“Prufrock’s Tension”

Submitted By

Name: Sonjoy Boishnab

Reg. No. 2016236066

4th Year 2nd Semester

Session: 2016-17

Submitted To

Dr Mohammad Shafiqul Islam

Associate Professor

Department of English

Date of Submission

16th November, 2020

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet

 Prufrock’s Tension”

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a poem written by T.S Eliot regarding the

growing tension of a modern man’s life because of his physical deformity, sense of inferiority,

indecisiveness, depression, mental agony, sense of isolation and so on. Though the title of the

poem is extremely ironic, it introduces the readers to the reality of the modern world and

presents them the psychological journey of a modern man’s life. In this poem, Prufrock is the

representative of a modern man who is suffering both physically and psychologically throughout

the whole poem. From the very beginning of the poem, Prufrock seems to be an escapist who

always feels insecure and tries to keep himself aloof from the luxury and flamboyance of modern

society. Prufrock as a modern man has some physical deformity but what is more intense in his

life is that he is going through a psychological torment regarding asking an overwhelming

question to the modern ladies.

Throughout the whole poem Prufrock seemed to put a lot of excuses to ask that

overwhelming question but behind that excuses he also showed some reasons that gave a clear

conception to the readers about Prufrock’s tension. Though Prufrock’s life has become so

pathetic in this poem, he was not that much different than the ladies of that modern society. As

the poem is written in interior monologue so it is understandable that Prufrock was in such a

condition in this poem that he himself was not able to accept him in front of that lady because of

his physical deformity. That’s why Prufrock, instead of being sticked to his intention and making

that overwhelming question he was very much worried about his physical deformity and the

approaches of those modern ladies to him. In that sense, Prufrock was unable to face the reality

that made him feel insecure and inferior to meet them and ask that overwhelming question.
 Moreover, Prufrock’s tension has a wider perspective because Prufrock’s life reflects the

lives of the modern people of European society. They also lead their life like a cat and crab who

always squeeze themselves up when they come closer to anything. Like Prufrock, the modern

people are unable to come to a decision quickly rather they always go back and forth. They plan

a lot of things to do in their life but when they go for execution, they all turn into ashes.

Similarly, Prufrock as a modern man plans to meet those ladies and make an overwhelming

question to them but when the time comes, he goes back. He thinks that when he will go to meet

those ladies, they will be talking about his bald spot, taking his head on the table in front of them.

He also thinks that when they will look at him it will seem that he is just pinned on the wall and

unable to move. In that way, thousands of tensions grew around Prufrock’s head, which made

him forced to escape from reality and live an animal-like life. He was unable to come to a

conclusion in his life that’s why he blames time. He thinks that time has put him into these

troubles and he has become the victim of time. So, Prufrock’s tension will no way be gone

except the time is gone.

 Work Cited

Eliot, T. S. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry
Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-
alfred-prufrock.