Studenta Tudor Andreea-Iulia

Universitatea Dunarea de Jos Galati

Facultatea de litere /ID
Anul III

EXAM IN ENGLISH LITERATURE: TWENTIETH CENTURY POETRY

Analyse the excerpt from T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock with emphasis on:
1. theme and motif
2. modernist time
3. figures of speech

Use no more than 500 words.

For I have known them all already, known them all -

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?

And I have known the eyes already, known them all -

The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?

And I have known the arms already, known them all -

Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)
Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?

MARKING SCHEME: 9 + 1 = 10
3 items x 3 points = 9 points
Ex officio – 1 point

"J. Alfred Prufrock's Love Song" is a dramatic narrative poem by T. S Eliot,

first written between 1910-1911 and published in June 1915 and again in 1917.

Poetry focuses on the dilemma caused by modern urban civilization, and

therefore the purpose of this paper is to show how T.S. Eliot's J. Alfred Prufrock's
love song reflects modernism in terms of content and structure.
Studenta Tudor Andreea-Iulia
Universitatea Dunarea de Jos Galati
Facultatea de litere /ID
Anul III
T.S. Eliot's "J. Alfred Prufrock's Love Song" carries the characteristics of modernist
poetry such as objective correlation, fragmentation, free verse, and irregular rhyme.
Poetry is about a middle-aged man who cannot progress in life and, as a result, does
not dare to approach women, due to shyness. Therefore, the title of the poem is ironic,
as Prufrock never talks about his feelings of love throughout the poem. His indecision
is also caused by the self-isolation of society like a modern man. He is in a society
that is no different from hell for him, so Eliot vividly depicts the complexities of the
modern world through the inconsistent psychology of Prufrock.The poem reflected
the narrator's unexpressed love and fragmented thoughts.
The rhyming scheme of this poem is irregular, but not accidental. While sections of
poetry may resemble free lyrics, in reality, "Prufrock" is a carefully structured
amalgamation of poetic forms. Fragments and pieces of rhyme become much more
evident when the poem is read aloud. One of the most prominent formal features of
this work is the use of choruses.
Eliot's poetry is full of metaphor and comparison, simple rhyme and complex
rhythms.
The structure of the stanza varies as the poetry progresses. Stanzas of two,
seven, and twelve verses were used throughout the poem.
One of Eliot's style figures is repetition: he uses the same repetitive phrase about how
he "knew them all."
S. Eliot used a simple rhyming pattern in this poem. The pattern of the rhyme also
changes between the rhyming and the unrhymed lines as the poetry progresses.
The lines repeated at some distance in the poems are called choruses.
His repetition of words like “evenings, mornings, afternoons” in lines “For I have
known them already, known them all: / Have known the evenings, mornings,
afternoons,” backs up the idea that he leads a mundane life.
The speaker already seems tired of this new world, in which events follow one
another in a repetitive, cyclical way. He claims: “I have already known them all, I
have known them all; / I met in the evenings, in the mornings, in the afternoons, / I
measured my life with teaspoons. ” He suggests that nothing can surprise or disturb
the normal rituals of political society.
The division of the female body into simple pieces is a means of objectifying and
denying its existence as a whole human being. However, Prufrock's division and
objectification of female body parts does not seem intentional. Rather, because of his
anxiety about his relationships with others, Prufrock is unconsciously unable to
recognize the females he interacts with as whole human beings, and instead has to
look at them as individual parts of the body. In addition, Prufrock's anxiety leads to
his own self-objectification, adding more complexity to the effects of his fear of
human interaction, as reflected in his self-image and the way he behaves with others.
The protagonist's tendency to consider himself and others as fragmented, objectified
beings expresses his sexual anxiety, as well as the difficulties of human interaction.
Ideas of disconnection in human interaction and communication failures are prevalent
among modernist writers and poets. Eliot uses Prufrock's dramatic monologue to
highlight the characteristic modernist theme of a rupture in human interaction in this
poem.
Once again, the evidence of the passage of time gives us the impression that Prufrock
is one of those men who drinks about sixteen coffees a day. "I measured my life with
coffee spoons", implies a solitary existence, dependent on work, implies the fact that
Studenta Tudor Andreea-Iulia
Universitatea Dunarea de Jos Galati
Facultatea de litere /ID
Anul III
there is no other indicator in his life with which to measure, that he is routine and
demanding and is not prone to make decisions in out of his comfort zone. area.
Also, the line "because we've all known them all, we've all known them" again helps
us to understand that Prufrock is perhaps the most insecure man to ever step on the
planet. He persuades himself not to act as he wishes - which is probably to go to the
party - but to remain steadfast and distant, looking into a world of which he is not a
part.
The phrase "lying on a needle / when I'm caught and writhing on the wall" shows the
inactivity that currently frustrates Prufrock shows how it is suspended in animation
and time. Once again, there is the fragmentation of people, the idea that everyone
except Prufrock is a ghostly reimagining, the only thing he can afford to think about,
the only important thing for Prufrock.
Prufrock's agony to address the woman at the center of the poem is evident here: he
knows she exists, he knows who she is, he thinks of her in terms of arms, eyes, and
bracelets, but he can't get close to her. "Is it the scent of a dress / that makes me so
degreased?" Prufrock is self-conscious enough to know that his attempt to hold back
will not do so.
Prufrock is tormented by his social actions, worrying about how others will see him.
He thinks about women's arms and perfume, but he doesn't know how to act.
"Stretching on a needle" refers to the practice of fixing insect specimens for study,
suggesting that Prufrock feels similarly examined, but the key here is Prufrock's
discussion of the eyes. As in his catalog of "Bracelets that are bracelets, white and
bare", Prufrock isolates the body part from the rest of the body. Detached, the eyes
multiply in strength; they dominate both the camera and the bodies of those looking at
Prufrock. His mental logic follows a similar pattern; "Needle-stretched" lines take
small steps forward ("And when ..." / "When are ..." / "Then how ..." rather than big
jumps. Not only is Prufrock paralyzed now, but he seems to have a disordered sense
of time, and he describes "evenings, mornings, afternoons," and the strange order
pauses us.
In conclusion, it can be stated that the use of these poetic devices has brought
a musical quality that is hard to find in such poems in free verse.