T. s. Eliot

1. T. s. Eliot 1888 - 1965

2. Biographical Info • 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

3. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

4. Copy the words and definitions below. • 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

5. 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

6. Key Points • 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.

7. 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.

8. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” • Epigraph – a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work • The 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.

9. Lines 1-12 • “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.

10. Lines 13-14 • Rhymed couplet • Repeated in lines 35-36 • Women are walking in and out of rooms talking about artistics things

11. Lines 15-22 • Yellow fog – metaphor • Fog is compared to a cat • Why does Prufrock explore the metaphor at such length? • Prufrock has turned his attention back to his actual surroundings.

12. Lines 23-34 • 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.

13. Lines 37-48 • 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???

14. Lines 49-54 • “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.

15. LINES 55-61 • 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.

16. Lines 63-69 • 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.

17. Lines 70-74 • 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.

18. Lines 73-74 • Prufrock compares himself to a crab or some other crustacean crawling along the ocean floor. • What image does this give you?

19. Lines 75-86 • 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.

20. Lines 87-98 • 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.

21. Lines 99-110 • 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.

22. Lines 111-119 • Allusion: Prince Hamlet (Shakespeare) • Prufrock sees himself as an “extra” and not as someone who is important. • He feels like he often looks foolish.

23. Lines 120-121 • Prufrock is thinking about making himself look younger by rolling his trousers. • Rolled trousers was fashionable during this time.

24. Lines 122-124 • More evidence that Prufrock is unsure of himself. • He says he has heard mermaids singing to each other.

25. Line 125 • He does not feel like the mermaids will sing to him. • He feels that he will miss intimacy, understanding, and love.

26. Lines 126-128 • He sees the mermaids riding out to sea on the waves. • His hopes for change are fading as the mermaids go.

27. Lines 129-131 • His spell is broken by human voices. • “We drown” could mean that he is losing hope.