ipl-logo

The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock Analysis Essay

1173 Words5 Pages

The poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot was first published in 1915. This is a modernistic poem that was written about a middle-aged man who is realizing that his life has been extremely uneventful and he continually refers to the fact that he is running out of time in life. He is afraid of taking risks and he is a very lonely man who does not seem to socialize a lot. One major theme in this poem is the indecision of Prufrock. Some literary and modernistic devices that are used to support this theme are allusions and stream of consciousness. The speaker in this modernistic poem is J. Alfred Prufrock. As the poem begins the audience is lead to believe that Prufrock is a man who is in love and is happy with the life he is living. There is a shift in the tone early on where the audience notices Prufrock is actually extremely lonely. He has isolated himself because of his fear of both death and failure. This poem has no specific structure; instead the poem has more of a free verse style. Stream of consciousness is used often in this poem in order to add to this free verse style and to help demonstrate Prufrock’s thoughts. The meter used in this poem is very inconsistent. There are many examples …show more content…

Alfred Prufrock” by T.S Eliot, the audience is introduced to an extremely lonely man who has a hard time with making decisions in fear of failure. There are literary and modernistic devices such as imagery, similes, allusions and stream of consciousness used to express the themes of this poem. From the title and the beginning of this poem the audience is lead to believe that this poem is a love story, however, early on there is a change in the topic and the poem focuses on death from that point forward. The message that is being conveyed in this poem is not to waste your time in life. This message is very clear because Prufrock is a perfect example as he wasted a lot of his time by not truly living to his full

Show More
Related
326 Words | 2 Pages

He uses many rhetorical devices such as rhymes, metaphor, repetition, alliteration etc… Firstly, the whole poem’s structure is structured in a poetic way using rhyme schemes. He uses words like “dreamed” and “schemed(line 6 and 8), “wreathe” and “breathe”(

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

Solitude, throughout this poem, is expressed in a positive light with the use of surreal images that manipulate the concept of

Read More
287 Words | 2 Pages

This format and technique makes the poem more direct but less straightforward. Although it goes directly to the point, each line has a deeper, complex meaning.

Read More
682 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story "Love in L.A" Dagoberto Gilb sketches the portrait of Jake, a lower-middle-class person, who is fantasizing of a luxurious life. The omniscient narrator presents his third person point of view starting by describing Jake's vehicle. Jake is daydreaming of a new, luxurious car, and "exotic colognes" and "plush, dark nightclubs" (406). Not paying attention to the traffic, he ends up hitting the car in front of him, a Toyota, whose owner is, luckily for him, a beautiful, exotic, female. Gilb shapes Jake using a touch of irony and lies, turning him into a stereotypical character.

Read More
716 Words | 3 Pages

The poem “Miniver Cheevy,” is about a man who spends his days wishing that he had been born in a different era than the one he spends his days in. Looking back on the olden days Miniver Cheevy feels that the olden days were much better than modern times and the poem goes on to show his love for the past. However, instead of doing something about his love and curiosity for the past he chooses to reminisce about the past and drink his misery away. Throughout this paper I will discuss the poem’s central purpose and its attitude towards its subject matter, and how the author uses allusion to reinforce the poems central purpose and attitude. First, I will begin with the poem central purpose or theme.

Read More
558 Words | 3 Pages

In T.S. Eliot’s work “The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock”, he uses diction to give an underlying meaning and tone to his poem in order to express the downfall of a man. The author uses his diction to give this poem Its tone as if he regrets what he did in life. He also shows great tone changes in this work, giving this poem a dramatic, almost tragic outlook. Many of his word choices also give his work an underlying meaning and adds to his theme and messages. A large part of his poem is also using metaphors to add to this underlying meaning and give more force to this tone he is trying to create.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

Regardless of this, the poem is famous for its unique rhythm and meter of poem. The poem flows very smoothly but does not have a specific poetic foot. Consonances were used to help the rhyme scheme sound more pleasing to readers. The poets diction was exclusive and out of the ordinary.

Read More
417 Words | 2 Pages

The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock written by T.S. Elliot, is the despondent poem of a middle-aged man named Prufrock suffering from an acute spiritual malaise due to his monotonous and tentative existence. Eliot beautifully told Prufrock's tale through careful use of literary devices. A device that appeared frequently throughout the poem was an allusion. These allusions were used to easily bring forth the impressions and characteristics conveyed by the sources alluded to, as well as creating flexibility for his readers. Hamlet, To His Coy Mistress, and The Bible are a few notable sources that Eliot alludes to within the poem.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

Elliot simply used these allusions to tell his own story, sometimes giving new meanings to quotes, or adding emphasis to new words or phrases. Often, these references had to be understood themselves for a reader to truly know what was being said in one of Elliot’s works. One such work that contains so many references to past writers and works, is “The Love Story of J. Alfred Prufrock”. The story of Prufrock is an intriguing one dominated by allusions and many references to earlier works of literature that Elliot himself read, and applied to a story of a modern man.

Read More
1231 Words | 5 Pages

How to Live According to Irving Singer Throughout Irving Singer acclaimed trilogy, The Nature of Love, the viewer can observe how he unveils rich insight into fundamental aspects of human relationships through literature, the complexities of our being, and the history of ideas. In his sequel, The Pursuit of Love, Singer approaches love from a distinct standpoint; he reveals his collection of extended essays where he presents psychological and philosophical theories of his own. The audience can examine how he displays love as he systematically maps the facets of religion, sexual desire, love from a parent, family member, child or friend. Irving explores the distinction between wanting to be loved and wanting to love another, which ultimately originates from the moment an individual is born.

Read More
1277 Words | 6 Pages

Do we really love what we do? In the article “In the Name of Love,” Miya Tokumitsu covers the issue that doing what you love (DWYL) gives false hope to the working class. Tokumitsu reviews how those who are given jobs ultimately cannot truly love what they do because of the employers who make jobs possible. These same employers keep their employees overlooked.

Read More
287 Words | 2 Pages

From the poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, T.S. Eliot’s portrayal of reality and the ambiguities of human existence has influenced my perception of the world. The lines, “Do I dare/Disturb the universe?/In a minute there is time/ For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse,” compel readers to question our purpose in life. Most individuals can relate to Prufrock, the poem’s main character; he admits to his shortcomings and dissatisfaction of his existence, acknowledging how rapidly life is progressing. By wondering, “Do I dare?”, it is a questions whether we should act upon our desires and aspirations, claiming it is insignificant to continually ponder the consequences and circumstances of our choices as life is short-lived.

Read More
985 Words | 4 Pages

This self-denial gives him further resolve at the end of the poem to still refuse to propose. Eliot’s allusion to Shakespeare’s Hamlet is clever in this way because in the play Hamlet is also indecisive; so much so that he needs a reminder from his father’s ghost to kill his uncle, Claudius, who killed his father, took the throne, and married his mother (Shmoop). In this same portion of the poem as the Hamlet allusion, Prufrock admits that he thinks he’s too old to marry, that he is so old fashioned he still “wear[s] the bottoms of [his] trousers rolled” (Greenblatt 1304, line 121). This shows the reader that Prufrock still is adamant that he is not going to propose to the

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

Eliot uses tradition and personal innovation, combined with the revitalization of the twentieth-century British poetry, which leads to poems full of vitality. Based on the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” this paper explores the poet 's exploration and innovation in the aspects of poetic skills and content. The early works of Eliot are in a low tone, and he often uses association, metaphor, and suggestion to express modern people 's depression. The famous poem “The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock" uses the inner monolog of the protagonist’s desire to love and fear of the contradictory attitude of love to illustrate modern emptiness and cowardice. From the content, the reader gradually learns the poem is about a middle-aged man.

Read More
1244 Words | 5 Pages

Modernism was a period in the early twentieth century that often dates back to the publication of T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” This movement broke the traditional ways of form, concepts, and style found in poetry and allowed poets to freely express their ideas and beliefs through various ways such as free verse, fragmentation, allusions, imagery etc. T.S. Eliot is known for modernizing himself on his own by using fragments that incorporate multiple voices into his work. Eliot’s use of fragmentation and allusions in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and The Waste Land demonstrates his belief that modern society is disordered and chaotic and his realization that reality is too disjointed to understand. Fragmentation

Read More

More about The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock Analysis Essay

Related Topics

Open Document