THE LOVESONG OF J.

ALFRED PRUFROCK

INTRODUCTTION
‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ by T. S. Eliot. This is a poetic expression
penned in the early 20th century that delves into the intricacies of urban life and
the uncertainties of existence.

SETTING
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot is set in a modern urban
landscape, capturing the atmosphere of early 20th-century society. The poem
unfolds in a cityscape filled with social anxiety, alienation, and the internal
struggles of its protagonist, Prufrock, as he contemplates love, self-worth, and
existential uncertainty.

FORM & STRUCTURE

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot is primarily written in free verse,
where most lines do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. The
structure of the poem includes stanzas of varying lengths, with two, seven, and
twelve verses used throughout. While the rhyme scheme is not consistent, there
are instances of rhyming couplets and numerous couplets present in the poem .

SUMMARY
It’s difficult to summarize what happens in Eliot’s poem, since it’s not a
narrative poem and more a collage of thoughts, wishes, fears, meditations,
and images – spoken to us by Prufrock himself – than it is a coherent
speech, as we find in earlier dramatic monologues or in Shakespeare’s
soliloquies.
Instead, in ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’, Eliot offers us a portrait of a
middle-aged man, named J. Alfred Prufrock, who is attending social events,
probably in the hopes of finding a woman he can court and then marry.

Prufrock talks of an ‘overwhelming question’ but does not state what the
question is.

He is indecisive, anxious, self-conscious– perhaps a bit like the famously

indecisive and delaying Prince Hamlet from Shakespeare’s play, except that
Prufrock doesn’t consider himself important enough to be compared to
Hamlet. He’s a bit-part actor or walk-on part … even in his own life.

He also dreams of escaping the suffocating social world he inhabits, of tea

parties and pretentious chatter about art. See the metaphors he uses to
describe himself: he doesn’t just wish he’d been born someone else, but
that he’d been born a completely different species, a crab or pair of ragged
claws that roams the ocean bed. At the end of the poem, this oceanic
imagery returns, with Prufrock hearing the song of the mermaids but
thinking that they would not sing to him, only to each other.

Even in his fantasies he sees himself as inadequate, such is the crippling

social anxiety of the early twentieth-century New England world He lingers
in this ‘happy place’, the chambers of the sea, until the human voices
chattering around him in some drawing-room return him to the less
pleasant reality of his life, and he ‘drowns’ again in the social pressures of
those tea parties and the knowledge that society expects him to follow
convention, marry one of the women he seems to find so intimidating, and
settle down.

Curiously, many biographers of T. S. Eliot, including Lyndall Gordon, have

located the origins of this poem in Eliot’s own shyness around women as a
student at Harvard. But if the poem did have a personal root, ‘The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ transcends this and becomes a much more
universal statement about not fitting in, and about feeling social pressures
to behave in a way we find uncomfortable.

THEMES

Anxiety, Indecision, and Inaction

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" explores the theme of anxiety,
indecision, and inaction through its protagonist's introspective musings. T.S.
Eliot delves into the psyche of Prufrock, a modern man paralyzed by self-doubt
and societal expectations. The poem unveils his internal conflicts, revealing a
fear of judgment and a reluctance to take decisive action in matters of love and
self-expression. Prufrock's constant questioning and hesitations mirror the
disillusionment and disquiet of an individual grappling with the complexities of
identity in a rapidly changing world, ultimately capturing the universal struggle
of navigating one's place in the modern human experience.

Desire, Communication, and Disappointment

In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," T.S. Eliot delves into the themes of
desire, communication, and disappointment. The main character, Prufrock,
struggles with unmet longings and a fear of rejection, held back by his struggle
to convey his feelings. The poem showcases a gap between inner wants and
outward expression, underscoring the difficulties of effective communication.
Prufrock's uncertainties and lack of confidence result in a deep feeling of
letdown, in both love and life. Eliot skillfully captures the intricacies of human
connections, depicting a figure tormented by unachievable wishes, hindered
communication, and the lasting disappointment of an unfulfilled existence.
Modernity and Alienation

The poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot delves into the
themes of modernity and alienation through the character of Prufrock. It
showcases the chaotic and disjointed nature of the contemporary world,
depicting Prufrock's inner conflicts in a society marked by urbanization and
societal shifts. Prufrock's isolation is highlighted by his fear of societal scrutiny,
feelings of inadequacy, and struggles with genuine communication. The
extensive use of modernist techniques like stream of consciousness and literary
references emphasizes the detachment and disorientation experienced by
individuals in a fast-paced, impersonal urban setting, embodying the
disillusionment of the modernist period.

LITERARY DEVICES
Personification: The phrase “the tree waved as I walked by” shows the
trees as humans, and they wave at him.

Alliteration: The repetition of /f/ sound in “fix you in a formulated

phrase”.

Irony: The title itself is ironic, as the poem is more of an anti-love song, revealing
Prufrock's self-doubt and hesitation in matters of love.
Repetition: The repetition of phrases like "Do I dare?" and "In the room, the
women come and go ".
Imagery: “The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window panes” - vivid
imagery that creates a sense of atmosphere and unease.