologue contains a theme of loneliness that is prevalent throughout the poem and is embodied by using diction, imagery, specific literary devices, and rhetorical appeals to understand Prufrock's internal conflict. While the entire poem meticulously expresses Prufrock’s emotions, in lines 84 to 86- “I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker/ And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker/ And in short, I was afraid.”-

Eliot heavily uses symbolism and diction to reveal Prufrock's fear of death and loneliness. A “Footman” is a butler who helps rich people do certain tasks such as hang up coats in a closet. However, the “Footman” in Eliot’s poem is not so friendly. This footman is the “Eternal Footman,” who symbolizes death. Prufrock fears that if this “Eternal Footman” or death“holds my [Prufrock’s] coat,” Prufrock will enter a dark and scary place that he will not come out from. Eliot also uses the word “snickers” specifically to portray Prufrock's internal conflict. When Prufrock explains how the “Eternal Footman” starts to "snicker" at him, Prufrock is expressing how existence is unimportant to the world because he was not as “great”as a prophet or a prince. And because of that, death “snickers,” or laughs at Prufrock because Prufrock has not accomplished anything significant in his life so far and death is already knocking at his door. Eliot uses symbolism and specific diction to reveal Prufrock's fear of dying alone and leaving now impact on the world before he