1888 - 1965

Born in St. Louis, MO Grandfather founded Washington

University Graduated from Harvard; did post-

graduate work at the Sorbonne in Paris Moved to London just before WW I began Gave up US citizenship in 1927; became

a subject of the king of England Worked in a bank; had a nervous

breakdown; married an emotionally troubled woman; took up literature

Etherized – put to sleep with ether before an operation; highly drugged

Overwhelming – overpowering with great numbers or force

Lingered – was slow to leave Digress – take a side path; get away

from the main idea when speaking or writing

Presume – to do something without clear permission; to take for granted

Attendant – servant; assistant; helper Politic – smart; crafty; shrewd Cautious – alert; careful; not impulsive Meticulous – very careful about every

detail Obtuse – insensitive; not quick-thinking;

not sharp

The speaker is a character named J. Alfred Prufrock.

He has no one to share his feelings with. He feels he’ll never participate in life, so

he indulges in fantasies. He knows there are two sides to every

issue, but he can’t act on any of this knowledge.

Prufrock is very self-conscious. He seeks the meaning of life and the nature of

romantic love. He tries unsuccessfully to find a place for

himself in the world. Throughout the poem, he can’t focus on one

thing at a time. The poem is a series of disjointed scenes that

are psychologically related to the speaker’s half-formed thoughts.

Epigraph – a quotation set at the beginning of a literary workThe epigraph in “The Love Song…” is from

Dante’s Divine Comedy. The speaker is a man who has been sent to hell because he has given evil advice.

Prufrock is speaking from his own personal hell.

“Let us go then, you and I” Prufrock issues an invitation to an unspecified

person to go to an unspecified place. “Like a patient etherized”

The night is compared to an unconscious patient Setting – a run-down, tawdry part of town

Half-deserted streets One-night cheap hotels Sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells

These are probably the kinds of places that Prufrock frequents

Prufrock begins to look ahead to where he is going.

Rhymed couplet Repeated in lines 35-36 Women are walking in and out of rooms

talking about artistics things

Yellow fog – metaphor Fog is compared to a catWhy does Prufrock explore the metaphor at

such length? Prufrock has turned his attention back

to his actual surroundings.

He repeats the phrase “there will be time” and the word “time” to suggest both eternity and hesitation.

“To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet”He wants to put on a “mask” or assume an

attitude that will help him face other people.

Prufrock is insecure, and he worries about what others think about him.“Do I dare?”“They will say:”

“They” are the people Prufrock sees socially, especially women.

What could he want to dare to do???

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons”Shows that Prufrock is very careful and

cautious He sees himself as socially inept. How

can he hope to assume a part in real human life with anyone?He knows how uncomfortable it can be to

be a part of a faltering conversation.

He is aware that people appraise him, and that their appraisal is different from the way he appraises himself.He feels like a bug that has been pinned

onto a board. He compares his days to the butt-end of

a cigarette. This suggests waste or trash.

He longs to be close to a woman, but he is afraid to initiate the contact.

The smell of her perfume makes him go back in time.

He spends his early evenings walking along deserted streets.

As he does this, he notices men sitting in their windows smoking their pipes.

He calls these men “lonely” but it is really Prufrock who is lonely.

Prufrock compares himself to a crab or some other crustacean crawling along the ocean floor.

What image does this give you?

The evening “sleeps” but it really isn’t a peaceful sleep.

Allusions: “I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter” refers to the execution of John the Baptist.

The “eternal Footman” refers to death. He sees death mocking him. This continues

to show his lack of confidence.

Prufrock wonders what it would be like to be Lazarus. (Another allusion…)

He fears that if he says what he wants to say that he will be misunderstood and that he will alienate the woman.

He is frustrated and filled with dread.This causes his thoughts to be fragmented.

He doesn’t feel like he can really explain what he feels or thinks.

He continues to feel like he would be misunderstood.

Allusion: Prince Hamlet (Shakespeare) Prufrock sees himself as an “extra” and

not as someone who is important. He feels like he often looks foolish.

Prufrock is thinking about making himself look younger by rolling his trousers. Rolled trousers was fashionable during this

time.

More evidence that Prufrock is unsure of himself.

He says he has heard mermaids singing to each other.

He does not feel like the mermaids will sing to him.

He feels that he will miss intimacy, understanding, and love.

He sees the mermaids riding out to sea on the waves.

His hopes for change are fading as the mermaids go.

His spell is broken by human voices. “We drown” could mean that he is

losing hope.