Saturday, September 26, 2009

Once readers get through the shock that comes after reading T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, it is easy to classify the poem as a center of negativity. The pessimism begins in the first few lines as Eliot compares the evening sky to a patient that's etherised on a table. Most poets would take note of the stars but Eliot envisions a person undergoing anesthetic. From the sky he moves to the "bad" part of town as he describes the cheap hotels and sawdust restaurants located in the deserted streets. However, at the end of the first stanza, readers understand that Prufrock doesn't live or associate himself with that part of the city. He is only going to make a quick visit. The scene quickly switches from the street to women talking of Michelangelo. Now readers know that Eliot has entered the world of the bourgeoisie and is focusing on upper class women, because if they are discussing art, it is apparent they are not part of the lower class.

The negativity continues as readers find the indecisive nature in Prufrock. He can't decide if it's yellow fog rubbing its back or yellow smoke rubbing its muzzle on window panes. The uncertainty doesn't stop there, though. He constantly asks the audience questions such as "Do I dare/ Disturb the universe" and "how should I presume" because he cannot answer them on his own. Prufrock also displays a sense of self-consciousness. He constantly worries about his balding spot, the simple pin that accompanies his tie, and, in general, growing old. However, Prufrock pays close attention to the physical aspects of other. He notices "Arms that are braceleted and white and bare/ (But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)" and the perfume a woman wears.

The fact that Prufrock is misunderstood is also a negative image. In two separate instances it seems that a woman misinterprets the advances of Prufrock by saying "'That is not what I meant at all.'" With all the pessimistic views brought forth in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," it appears that Eliot, Prufrock, or even both men were extremely depressed and lost in a lonely world.

1 comment: