A Different Look at a Love Poem

Although it seems that everyone is dealing with "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," I was hoping to look at a few more elements of the poem. For instance, the title of the poem is quite revealing in that it sets you up for some great poem of adoration, affection, and therefore, at very least happiness. But not for J. Alfred Prufrock. He begins with "Let us go then, you and I," and you prepare yourself for this lovely scene of a guy taking a woman on an enchanting date. But the visions after this only reflect a cheap, corrupt society. But the speaker becomes distant from this world when the scene is changed from the exposed outdoors to the sheltered indoors with finer clothes and the culture of Michelangelo. But characters created in these scenes are very shallow. They have no names and the women all seem to be the same- talking of Michelangelo (almost like a parrot). The smog that slinking into the house, pressing its face against a window is very cat-like in its mannerisms. It very much thrives on getting getting into the house and holding its composure. But the "yellow" fog also suggests an indecisive evil.

Then the speaker addresses the you and me again, but this time you can understand how superficial his life is. There will be time for putting on "a face to meet the faces you meet". This clearly spells out that the speaker feels there must be a mask worn in the public eye. There is time for indecisions and revisions. There is a code that all people must follow to become accepted. And yet all the women are the same.

And there is still something unsettled in the speaker as he reflects on his life. He worries constantly that he is losing time as he is surely aging. But he is wasting away with his life at these parties. "Do I dare/ Disturb the universe?" In other words, do I do something different. I'm running out of time. Think of the image he creates. I am a worm wriggling on a pin. He is very carefully yet painfully held in place. What will happen when this life is over and he has to account for all of the things that he has done in order to fit the mold of society?

Is his excuse that he has seen the lower class good enough? He wants to fit in with this upper class society in fear that the only other option would be to become lower class. Do the ends justify the means? He isn't lower class and alone, but is the "refined" upper class at all better for him? Has he found someone there who is real?

The next phrase that finds great repetition is "That is not it at all,/ That is not what I meant at all!" Perhaps the culture of these people is reflecting an ignorant lifestyle of the upperclass. They live through the example of others even though they aren't even the truly priveledged (they aren't royalty).

Then speaker talks of mermaids and fictional beauty as he thinks about his life after he is too old to remain in the class in which he lives. He lingers on that freedom outside of the city- outside of reality. But then the voices will wake him- the voices of society. He will drown in the voices of society. It is a very bleak outlook.

So why write this as a love poem when it is so bleak? It seems the author is trying to send a message that too much of life is lost in being refined. Perhaps he was trying to get people to realize that life can be different. This strongly agrees with the modernist thought breaking from the old Victorian form into a form that is not trashy, but rather different.