Poem analysis and literary interpretation

¶ … Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliott

The opening epigraph from Dante's Inferno in T.S. Eliott's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Pruforck" suggests that Prufrock, like Count Guido da Montefeltro, is giving a visitor a tour of his own personal hell. Also, at the beginning and end of the first stanza, Prufrock invites the reader to go with him to find the answer that he is trying to find. However, it's not yet quite certain what the question really is in the very beginning. Only later does it become clear that Prufrock is seeking to understand the meaning of life and love.

In the first stanza, the references to "half-deserted," "muttering," "restless," "cheap," "tedious," "insidious" suggest Prufrock's isolation and inner turmoil. "Like a patient etherized upon a table" (3) serves two purposes. First, it conveys a patient, someone who is need of help. Secondly, it represents paralysis, the inability to take action.

Lines 12-14 relate a planned visit by Prufrock to ladies "Talking of Michelangelo." One can infer by the subject of their conversation that the ladies are of a high social status and well educated. This is the first indication of Prufrock's vast insecurity regarding his ability to interact with the women. This simple rhyming couplet is repeated later in the poem to reemphasize Prufrock's insecurity.

The second verse begins with a metaphor comparing the evening fog and a cat is followed by imagery to describe the actions of a cat such as "rubs its back upon the window-panes," "rubs its muzzle," "licked its tongue," "made a sudden leap," and "curled once about the house, and fell asleep." Note that the cat never actually enters the house, symbolic of Prufrock's fear to participate in life. Also, the feline is an animal frequently associated with women.

The next verse reveals Prufrock constantly reassuring himself that he has plenty of time to achieve what he wants, but also shows that time being wasted with fear and indecision. For example, "To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet" (27) is a metaphor for a mask that is needed because Prufrock is terrified of other people. "Murder" and "create" are opposites that indirectly testify to Prufrock's indecision. More direct statements such as "And time yet for a hundred indecisions" (33) and "And for a hundred visions and revisions" (34) indicate the Prufrock isn't sure about anything. His preoccupation with the passing of time also characterizes his fear of growing old.

While Prufrock averred that there would be plenty of time in verse three, he does a flip flop in verse four and wonders if time is running out. The lines "They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!" (41) and "They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!" (44) reveal Prufrock's terror of others mocking him. And the use of "Do I dare?" three times in the verse portray Prufrock as a coward.

Verses five through eight further expose the dissatisfaction that Prufrock feels over his current circumstances. Verse five contrasts his mundane existence that has been "measured out" with a better life, "the music from a farther room." In verse six, Prufrock communicates hopelessness and despair over his ability to change as shown best by the line "When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall" (58). The next verse indicates that Prufrock finds women attractive, but is frustrated because he doesn't know how to talk to them. In verse eight, Prufrock states that he might as well have been a crab, showing just how useless he feels.

Verse nine reveals the strong sexual desires of Prufrock in the line, "Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me" (78). Yet, Prufrock is impotent to act, stifled by fear that he will not be accepted by others. Later, in verse ten, Prufrock realizes that he is defeated and poses the question, "And would it have been worth it, after all" (99). The reference to Lazarus is one of a Biblical character in Luke who is asked to warn the brothers of Dives about hell. The character is also symbolic of Prufrock's desire to the resurrected from the death which has undone him.