It is undoubtedly obvious how lonely and pessimistic J. Alfred Prufrock is in this poem. He has never been in love nor is it likely that he will ever be in love, which is what makes the title of the poem ironic to most people. However you could look at it saying that not all love songs are happy and some are about loneliness and yearning for love, so his love song may be referring to his life and his search for love. Part of Prufrock’s problem is it’s not just that he is lonely, it’s that he despises and judges women. Twice throughout the poem he repeats the line in the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo which is his way of saying that these women are trying to act sophisticated and smart when they really have no idea about any of Michelangelo’s work which makes them look stupid to Prufrock. It would probably help him if he didn’t surround himself with young incompetent women. Prufrock appears to only see the negative side of himself and the life around him. This has to do with the complete lack of confidence he has in him self. He states that he is too bald and thin for the women to like him and that women with brown hair are very unattractive. He makes excuses about why he can’t be loved and why he doesn’t love them so he doesn’t have to actually put himself out there.
One of the many allusions in this poem is (line 111-112) No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do. Hamlet and Prufrock are both hesitant and indecisive men. Earlier in the poem Prufrock went back and forth on whether or not to this meeting place with all the women and tried to convince himself he shouldn’t, just as Hamlet had done when plotting to kill his father. Ironically enough however he compares himself to an attendant lord instead, alluding to Polonius. Polonius is an advisor to the king who goes on these big long rants with big important sounding words which ends up being a long way of saying something that could be short and decisive. If anything I think the women who are talking about Michelangelo should be compared to Polonius, since they are talking in a way about something that just makes them sound good.
okay. Look at other sections of the poem. It might be good to look at and think about sections that we haven't talked about in class.
ReplyDelete