"The Love Song of J.

Alfred Prufrock" by T S Eliot

Explanation of the Title

.......T. S. Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) originally entitled this poem "Prufrock Among the
Women." He changed the title to "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" before
publishing the poem in Poetry magazine in 1915. 
Love Song
.......The words "Love Song" seem apt, for one of the definitions of love
song is narrative poem. And, of course, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a
narrative, presenting a moment in the life of the title character. It is also a poem. In
addition, the work has characteristics of most love songs, such as repetition (or
refrain), rhyme, and rhythm. It also focuses on the womanly love that eludes
Prufrock.
Origin of the Name Prufrock
.......Eliot took the last name of the title character from a sign advertising the William
Prufrock furniture company, a business in Eliot's hometown, St. Louis, while he was
growing up. The initial J. and name Alfred are inventions, probably mimicking the way
Eliot occasionally signed his name as a young adult: T. Stearns Eliot. 
Type of Work: Dramatic Monologue

......."The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a modernistic poem in the form of a

dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue presents a moment in which a
narrator/speaker discusses a topic and, in so doing, reveals his personal feelings to a
listener. Only the narrator, talks—hence the term monologue, meaning "single (mono)
discourse (logue)." During his discourse, the speaker intentionally and unintentionally
reveals information about himself. The main focus of a dramatic monologue is this
personal information, not the speaker's topic. Therefore, a dramatic monologue is a
type of character study.

Publication

.......Eliot published "Prufrock" in Poetry magazine in 1915 and then in a collection of

his poems, Prufrock and Other Observations, in 1917.
The Speaker/Narrator

.......The poem centers on a balding, insecure middle-aged man. He expresses his

thoughts about the dull, uneventful, mediocre life he leads as a result of his feelings
of inadequacy and his fear of making decisions. Unable to seize opportunities or take
risks (especially with women), he lives in a world that is the same today as it was
yesterday and will be the same tomorrow as it is today. He does try to make progress,
but his timidity and fear of failure inhibit him from taking action. 

Setting

.......The action takes place in the evening in a bleak section of a smoky city. This city
is probably St. Louis, where Eliot (1888-1965) grew up. But it could also be London, to
which Eliot moved in 1914. However, Eliot probably intended the setting to be any city
anywhere. 

Characters

J. Alfred Prufrock: The speaker/narrator, a timid, overcautious middle-aged man. He

escorts his silent listener through streets in a shabby part of a city, past
cheap hotels and restaurants, to a social gathering where women he would like to
meet are conversing. However, he is hesitant to take part in the activity for fear of
making a fool of himself. 
The Listener: An unidentified companion of Prufrock. The listener could also be
Prufrock's inner self, one that prods him but fails to move him to action. 
The Women: Women at a social gathering. Prufrock would like to meet one of them
but worries that she will look down on him. 
The Lonely Men in Shirtsleeves: Leaning out of their windows, they smoke pipes.
They are like Prufrock in that they look upon a scene but do not become part of it.
The smoke from their pipes helps form the haze over the city, the haze that serves
as a metaphor for a timid cat—which is Prufrock.

Themes

Loneliness and Alienation: Prufrock is a pathetic man whose anxieties and obsessions
have isolated him. 
Indecision: Prufrock resists making decisions for fear that their outcomes will turn
out wrong.
Inadequacy: Prufrock continually worries that he will make a fool of himself and that
people will ridicule him for his clothes, his bald spot, and his overall physical
appearance. 
Pessimism: Prufrock sees only the negative side of his own life and the lives of others.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

By T. S. Eliot

With Stanza Summaries, Annotations, and Explanations of Allusions

S'io credesse che mia riposta fosse

A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma perciocche giammai di questo fondo
Non torno vivo alcun, s' i'odo il vero,
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
Translation: If I thought my answer were to one who could return to the world, I
would not reply, but as none ever did return alive from this depth, without fear of
infamy I answer thee. The words are spoken by Count Guido da Montefeltro, a
damned soul in the Eighth Circle of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto 27,
lines 61-66.) 
Translator and Quotation Source: G.B. Harrison et al., eds. Major British Writers.
Shorter ed. New York: Harcourt. 1967, page 1015.
Comment: Eliot opens "The Love Song" with this quotation from Dante's epic poem to
suggest that Prufrock, like Count Guido, is in hell. But Prufrock is in a hell on earth—a
hell in the form of a modern, impersonal city with smoky skies. The quotation also
points out that Prufrock, again like Count Guido, can present his feelings "without
fear of infamy."
1
Let us go then, you and I, 
When the evening is spread out against the sky 
Like a patient etherised upon a table; 
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, 
The muttering retreats 5
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels 
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: 
Streets that follow like a tedious argument 
Of insidious intent 
To lead you to an overwhelming question …         10 
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?" 
Let us go and make our visit.
1
Summary, Interpretation: The speaker invites the listener to walk with him into the
streets on an evening that resembles a patient, anesthetized with ether, lying on the
table of a hospital operating room. (Until recent times, physicians used ether—a liquid
obtained by combining sulfuric acid and ethyl alcohol—to render patients unconscious
before an operation.) The imagery suggests that the evening is lifeless and listless.
The speaker and the listener will walk through lonely streets—the business day has
ended—past cheap hotels and restaurants with sawdust on the floors. (Sawdust was
used to absorb spilled beverages and food, making it easy to sweep up at the end of
the day.) The shabby establishments will remind the speaker of his own shortcomings,
their images remaining in his mind as he walks on. They will then prod the listener to
ask the speaker a question about the speaker's life—perhaps why he visits these
seedy haunts, which are symbols of his life, and why he has not acted to better
himself or to take a wife. 
Allusion, overwhelming question  (line 10): Eliot appears to have borrowed this phrase
from James Fenimore Cooper's 1823 novel, The Pioneers, one of five novels that
make up The Leatherstocking Tales (1823-1841), about life on the frontier in early
America. When he was a youth, Eliot read and enjoyed The Pioneers. In the novel, one
of the characters, Benjamin, asks a series of questions ending with the
"overwhelming question."  Following is the passage:
.......“Did’ee ever see a British ship, Master Kirby? an English line-of-battle ship,
boy? Where did’ee ever fall in with a regular built vessel, with starn-post and
 cutwater, gar board-streak and plank-shear, gangways, and hatchways, and
waterways, quarter-deck, and forecastle, ay, and flush-deck?—tell me that,
man, if you can; where away did’ee ever fall in with a full-rigged, regular-built,
necked vessel?" 
.......The whole company were a good deal astounded with this overwhelming
question, and even Richard afterward remarked that it “was a thousand pities
that Benjamin could not read, or he must have made a valuable officer to the
British marine.
2
In the room the women come and go 
Talking of Michelangelo.
2
Summary, Interpretation: At a social gathering in a room, women discuss the great
Renaissance artist Michelangelo. Prufrock may wonder how they could possibly be
interested in him when they are discussing someone as illustrious as Michelango.
Allusion, The Women . . . Michelangelo (lines 13-14): Eliot borrowed most of this line
from the Uruguayan-born French poet Jules LaForgue (1860-1887). In one of his
works, LaForgue wrote (in French): Dans la piece les femmes vont et viennent / En
parlant des maîtresde Sienne. Here is the loose translation: In the room the women
go and come while speaking of the Siennese (painting) masters.
Michelangelo: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), Renaissance
sculptor, painter, and architect and one of the greatest artists in history. He
sculpted the famous David for the Duomo Cathedral in Florence, painted the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, and designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica,
also in Vatican City. 
3
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, 15
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes 
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening, 
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, 
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, 20
And seeing that it was a soft October night, 
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.
3
Summary, Interpretation: Smoky haze spreads across the city. The haze is like a
quiet, timid cat padding to and fro, rubbing its head on objects, licking its tongue, and
curling up to sleep after allowing soot to fall upon it. The speaker resembles the cat
as he looks into windows or into "the room," trying to decide whether to enter and
become part of the activity. Eventually, he curls up in the safety and security of his
own soft arms—alone, separate. What this stanza means is that Prufrock feels
inferior and is unable to act decisively. He consigns himself to corners, as a timid
person might at a dance; stands idly by doing nothing, as does a stagnant pool; and
becomes the brunt of ridicule or condescension (the soot that falls on him). 
4
And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street, 
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes; 25
There will be time, there will be time 
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet; 
There will be time to murder and create, 
And time for all the works and days of hands 
That lift and drop a question on your plate; 30
Time for you and time for me, 
And time yet for a hundred indecisions, 
And for a hundred visions and revisions, 
Before the taking of a toast and tea.
4
Summary, Interpretation: There's no hurry, though, the speaker tells himself.
There will be time to decide and then to act—time to put on the right face and
demeanor to meet people. There will be time to kill and time to act; in fact, there will
be time to do many things. There will even be time to think about doing things—time
to dream and then revise those dreams—before sitting down with a woman to take
toast and tea. 

Allusion, there will be time (line 23): This phrase alludes to the opening line of "To
His Coy Mistress," by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678): "Had we but world enough, and
time." In Marvell's poem, the speaker/persona urges his beloved not to be coy but
instead to seize the moment—to take advantage of youth and "sport us while we
may." Prufrock, of course, continually postpones even meeting a woman, saying "There
will be time." 
face (line 27): affectation; façade.
Allusion, works and days (line 29): Works and Days is a long poem by Hesiod, a Greek
writer who lived in the 700's B.C. "Works" refers to farm labor and "Days" to periods
of the year for performing certain agricultural chores. The poem, addressed to
Hesiod's brother, was intended to instruct readers, stressing the importance of hard
work and right living and condemning moral decay.
5
In the room the women come and go 35
Talking of Michelangelo.
5
Summary, Interpretation: The women are still coming and going, still talking of
Michelangelo, suggesting that life is repetitive and dull.
6
And indeed there will be time 
To wonder, “Do I dare?" and, “Do I dare?" 
Time to turn back and descend the stair, 
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair— 40
[They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!"] 
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, 
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin— 
[They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!"] 
Do I dare 45
Disturb the universe? 
In a minute there is time 
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. 
6
Summary, Interpretation: Prufrock says there will be time to wonder whether he
dares to approach a woman. He feels like turning back. After all, he has a bald spot,
thinning hair, and thin arms and legs. Moreover, he has doubts about the acceptability
of his clothing. What will people think of him? Does he dare to approach a woman? He
will think about it and make a decision, then reverse the decision. 
simple pin (line 43): Pin inserted through the tie and shirt to hold the tie in place.
7
For I have known them all already, known them all:— 
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, 50
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?
7
Summary, Interpretation: Prufrock realizes that the people here are the same as
the people he has met many times before—the same, uninteresting people in the same
uninteresting world. They all even sound the same. So why should he do anything? 
Evenings, Mornings, Afternoons: This phrase, as well as others focusing on time,
refers obliquely to the philosophy of Henri Bergson (1859-1941), author of a
revolutionary and highly influential work, Time and Free Will: An Essay on the
Immediate Data of Consciousness. In this work, he argued that the mind perceives
time as a continuous process, a continuous flow, rather than as a series of measurable
units as tracked by a clock or a calendar or by scientific calculation. It is not a
succession, with one unit following another, but a duration in which present and past
are equally real. Ordinarily, we think of a day as consisting of morning, evening, and
afternoon—in that order. But, since time is a continuous flow to Prufrock, it is just as
correct to think of a day as consisting of morning, afternoon, and evening as a single
unit. 
Allusion, dying fall (line 52): Phrase borrowed from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Duke Orsino speaks it in line 4 of Act I, Scene I. Here is the passage in which the
phrase appears:
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound,
 That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour!
8
And I have known the eyes already, known them all— 55
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? 60
  And how should I presume?
8
Summary, Interpretation: He has seen their gazes before, many times—gazes that
form an opinion of him, treating him like a butterfly or another insect pinned into
place in a display. How will he be able to explain himself to them—the ordinariness,
the mediocrity, of his life? 
fix (line 56): Evaluate.
9
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!] 
It is perfume from a dress 65
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?
9
Summary, Interpretation: Yes, he has known women like these before, wearing
jewelry but really bare, lacking substance. Why is he thinking about them? Perhaps it
is the smell of a woman's perfume. 
Arms that lie along table (line 67): This phrase echoes line 3.
should I then presume? (line 68): This clause repeats words in lines 54 and 68.
how should I begin? (line 69): This clause repeats words in line 59.
10
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets 70
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? 
I should have been a pair of ragged claws 
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
10
Summary, Interpretation: Will he tell a woman that he came through narrow streets,
where lonely men (like Prufrock) lean out of windows watching life go by but not
taking part in it? He should have been nothing more than crab claws in the depths of
the silent ocean. 
smoke that rises from the pipes (line 71): The smoke becomes part of the haze.
11
And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!       75
Smoothed by long fingers, 
Asleep … tired … or it malingers, 
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me. 
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, 
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? 80
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, 
Though I have seen my head brought in upon a platter, 
I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter; 
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, 
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, 85
And in short, I was afraid.
11
Summary, Interpretation: The time passes peacefully. It is as if the
afternoon/evening is sleeping or simply wasting time, stretched out on the floor.
Should the speaker sit down with someone and have dessert—should he take a
chance, make an acquaintance, live? Oh, he has suffered; he has even imagined his
head being brought in on a platter, like the head of John the Baptist. Of course,
unlike John, he is no prophet. He has seen his opportunities pass and even seen death
up close, holding his coat, snickering. He has been afraid. 
evening . . . floor (lines 75-78): This metaphor/personification echoes the simile in
lines 2 and 3.
cakes (line 79): Cakes or cookies.
ices (line 79): Ice cream.
Allusion, head brought in upon a platter (line 82): Phrase associated with John the
Baptist, Jewish prophet of the First Century AD who urged people to reform their
lives and who prepared the way for the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. John
denounced Herod Antipas (4 BC-AD 39), the Roman-appointed ruler of Galilee and
Perea, for violating the law of Moses by marrying Herodias, the divorced wife of his
half-brother, Philip. (Herod Antipas and Philip were sons of Herod the Great, the
Roman-appointed ruler of Judea.) In retaliation, Herod Antipas imprisoned John but
was afraid to kill him because of his popularity with the people. Salome, the daughter
of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, danced at a birthday party for
Herod Antipas. Her performance was so enthralling that Herod said she could have
any reward of her choice. Prompted by Herodias, who was outraged by John the
Baptist's condemnation of her marriage, Salome asked for the head of the Baptist on
a platter. Because he did not want to go back on his word, Herod fulfilled her
request. John was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Accounts of his activities
appear in the Bible in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and in the Acts
of the Apostles.
prophet (line 83): Another allusion to John the Baptist.
Footman (line 85): Servant in a uniform who opens doors, waits on tables, helps people
into carriages. The footman is a symbol of death; he helps a person into the afterlife.
12
And would it have been worth it, after all, 
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea, 
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me, 
Would it have been worth while, 90
To have bitten off the matter with a smile, 
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question, 
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead, 
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all"— 95
If one, settling a pillow by her head, 
  Should say: “That is not what I meant at all. 
  That is not it, at all."
12
Summary, Interpretation: Would it have been worth it for the speaker while
drinking tea to try to make a connection with one of the women? Would it have been
worth it to arise from his lifeless life and dare to engage in conversation with a
woman, only to have her criticize him or reject him. 
porcelain (line 89): glassware or hard, brittle people 
Allusion, To have squeezed the universe into a ball (line 92): This phrase is another
allusion to Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." (Click here to see the previous comment
on Marvell's poem.) In the last stanza of that poem, the speaker/persona says, " Let
us roll all our strength and all / Our sweetness up into one ball." In Eliot's poem, the
speaker asks whether it would have been worth it to do the same thing with a woman
of his choosing.
Allusion, Lazarus (line 94): Name of two New Testament figures: (1) Lazarus of
Bethany, brother of Martha and Mary. Jesus raised him from the dead (Gospel of
John, Chapter 11: Verses 18, 30, 32, 38); (2) Lazarus, a leprous beggar (Gospel of
Luke, Chapter 16: Verses 19-31). When Lazarus died, he was taken into heaven. When
a rich man named Dives died, he went to hell. He requested that Lazarus be returned
to earth to warn his brothers about the horror of hell, but his request was denied.
13
And would it have been worth it, after all, 
Would it have been worth while, 100
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets, 
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor— 
And this, and so much more?— 
It is impossible to say just what I mean! 
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen: 105
Would it have been worth while 
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl, 
And turning toward the window, should say: 
  “That is not it at all, 
  That is not what I meant, at all."
13
Summary, Interpretation: Would it have been worth it, considering all the times he
would be with the woman at sunset or with her in a dooryard? Would it have been
worth it after all the mornings or evenings when workmen sprinkled the streets
(see sprinkled streets, below), after all the novels he would discuss with her over tea,
after all the times he heard the drag of her skirt along the floor, after so many
other occasions? Would it have been worth it if, after plumping a pillow or throwing
off her shawl, she turned casually toward a window and told him that he was mistaken
about her intentions toward him? 

sprinkled streets (line 101): This may be a reference to the practice of wetting dirt
streets with oil or water to control dust.
magic lantern (line 105): Early type of slide projector. The magic lantern (also called
sciopticon) projected an image from a glass plate.
14
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; 
Am an attendant lord, one that will do 
To swell a progress, start a scene or two, 
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, 
Deferential, glad to be of use,         115 
Politic, cautious, and meticulous; 
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; 
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous— 
Almost, at times, the Fool.
14
Summary, Interpretation: Prufrock and Hamlet (the protagonist of
Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark) are both indecisive. But Prufrock lacks
the majesty and charisma of Hamlet. Therefore, he fancies himself as Polonius, the
busybody lord chamberlain in Shakespeare's play.
Allusion, Prince Hamlet (line 112): Hamlet, the protagonist of Shakespeare's Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark, famous for his hesitancy and indecision while plotting to avenge
the murder of his father, King Hamlet, by the king's brother, Claudius. Prufrock is
like young Hamlet in that the latter is also indecisive. However, Prufrock decides not
to compare himself with Hamlet, who is charismatic and even majestic in spite of his
shortcomings. Instead, Prufrock compares himself with an unimpressive character in
the Shakespeare play, an attendant lord, Polonius. (See next entry.) 
Allusion, attendant lord (line 113): Polonius, the lord chamberlain in Hamlet, Prince of
Denmark. Polonius, a bootlicking advisor to the new king, Claudius, sometimes uses a
whole paragraph of important-sounding words to say what most other people could
say in a simple declarative sentence. His pedantry makes him look foolish at times.
Prufrock, of course, is worried that the words he speaks will make him look foolish,
too. 
Allusion, progress (line 114): In the time of a Shakespeare, a journey that a king or
queen of England made with his or her entourage,
Allusion, high sentence: The high-flown, pretentious language of Polonius (See
Allusion, attendant lord, just above.)
Allusion, Fool (line 119): Eliot capitalizes this word, suggesting that it refers to a
court jester (also called a fool) in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. There is no living fool
in Hamlet, but there is a dead one, Yorick. In a famous scene in the play, two men are
digging the grave of Ophelia when they unearth the skull of Yorick while Hamlet is
present. Picking it up, Hamlet says, 
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath
borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at
it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know
not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your
gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment,
that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one
now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen?
In the courts of England in Shakespeare's time, a fool was a comic figure with a quick
tongue who entertained the king, the queen, and their guests. He was allowed to—and
even expected to—criticize anyone at court. Many fools were dwarfs or cripples,
their odd appearance enhancing their appeal and, according to prevailing beliefs,
bringing good luck to the court.
15
I grow old … I grow old … 120
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. 
16
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? 
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. 
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. 
17
I do not think that they will sing to me. 125
18
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves 
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back 
When the wind blows the water white and black. 
19
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea 
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown 130
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
15-19
Summary, Interpretation: The speaker realizes that time is passing and that he is
growing old. However, like other men going through a middle-age crisis, he considers
changing his hairstyle and clothes. Like Odysseus in the Odyssey, he has heard the
song of the sirens. However, they are not singing to him. 
wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled (line 121): look youthful and jaunty.
Allusion, mermaids (line 124): In Homer's Odyssey, sea nymphs who sit on a shore
and sing a song so alluring that it attracts all passing sailors who hear it. Then the
sailors sit on the shore, transfixed by the song, until they die. But Odysseus plugs
the ears of his men with wax, so that they are unable to hear, after ordering them to
tie him to a mast. Thus, as they pass the island, Odysseus himself hears the song but
cannot go ashore, though he wants to, because he cannot break free of his bonds.
 
.
Style
 
......."The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a modernistic poem that expresses the
thoughts of the title character via the following:
Conversational Language Combined With the Stylized Language of Poetry. For
example, the poem opens straightforwardly with "Let us go then, you and I." It then
presents a bizarre personification/simile with end rhyme (lines 2 and 3), comparing
the evening to an anesthetized hospital patient. End rhyme continues throughout most
of the poem, as does the use of striking figures of speech. The figures of speech
generally refer in some way to Prufrock. The anesthetized hospital patient, for
example, represents the indecisiveness of Prufrock. The yellow fog and yellow
smoke of lines 15 and 16 are compared in succeeding lines to a timid cat, which
represents the timidity of Prufrock. 
Variations in Line Length and Meter. Some lines contain only three words. Others
contain as many as fourteen. The meter also varies.
Shifts in the Train of Thought: The train of thought sometimes shifts abruptly,
without transition, apparently in imitation of the way the human mind works when it
dreams or daydreams or reacts to an external stimulus. 
Shifts in Topics Under Discussion: The subject under discussion sometimes shifts
abruptly, from trifling matters one moment—Prufrock's bald spot, for example, or
the length of his trousers—to time and the universe the next. 
Shifts From Abstract to Concrete (and Universal to Particular): The poem frequently
toggles between (1) the abstract or universal and (2) the concrete or specific.
Examples of abstract language are muttering retreats (line 5) and tedious argument
of insidious intent (lines 8-9). Examples of phrases or clauses with universal nouns
are the muttering  retreats and the  women  come and go.  Examples of concrete
language are oyster-shells (line 7) and soot (line 19). Examples of particular (specific)
language are Michelangelo (line 14) and October (line 21).
Shifts From Obvious Allusions or References to Oblique Allusions or References:
Prufrock quotes, paraphrases, or cites historical or fictional persons, places, things,
or ideas. Some of his references are easy to fathom. For example, everyone with a
modicum of education knows who Michelangelo was (line 14). Other references are
difficult to fathom. For example, few readers realize that To Have Squeezed the
Universe into a Ball  (line 92) is a variation of a line written by poet Andrew Marvell
(1621-1678). In his use of allusions, Eliot apparently wanted to show that Prufrock
was well read and retained bits and pieces of what he read in his memory, like all of
us. .
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Use of Repetition 

.......Eliot repeats certain words and phrases several or many times, apparently to
suggest the repetition and monotony in Prufrock's life. Notice, for example, how
often he begins a line with And—20 times. He also repeats other words as well as
phrases and clauses, including the following: 

Let us go
In the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo
There will be time
Do I dare
Should I presume
I have known
Would it have been worth it
Figures of Speech: Examples From the Poem

Simile: Lines 2-3

When the evening is spread out against the sky 

Like a patient etherised upon a table
(Prufrock uses like to compare the evening to a patient)
Personifications, Simile: Lines 8-9
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
(Personification 1: Streets become persons because they follow. Personification
2: An argument becomes a person because it has insidious intent. Simile: Use
of like to compare streets to an argument) 
Metaphor: Lines 15-22
Yellow fog and yellow smoke are both compared to a living creature. It is obvious
that the creature is a cat. (It licks its tongue, leaps, and curls up.) /
Metaphor: Line 51
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons
(Life is compared to coffee.) 
Alliteration
Lines 20-21: Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, 
And seeing that it was a soft October night, 

Line 34: Before the taking of a toast and tea 

 Line 56: fix you in a formulated phrase) 
Line 58: When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall 

Metaphor: Line 58
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall
(Prufrock compares himself to an insect preserved for display in a collection)
Personification/Metaphor: Line 75
And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
(Personification: The evening is a sleeping person; Metaphor: The evening is
compared to a person.) 
Anaphora (Lines 91-94)
Tohave bitten off the matter with a smile, 
To have squeezed the universe into a ball 
To roll it toward some overwhelming question, 
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead
(For a definition of anaphora, see Literary Terms.)
Hyperbole and Metaphor: Lines 92-93
To have squeezed the universe into a ball 
To roll it toward some overwhelming question
(Hyperbole and Metaphor: The universe becomes a ball that is rolled.) 

 Cummings Study Guides

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