Jeffrey M. Boyd

March 6, 2000

Poetry Analysis – "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

T. S. Eliot opens "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" with and excerpt from Dante’s Inferno, which is the tale of a man’s journey into Hell. Translated it says: "If I believed my answer were being made to one who could ever return to the world, this flame would gleam no more; but since, if what I hear is true, never from this abyss did living man return, I answer thee without fear of infamy." The man has given up hope that he will ever return to the world. He believes what others have told him and agrees to answer someone’s questions. This is appropriate for "Prufrock" because Eliot wanted to emphasize that this man also had fears and hopes. Just as J. Alfred Prufrock did.

In the opening stanza of "Prufrock" we are somewhat introduced to the two conflicting sides of his personality. One side wants him to pursue some adventure and the other does not. There is a conflict between the two voices. It is almost like a conversation. Throughout this stanza Voice A speaks first and Voice B answers with some sarcastic rebuke of A’s suggestion. Voice B has valid arguments against A’s suggestions but Voice A has the final word. The tone in this entire poem is mixed because there are two voices speaking. In the first stanza I would say it is argumentative and laced with sarcasm.

The second stanza is a small, two-liner that carries significance. "In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo." That is all it says. These lines vary greatly from the previous stanza because a third person is speaking. Eliot adds a narrator to describe the scene around voices A and B. "The room" and "the women" can be interpreted as the upper society and where they choose to spend their time. They talk of Michelangelo because he sculpted David (from the Old Testament), which many art critics cited as the perfect sculpture of a man. To many, David was the ideal man, and Michelangelo was the man who sculpted such a man. This is ironic because, it was not Michelangelo who really made David. God called David to be king of Israel, and God made David the great man he was, not Michelangelo. "The women" were looking and talking in the wrong place to find true greatness. Voice A wants to be like the women and the room.

The third stanza is about the two voices, but spoken from the third person. The yellow smoke and yellow fog are the two voices. One rubs his back against the windowpane and the other rubs his back against it. The windowpane serves as the exit from home and the entrance into the world. The natural fog rubs his back against it because he does not want to go. The man-made fog rubs his muzzle (his nose, face) against it because he is anxious to get out. This stanza is mostly about Voice B or the fog, the side that is reluctant. He is hesitant to get out and makes attempts to stall and postpone any sort of adventure. He finally falls asleep. The tone is almost storytelling. We just hear events in sequential order. Eliot uses the literary devise of personification to give a different perspective on the two personalities. One may interpret the fog and smoke to be opposites, but the same. They both cloud your vision and people die in the fog and in the smoke. They are opposites in the respect that smoke can be man-made, usually set off by fire, and fog is a natural phenomenon. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire; and fire usually means trouble.

The fourth stanza is spoken from the point of view of the fog, who is speaking about the smoke. The most important lines in this stanza are probably, "There will be time, there will be time To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." Voice B is speaking directly to Voice A and is basically telling him there is time to prepare a mask for himself that will meet all the other masks he will meet. Eliot is satirical in his comments on how the other side of his personality will act. He seems to pick out all the bad things of society and exclaim that everybody does it.

The fifth stanza is exactly the same as the second and carries with it now even more significance. It is important to note the repetition and placement of this stanza. Why did Eliot choose to repeat these lines? He did so to emphasize and reinforce the idea of the upper society being a snooty and prideful people with their minds in the wrong direction. He placed it here because the previous stanza was about the perils of the upper society and the desire of one side to belong to that society.

The next stanza is Prufrock battling with his fears. He is afraid that despite his greatest efforts to look rich and prosperous, they will still find fault in him and rebuke him. He is afraid of public perception and acceptance of him. He does not want to disturb "the universe". The universe is everything. He does not want to upset the equilibrium in society or disgrace the given norm. He says that even in a minute there is still time to change his mind, which in another minute will reverse his efforts up to that moment. The tone is skeptic and unsure.

The next three stanzas are a continuation of Prufrock’s fears and concerns. He is weighing the pros and cons of a decision in his mind. The decision is whether or not to pursue his love, who appears to be from the upper society. He says he has "known them all already"; the evenings, mornings, afternoons, the eyes, and the arms. These can be interpreted as the different niches, the formal scrutiny, and the glamour of the upper society. He says "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons," which is a hyperbole. How can one measure something so great and awesome as life with something so small and insignificant as a coffee spoon? He is saying that he is ready to set his life to some standard of a social class. At the end of each of these three stanzas he asks himself "how should I presume?" Which, if continued, would probably read, "how should I presume the merits of society?" He is asking if it is his duty to assume anything about a social class or even love.

In the eighth stanza he talks of "the eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase," The formulated phrase is the stereotype he has been set in. He says it pins him against the wall and he asks him self "Then how should I begin to spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?" He is asking himself how he can explain his past and the loose ends of his life. And once again asking how he can judge. In the next stanza Prufrock speaks of the glamour of this upper class to which his love belongs. He says, "(the arms) are braceleted and white and bare" which means they are ornate and appear to be perfect. Then he adds, "[But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!]" He points out the hypocritical nature of many of the members in this social class. And possibly his own. The tones in these three stanzas are questioning and introspective. Prufrock is searching his soul and spending a great deal of time mulling this problem over and over again. He has valuable concerns and remarks about this upper society and love.

Stanzas ten, eleven, and twelve are the climax of the poem, even though they come nearly in the meridian. In these three stanzas, Prufrock makes his decision. First he questions if he wants to be stuck with just watching the smoke and of lonely men, leaning out of windows. The men that have nothing better to do than just smoke out of their windows at night, knowing that they might have had better. Then he says he "should have been a pair of ragged claws," which means more assertive. Then comes Prufrock falls through. He appears to have had a great evening, but then circumstances force "the moment to its crisis." Despite his great efforts and personal sacrifices and suffering, he was afraid to express his love. And he lost his chance. Eliot is trying to convey the frailty and fear of men in love with this example. The fear that we only get one chance at love, and if we fail, then we have failed as a person.

The next two stanzas are Prufrock agonizing over his experience. He says, "it would have been worth it" several times. It would have been great to conquer fear and so easy to. It hurts him all the more because he knows he could have and should have, but did not. He makes a reference to Lazarus, whom Christ resurrected. He thinks that he too, may be return from this symbolic death. He references back to "the universe" and now he wants to squeeze it into a ball. He wants to be in control, and not let others take control. He fantasizes on how love and life might have been. But the key is that it might have been, but it never will.

In the fifteenth stanza, Eliot cites Prince Hamlet, who was by all respects a bold person who lived with ambition. He is the opposite of Prufrock. Eliot tells us Prufrock is a simple attendant lord. He lives out his live merely content with mediocre. He has a job and fills it, but nothing else fills him. He is still empty, like the fool.

The last five, short stanzas are the fulfillment of Prufrock’s fears almost. He grows old and is still racked with grief over his fear long ago. He worries about even the smallest things. "Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?" These things are insignificant in the eternal course of life. He begins to fantasize about mermaids and they will not sing to him. Which means he will never find true love because he lost his chance long ago. He sees them riding seaward, out to the ocean, away from him. The last stanza reflects the dream-like nature that we sometimes live our life. Just as Prufrock symbolically died because of his fears, amidst the very thing he wanted, we are susceptible to our own conflicts and death.

Overall, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is about the frailty of the human heart and the how one decision can make a difference. Prufrock had the chance and he made, what he thought, was the wrong decision. He gave into his fears. T. S. Eliot has created a poem that represents many a wavering wanderer. That is the target audience. There are several speakers representing the different sides of the story. Eliot’s use of literary devises such as satire and hyperbole and a mixed rhyme emphasize his thoughts. His allusions to special references bring depth and different interpretations to the story.